ANU School of Music
Encyclopedia
The School of Music is a school within the Faculty of Arts of the Australian National University
. It consists of four buildings, including the main School of Music building - which contains Llewellyn Hall - and the Peter Karmel Building.
The School of Music encompasses Brass, Composition, Ethnomusicology, Guitar, Jazz, Musicology, Percussion, String, Voice and Woodwind departments; the Keyboard Institute; and the Music Library.
as the founding Director. The original plans for the School were prepared in the 1960s when the Department of the Interior recognized the need to establish centres for art and music study in the national capital, with the vision of providing high-level performance and practice. Sir Richard Kingsland, Secretary of the Department from 1963 to 1970, provided valuable support for Ernest Llewellyn's vision. The Canberra School of Music was established in 1965. It was first located in the Canberra suburb of Manuka
and in 1976 moved to its current site on Childers Street between the Australian National University
and the city centre, becoming the first purpose-built music school facility in Australia.
Llewellyn's grand vision for the School was based on the Juilliard School
; he regarded Isaac Stern
, with whom he had studied at Juilliard and who was his long time friend, as the "father" of the school. He set the School up with a hand-picked staff and a focus on the training of soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians. As part of his grand plan he also envisaged the development of a national symphony orchestra based in Canberra. This has never been established, although Canberra has its own professional part-time orchestra, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra
, based in Llewellyn Hall.
Responsibility for the Canberra School of Music passed from the Department of the Interior to the Minister for Education and Science, John Gorton
. Control was transferred in 1974, and Sir Richard was the first Chairman of the Canberra School of Music. The Kingsland Room in the School of Music is named in his honour. The current School of Music building was opened in 1976. In 1987, the Canberra School of Music combined with the Canberra School of Art to create the Canberra Institute for the Arts. In 1992, it became part of the Australian National University
. In 2001, the Peter Karmel Building was opened to house the Jazz and Percussion Areas, and the Centre for New Media Arts. An extension to the Music Library was completed at the same time. In 2004, the ANU Keyboard Institute was established at the School of Music, providing an Australian centre for research into historical keyboard performance and Australian composition for piano
, and hosting Australia's first graduate programs in fortepiano
. Also in 2004, the National Institute of the Arts was dissolved, with the Schools of Music and Art becoming part of the ANU Faculty of the Arts.
(composer), Dr Ruth Lee Martin (composer/musicologist), Dr Alistair Noble (composer/musicologist), visiting fellows Dr Stephen Wild and Dr Hazel Hall (ethnomusicologists), and Dr Aaron Corn (ethnomusicologist), Geoffrey Lancaster
(fortepianist/ conductor), Vernon Hill (flute), Larry Sitsky
(pianist/composer), Jim Cotter
(composer), Tor Fromyhr (violin, viola), David Pereira
(cello), Alice Giles (harp), Alan Vivian (clarinet), Megan Billing (oboe), Max McBride (double bass/conductor), Virginia Taylor (flute), Rick McIntyre (bassoon), and Dom Harvey (horn). The Head of School until mid-2008 was John Luxton, who, at the beginning of 2009 was succeeded by Professor Adrian Walter.
The School offers the academic degrees Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts (Music), and Bachelor of Philosophy. Since 2005, such combined degree programs as the Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Laws, and Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Science have been offered by the ANU. The Bachelor of Professional Music Practice degree was introduced in 2010. Postgraduate programs include graduate diplomas, Master's degrees in Performance, Fortepiano Pedagogy, Composition, and Musicology. It also offers the award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - available in Performance, Composition and Musicology.
The School of Music has had a number of ensembles in residence, including the Canberra Wind Soloists, “Virtuosi”, dominantSEVEN, and the Fantastic Flutes of the ANU. It also hosts recipients of the H. C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship. The ensembles formed by the School itself include:
The School also has a large research role, most importantly in the areas of Classical performance, piano, fortepiano and harpsichord
performance, jazz performance, composition, musicology
and ethnomusicology
– especially Indigenous Australian music
and the music of South-East Asia.
