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A YEAR IN REVIEW
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A YEAR IN REVIEW
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Welcome to QCGU Year in Review. We hope this serves to document and illuminate some of the highlights of a year that included almost 500 performances, symposia, workshops and projects that coalesce around aspects of our learning, teaching, research and engagement agendas. Enjoy, and see you in 2016!
Professor Scott Harrison Director, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 2 Brass 4 Jazz 6 Keyboard 8 Learning & Teaching 10 Musical Theatre 12 Music Technology 14 New Music 16 Open Conservatorium 18 Visual Showcase 20 Opera & Voice 22 Orchestra 24 Percussion 26 Popular Music Research & 28 Research Students 30 Strings Visiting Artists 32 & Scholars 34 Winds 1
BRASS The award-winning horn school continued its successes with high profile performances in Brisbane and beyond under the distinguished leadership of Peter Luff and Ysolt Clark. Our horn graduates now occupy permanent positions in most of Australia’s leading Symphony Orchestras. The QCGU Trumpet Ensemble represented QCGU at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Columbus Ohio in May, while trombone students attended the SliderAsia Hong Kong Festival in July. In August, Peter Luff performed as soloist with the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. Peter’s performance was associated with the International Horn Society Conference. Peter also performed to critical acclaim with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis. In student achievements, Tetsuya Lawson (1st year trumpet) was accepted into the Orchestral Academy of the Pacific Music Festival, one of only two young musicians accepted from Australia.
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JAZZ The highlight in the Jazz calendar was Standing Waves, a collaboration with alumni and surf and music culture icons the Band of Frequencies. Our Head of Jazz, Steve Newcomb provided musical direction and arrangements for leading Australian and international artists. Engagement beyond South Bank included performances in Ipswich, the annual Queen Street Mall series, and Green Jam in association with QPAC. Student and alumni success include: Elly Hoyt who received a Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory, U.S.A., and Sophie Min earning a place in the Jazz World Orchestra. Kayleigh Pincott was a finalist in the prestigious Generations in Jazz vocal scholarship - a nationwide James Morrison initiative. Georgia Weber was selected as a one of 10 finalists in the prestigious National Jazz Awards. Visitors included QCGU saxophone graduates Angela Davis and Jacam Manricks, while international guests included Panu Savolainen HERD Trio from Finland and Libor Smoldaz from the Czech Republic.
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KEYBOARD Our keyboard students enjoyed success in national and international competitions, including the biennial Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition. Distinguished alumnus Piers Lane chaired the panel. Piers visited on several other occasions, including the celebration of the late Nancy Weir’s 100th birthday in July. Our keyboard series continued to attract outstanding national and international performers including Silver Garburg Duo, Avan Yu, Katherine Stott and Stefan Cassomenos. In August, we were delighted to launch the Dorothy Ford Memorial Scholarship, a gift of $150 000, which will provide an annual scholarship for a female piano student. Alumna Belle Chen was announced as the winner of Classical Music Rising Star at 2015 London Music Awards, as voted by the leaders of the UK’s music industry. Ayesha Gough was the overall winner of 2015 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, as well as the Concert Prize and four special prizes.
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LEARNING & TEACHING The quality and scope of learning and teaching continued to receive accolades through awards, grants, fellowships and citations. BrydieLeigh Bartleet was recognised as Australian University Teacher of the Year in Canberra in December 2014. Gemma Carey was awarded the University Leadership in Teaching Award, and Paul Sabey was the recipient of a Griffith Award for University Teaching. Six Conservatorium faculty were recognised by the Academic Provost for their teaching excellence, regarded as being within the top 3% of teachers in the university. As an institution that values reflection and innovation, QCGU continues to seek out ways to improve learning and teaching. In May, we hosted a symposium and professional development program associated with Gemma Carey’s Office for Learning and Teaching Grant on one-to-one pedagogy. This program was led by Helena Gaunt (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and Gerda van Zelm (Royal Conservatoire, The Hague).
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MUSICAL THEATRE Musical Theatre commenced the year with a season of Working that subsequently toured to Sydney and Melbourne. The winter season, presented by final year students at the Burke Street Studios comprised two major productions. A Chorus Line was directed by Lewis Jones, with choreography by Cressida Carré and musical direction by David Laugharne, both of whom travelled from London’s West End. The second production was Blood Brothers, led by UK-based director Ian Good who returns in 2016 to direct the major production in the Conservatorium Theatre. Other highlights included productions of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rent, Con2theCabaret (in association with the Queensland Cabaret Festival); performances at Asia Pacific Cities Forum, Helpmann Awards Nominations, City Hall and the annual showcase tour to Sydney and Melbourne. Graduates from this relatively new program are featuring in professional productions: Sarah Murr (Candide and Les Misérables), Billy Bourchier (Candide and Les Misérables), Madison Green (Georgy Girl), Lauren Jimmieson (Singing in the Rain), and Kimberley Hodgson (Avenue Q).
