Page 2279 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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praise. What will happen to that reputation with the gutting of the school as proposed by the ANU?
There is a special relationship between the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the ANU School of Music. Many of the orchestra’s players are teachers and the more advanced students at the school. The quality of players, coupled with the excellence of the orchestra’s chief conductor and artistic director, Nicholas Milton, has contributed to the development of the orchestra as one of the premier orchestras in Australia.
However, that status is now under a cloud. The CSO’s chief executive has said in a recent media statement that he is concerned that “future students will not graduate as highly trained performers ready to develop their professional careers through the CSO, amongst other orchestras in Australia and the world”. The CEO went on to say that the proposed curriculum “will not attract leading performance staff which in turn means that top performing pre-tertiary students may not come to Canberra”. The Canberra International Music Festival, starting later this week, engages the School of Music in some way in 21 of its 27 concerts. Need I say more about this topic? What will happen to our orchestra and events such as the Canberra International Music Festival if the ANU music school is gutted?
The ANU School of Music boasts a teaching staff of some 32, many of whom themselves boast international careers. We have horn player Dominic Harvey, classical guitarist Timothy Kain, cellist and 2011 artist of the year David Periera and fortepianist Geoffrey Lancaster. There are even some members of staff who themselves were students of the School of Music, returning to give something back to the place they loved as students—people like composer Jim Cotter, drummer Colin Hoorweg and soprano Louise Page. What will happen to the depth of talent if the ANU School of Music is gutted, Mr Speaker?
Still others of the School of Music alumni have done Canberra and Australia proud on international concert platforms, on recordings and in teaching studios. These include flautist Virginia Taylor, university medallist and jazz saxophonist Neil Rosendahl, and PhD candidate in guitar performance Bradley Kunda—one of the school’s more recent graduates. What will happen to that kind of record if the ANU School of Music is gutted?
The ANU School of Music is also very active in the community. I know the government will be proposing an amendment that acknowledges its financial support to the tune of $1.4 million every year for the ANU School of Music community outreach program. We will be supporting that amendment because it highlights the fact that the program takes the School of Music into Canberra’s primary and secondary schools. These schools are a source of future students for the ANU School of Music. But why would they go there if they cannot get the training that they want for their future careers in music performance?
This funding also helps the School of Music engage the broader community. The Llewellyn Choir, for example, has its roots in the Canberra School of Music. Formerly called the Canberra School of Music Community Choir, it had as its conductor the former deputy director, William Hawkey. More importantly, though,
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