The School of Music also runs a pre-tertiary program for students who study music at primary school and high schools in the Australian Capital Territory. Gifted pre-tertiary music students are able to take single study lessons in various instrumental disciplines, under the supervision of the School's full time teaching staff.
A School of Music Foundation assists the School to continue its projects with students and the community. The Foundation is presently chaired by former Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University, Prof Deane Terrell.
In 2007-2008 the future of the School of Music was under review by the Australian National University.
campus, between the School of Art and University Avenue, bordered on the north-western face by Childers Street. It is also close to the popular landmark and performance space The Street Theatre.
The complex itself consists of four buildings; two of which are demountables. The demountable buildings, which are joined, were installed in the 1990s and house some of the graduate facilities as well as some administration and technical capacity of the Music area and are colloquially known as "The Shed".
The two permanent buildings, the main School of Music Building (SoM building) and the Peter Karmel building are both built in contemporary architectural styles.
The SoM building was designed for the National Capital Development Commission in 1970 by architects Daryl Jackson and Evan Walker. The architectural works of Jackson at this time can be seen to be in parallel with those of noted U.S. architect Paul Rudolph
, most notably his 1960s interpretations of Le Corbusier
's later works.
The following, taken from the Australian National University's Heritage Factsheet on the School of music, provides a physical description of the building and its architectural merits and heritage:
The building is currently heritage listed by;
Refurbishments to the SoM building in 2008 after a storm caused serious damage to the roof have included the complete refurbishment of Llewellyn Hall and an update and redesign of the Musicology and Composition Departments.
, Canberra Youth Orchestra, Canberra Choral Society
and The Llewellyn Choir) and the nation (such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra
, and Musica Viva
.
The ACT Government provides Llewellyn Hall $200,000 each year in addition to the ANU's $1.6 million annual funding for outreach programs. The 2010 Loxton Review of the Arts in Canberra recommended that in regards to Llewellyn Hall, "with such significant support, the ACT Government should leverage considerably greater benefits for the ACT arts and public, based more on a sharing arrangement, with extended and more affordable access. If this is not possible, it may be necessary to consider whether ACT public arts funding could be more productively invested in the arts and music elsewhere". The Loxton report also recognized the vital contribution the ANU School of Music provided the ACT public.
The Llewellyn Hall came about directly through the initiative of its namesake, Ernest Llewellyn
, the founding Head of School and instigator of the Canberra School of Music project. Llewellyn's plans, drawn with renowned architect Daryl Jackson
, provided for a large "lecture hall" (with seating for 1,300 people and full audio and lighting facilities), smaller rehearsal spaces, teaching studios and offices.
The Peter Karmel Building was designed as a new freestanding addition to the Canberra School of Music to accommodate numerous practice and performance functions for the School, with specific accommodation of the Jazz and Percussion Departments and the Australian Centre for Arts and Technology (ACAT). The two-storey building forms a new Entry Court to the School of Music complex and provides integrated connections between practice and performance spaces in both the original School and new addition. The façade design commission by artist Marie Hagerty was intended to be an opportunity for the artist to work with the large-scale architectural forms in their three-dimensional landscape setting to create a patterning, ‘marking’, and enlivening of the glazed and solid surfaces of the building's exterior.
The building, named after former ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Karmel
, was designed and project managed by Guida Mosely Brown Architects in conjunction with commissioned artist Marie Hagerty. It currently houses the Centre for New Media Arts, the Jazz Department and the Percussion Department. It also contains the fourth most important performance space in the ANU campus (after Llewellyn Hall, the Theatre Arts Performance Space and Theatre 1, the Home of Canberra Repertory), the Band Room.
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. It consists of four buildings, including the main School of Music building - which contains Llewellyn Hall - and the Peter Karmel Building.
The School of Music encompasses Brass, Composition, Ethnomusicology, Guitar, Jazz, Musicology, Percussion, String, Voice and Woodwind departments; the Keyboard Institute; and the Music Library.