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MUSIC TECHNOLOGY Music Technology received a boost with the appointment of John Ferguson as Head of Area in July. Prior to his appointment, John served at Kingston University in the United Kingdom and Brown University in the United States. He has been nominated for the transmediale Award for digital arts and culture. Alumnus Tyson Illingworth (aka tyDi) had the title track from his latest album make it into the top 10 of the prestigious USA Billboard Music Charts. In October, tyDi was also named Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year for Arts Education and Law.
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NEW MUSIC One of the highlights in the new music area was the Australian premiere of John Luther Adams Sila as part of the Brisbane Festival, facilitated by Grammy® Award winning alumnus Tim Munro. QCGU also played host to a number of ensembles in residence who bring new music to the institution. Foremost among these is Clocked Out who celebrated their 15th year as an ensemble in residence at QCGU. The main proponents of new music are, of course, our composition staff and students. This area continued to drive our new music agenda with a number of world premieres – both here in Australia and internationally. Gerardo Dirie’s works were performed in the famous Gaudi Cathedral Sagrada Famillia in Barcelona and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Kim Cunio produced The Vanishing a new music and textual installation radio work into female foeticide in India in May 2015 and also an Australia Council funded project into music of the TIWI Islands. Stephen Cronin presented new works with The Song Company on picturesque Norfolk Island. Student and Alumni successes include PhD candidate Mark Wolf as one of two composers out of six awarded a full scholarship and residency with Icon Arts in Romania. The BBC Symphony has appointed alumnus composer and violist Brett Dean as its new Artist in Association for the next three seasons.
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OPEN
CONSERVATORIUM The State Honours Ensemble Program continued to grow across the state with almost 1700 students participating, including almost 900 students in Brisbane. Illustrious conductors who worked with the students included: Chris Shepherd, Chris Kiver, Carl Crossin, Brian Balmages, Stephen Chin, Loreta Fin, John Lynch, Philip Matthias, Rob McWilliams, Peter Morris, Steve Newcomb, Lisa Stevenson and Robert Taylor. The Open Conservatorium also facilitated a new program at The Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, with weekly performances from Young Conservatorium students. Another major highlight of the pre-tertiary program took place in July, when we welcomed Education Queensland’s Musically Outstanding Students (MOST) to the Conservatorium. As the major partner in this program, participants worked with faculty from QCGU prior to performing in the wonderful acoustics of the Conservatorium Theatre.
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A YEAR IN REVIEW
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OPERA & VOICE Queensland Conservatorium’s long tradition of fully-staged student-cast operas continued with a mid-year production of The Coronation of Poppea directed by Anna Sweeney, AM. In August, the main production was Hansel & Gretel, directed by Australian playwright and director Michael Gow, conducted by Johannes Fritzsch with designs by Charles Davis. The Lisa Gasteen National Opera School built on the success of previous years with an end of year performance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Earlier in the year, the School collaborated with the inaugural Brisbane Baroque Festival. Graduates from the opera program continue to grace the world stage. Recent successes include Kang Wang, accepted into the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Programme; Lauren LodgeCampbell, accepted into Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Amber Evans accepted into Cambridge University and Kiandra Howarth receiving the Culturarte Award at Placido Domindo’s Operalia Competition. By the end of 2015, three new appointments in opera and voice swelled the ranks of our already distinguished resident faculty, joining Margaret Schindler, Greg Massingham, Ron Morris, Jill Stoll, Anna Sweeny AM, Janet Delpratt AM, Joseph Ward OBE and Lisa Gasteen AO.
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ORCHESTRA Our Orchestral program enjoyed an active year on the concert platform and in the pit. German-born maestro Johannes Fritzsch led the orchestra in four programs, including the opera Hansel & Gretel (see opera and voice). On the platform, we enjoyed performances of the Alpine Symphony, Brahms Symphony No.2 and numerous concerti. A strong feature of orchestra performances was the inclusion of new music, including the world premiere of Lisa Cheney’s Arcane in May. In September, orchestral students presented the world premiere of Mark Isaacs’ Violin Concerto. Other projects included involvement with the Queensland Music Festival, A Concerto Celebration and playing in the pit for Working and A Chorus Line. Students in orchestra concluded the year at the Conservatorium Gala with a rousing rendition of the perennial student favourite Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture.
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PERCUSSION Our percussion students, under the leadership of Vanessa Tomlinson, continued to surprise and delight with their performances in the concert hall and in the most unusual of locations. Percussion has been closely associated with the new music agenda reported elsewhere, and presented works in collaboration with almost every other department in places such as the stairwells, the corridors and, on occasion, in the concert hall. A highlight was the performance of Reich’s Drumming, and their continued close involvement with new work - notably Sila. Graduates are involved in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras throughout the country. Many others are making their way as composers and freelance performers.
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POPULAR MUSIC The SEED project has been a fixture in the performance calendar of the Bachelor of Popular Music, with hundreds attending performances each Friday evening for 10 weeks across winter on the greens of QPAC. Further partnerships with City Sounds, Bleach Festival, and others saw over 250 paid performances for BPM students. Students of Popular Music went to Nashville and Los Angeles for TAXI again in 2015, building on partnerships with several internationally renowned producers. Local outreach included a collaboration with the Jimmy Little Foundation in June. Four student experience days on the Gold Coast campus attracted over 300 students from throughout South East Queensland and Northern NSW. Rock school, conducted over one week during the January school holidays, continued to fill its quota weeks before the cut off date, and is proving to be a highly successful recruitment tool based on applicant questionnaires. Students from this program enjoyed exceptional success. In particular, at the QMusic Awards, Bachelor of Popular Music graduate Bobby Alu (aka Charles Wall) won Most Popular Male Artist and The Kite Street Tangle (aka Danny Harley) won Best Music Video for the hit Arcadia.
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RESEARCH &
RESEARCH STUDENTS Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC) has continued to grow from strength to strength and remains dedicated to leading innovative music research that yields strong artistic and social outcomes in Australia and internationally. In April, QCRC officially launched its new focus area, Music, Health and Wellbeing, with an international symposium. Throughout 2015, QCRC members and Higher Degree Research students have together hosted a vibrant series of research symposia on Artistic Research in Music, Transforming One-toOne Pedagogy, and Assessment in Music. In 2015 QCRC secured two highly competitive ARC Linkage grants aimed at equipping musicians and artists to sustain successful careers and allowing the arts and cultural sector to play a crucial role in regional development. Dan Bendrups was also awarded a prestigious Queensland Government Smithsonian Fellowship. 2015 saw the conclusion of the tenure of Huib Schippers as Director of QCRC, and from April QCRC has been under the leadership of Brydie-Leigh Bartleet.
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STRINGS With resident staff and visiting artists of the highest calibre, the string area continued to produce outstanding results in 2015. Under the leadership of Head of Strings Michele Walsh, our violinists continue to gain national recognition for their outstanding performances. Faculty member Graeme Jennings continued to appear across the country, including a performance with Australian World Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. In late 2015, Meta Weiss joined the faculty as senior lecturer in ‘cello, continuing the long tradition of fine ‘cello teacher-performers at QCGU. Meta has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, The Kimmel Center, Royal Albert Hall and Teatro Britanico (Peru). 2015 sees the retirement of long-serving staff member Julian Byzantine after 35 years of loyal service. Julian has enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a teacherperformer: he has performed in 77 countries in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Sydney Opera House. Student and alumni successes were also numerous in this area in 2015: Glenn Christensen accepted a position with Australian Chamber Orchestra. Emily Dellit has been appointed 1st violin in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Tristan Selke has been appointed Assistant Concertmaster with Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile; Henry Justo (2nd year viola) was accepted into the Mozarteum International Summer Academy in Salzburg; and Francesca Hiew joins the Australian String Quartet in 2016.
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VISITING
ARTISTS & SCHOLARS Queensland Conservatorium welcomed numerous visiting artists and scholars in 2015. While by no means an exhaustive list, artists included: Mark Applebaum (Stanford University); Tim Munro (Grammy Award-winning alumnus); Piers Lane (award winning alumnus, pianist and broadcaster); Timothy Brophy (University of Florida); Grenville Hancox (University of Kent); Gyuto Monks; Alan Bennett (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, National University of Singapore); Renee Flemming; Mary Wilson (The Supremes); Johannes Fritzsch; David Young (Wicked); Simone Young (Australian-born international Maestra); Ian Good, Cressida Carre, David Laughame (all from London’s West End); Andrew Pelletier (Grammy-Award winner, Bowling Green State University); Graham Welch (University of London); and Mary Plazas (Royal Northern College). In addition, QCGU partnered with leading arts organisations Musica Viva, Australian String Quartet, Australian National Academy of Music, Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Brisbane Baroque, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane Powerhouse, Queensland Music Festival and Brisbane Festival.
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WINDS Our wind department has continued to develop under the interim leadership of Eve Newsome. Incoming Head of Winds, Paul Dean who will conclude his term as the current Artistic Director of Australian National Academy of Music before joining QCGU permanently in 2016, supported Eve in this area of endeavour. The Arcadia Wind Quintet has been announced as the recipient of Musica Viva’s Future Makers development programme. Formed at ANAM, four of these five players are QCGU graduates: David Reichelt, Lloyd Van’t Hoff, Matthew Kneale and Rachel Shaw. The Saxophone Orchestra represented QCGU at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg where they presented nine world premieres of new Australian works, including pieces by Erik Griswold, Louise Denson, Robert Burrell and Thomas Green.
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Find out more: Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University 140 Grey Street South Bank Qld Australia 4101 General Enquiries +61 (07) 3735 6111 Connect with us on
griffith.edu.au/music conevents.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY BY:
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