History
The School of Music was established under the name The Canberra School of Music in 1965 with Ernest LlewellynErnest Llewellyn
Ernest Victor Llewellyn CBE was an Australian violinist, concertmaster, violist, conductor and musical administrator. He was the founding director of the Canberra School of Music and he is commemorated in the concert venue there, Llewellyn Hall.-Early career:Ernest Llewellyn was born in Kurri...
as the founding Director. The original plans for the School were prepared in the 1960s when the Department of the Interior recognized the need to establish centres for art and music study in the national capital, with the vision of providing high-level performance and practice. Sir Richard Kingsland, Secretary of the Department from 1963 to 1970, provided valuable support for Ernest Llewellyn's vision. The Canberra School of Music was established in 1965. It was first located in the Canberra suburb of Manuka
Manuka
Manuka can refer to:*The flowering plant Leptospermum scoparium *Manuka, Canberra, an area in the Australian Capital Territory, named after the plant*Manuka Oval, a stadium in the above territory...
and in 1976 moved to its current site on Childers Street between the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
and the city centre, becoming the first purpose-built music school facility in Australia.
Llewellyn's grand vision for the School was based on the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
; he regarded Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, with whom he had studied at Juilliard and who was his long time friend, as the "father" of the school. He set the School up with a hand-picked staff and a focus on the training of soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians. As part of his grand plan he also envisaged the development of a national symphony orchestra based in Canberra. This has never been established, although Canberra has its own professional part-time orchestra, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Canberra Symphony Orchestra is the principal professional orchestra of the Australian Capital Territory based in Canberra, the national capital of Australia....
, based in Llewellyn Hall.
Responsibility for the Canberra School of Music passed from the Department of the Interior to the Minister for Education and Science, John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. Control was transferred in 1974, and Sir Richard was the first Chairman of the Canberra School of Music. The Kingsland Room in the School of Music is named in his honour. The current School of Music building was opened in 1976. In 1987, the Canberra School of Music combined with the Canberra School of Art to create the Canberra Institute for the Arts. In 1992, it became part of the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. In 2001, the Peter Karmel Building was opened to house the Jazz and Percussion Areas, and the Centre for New Media Arts. An extension to the Music Library was completed at the same time. In 2004, the ANU Keyboard Institute was established at the School of Music, providing an Australian centre for research into historical keyboard performance and Australian composition for piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, and hosting Australia's first graduate programs in fortepiano
Fortepiano
Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
. Also in 2004, the National Institute of the Arts was dissolved, with the Schools of Music and Art becoming part of the ANU Faculty of the Arts.
Present day
The current state of the School of Music is somewhat controversial. It has been embroiled in financial troubles, with a running loss of $1.5 million due to declining enrolments and a lack of funding from various sources including government and the university. Despite this the school of music has managed to maintain a generally acclaimed past and present staff, including Don BanksDon Banks
Donald Oscar Banks was an Australian composer of concert, jazz, and commercial music.He initially studied at the University of Melbourne, then moved to London where he studied with Mátyás Seiber...
(composer), Dr Ruth Lee Martin (composer/musicologist), Dr Alistair Noble (composer/musicologist), visiting fellows Dr Stephen Wild and Dr Hazel Hall (ethnomusicologists), and Dr Aaron Corn (ethnomusicologist), Geoffrey Lancaster
Geoffrey Lancaster
Geoffrey Lancaster AM is an Australian classical pianist and conductor. Born in Sydney, he was raised in Dubbo, New South Wales before moving to Canberra. He attended the Canberra School of Music where he studied piano with Larry Sitsky...
(fortepianist/ conductor), Vernon Hill (flute), Larry Sitsky
Larry Sitsky
Lazar Sitsky AM, usually referred to as Larry Sitsky, born 10 September 1934, is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar...
(pianist/composer), Jim Cotter
Jim Cotter
Clive James Cotter is an Australian composer currently based in Canberra, Australia. His career has largely been in music for theater, film, and radio...
(composer), Tor Fromyhr (violin, viola), David Pereira
David Pereira
right|250pxDavid Pereira is an Australian classical cellist, considered one of the finest working today. He was Senior Lecturer in Cello at the Canberra School of Music from 1990-2008....
(cello), Alice Giles (harp), Alan Vivian (clarinet), Megan Billing (oboe), Max McBride (double bass/conductor), Virginia Taylor (flute), Rick McIntyre (bassoon), and Dom Harvey (horn). The Head of School until mid-2008 was John Luxton, who, at the beginning of 2009 was succeeded by Professor Adrian Walter.
The School offers the academic degrees Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts (Music), and Bachelor of Philosophy. Since 2005, such combined degree programs as the Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Laws, and Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Science have been offered by the ANU. The Bachelor of Professional Music Practice degree was introduced in 2010. Postgraduate programs include graduate diplomas, Master's degrees in Performance, Fortepiano Pedagogy, Composition, and Musicology. It also offers the award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - available in Performance, Composition and Musicology.
The School of Music has had a number of ensembles in residence, including the Canberra Wind Soloists, “Virtuosi”, dominantSEVEN, and the Fantastic Flutes of the ANU. It also hosts recipients of the H. C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship. The ensembles formed by the School itself include:
- The ANU Big Band
- The ANU Chamber Orchestra
- The ANU Brass Ensemble
- The ANU Flute Ensemble
- The ANU Guitar Ensemble
- The ANU Harp Ensemble
- The ANU Contemporary Music Ensemble
- The ANU Orchestra
- The ANU Recording Ensemble
- The ANU Styles Ensemble
The School also has a large research role, most importantly in the areas of Classical performance, piano, fortepiano and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
performance, jazz performance, composition, musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
– especially Indigenous Australian music
Indigenous Australian music
Australian indigenous music includes the music of Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who are collectively called Indigenous Australians; it incorporates a variety of distinctive traditional music styles practiced by Indigenous Australian peoples, as well as a range of contemporary...
and the music of South-East Asia.
The School of Music also runs a pre-tertiary program for students who study music at primary school and high schools in the Australian Capital Territory. Gifted pre-tertiary music students are able to take single study lessons in various instrumental disciplines, under the supervision of the School's full time teaching staff.
A School of Music Foundation assists the School to continue its projects with students and the community. The Foundation is presently chaired by former Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University, Prof Deane Terrell.
In 2007-2008 the future of the School of Music was under review by the Australian National University.
Location, Grounds and Buildings
The School of Music complex is situated on the south-eastern edge of the Australian National UniversityAustralian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
campus, between the School of Art and University Avenue, bordered on the north-western face by Childers Street. It is also close to the popular landmark and performance space The Street Theatre.
The complex itself consists of four buildings; two of which are demountables. The demountable buildings, which are joined, were installed in the 1990s and house some of the graduate facilities as well as some administration and technical capacity of the Music area and are colloquially known as "The Shed".
The two permanent buildings, the main School of Music Building (SoM building) and the Peter Karmel building are both built in contemporary architectural styles.
School of Music Building
The SoM building currently plays host to the Brass, Composition, Guitar, Musicology, String, Voice and Woodwind departments, the Keyboard Institute, the Music Library, and Llewellyn Hall.The SoM building was designed for the National Capital Development Commission in 1970 by architects Daryl Jackson and Evan Walker. The architectural works of Jackson at this time can be seen to be in parallel with those of noted U.S. architect Paul Rudolph
Paul Rudolph (architect)
Paul Marvin Rudolph was an American architect and the dean of the Yale School of Architecture for six years, known for use of concrete and highly complex floor plans...
, most notably his 1960s interpretations of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's later works.
The following, taken from the Australian National University's Heritage Factsheet on the School of music, provides a physical description of the building and its architectural merits and heritage:
The building is currently heritage listed by;
- Royal Australian Institute of Architects (Ref: R031);
- ACT Heritage Register (Nominated);
- Commonwealth Heritage List (Place ID – 105636);
- National Trust of Australia (ACT) Classification List: Classified.
Refurbishments to the SoM building in 2008 after a storm caused serious damage to the roof have included the complete refurbishment of Llewellyn Hall and an update and redesign of the Musicology and Composition Departments.
Llewellyn Hall
The SoM building houses the Llewellyn Hall, a 1,400-seat concert hall that not only hosts events of the School (including most of the ANU's Graduation Ceremonies), but is also the venue for concerts by the leading musical organisations of the city (including the Canberra Symphony OrchestraCanberra Symphony Orchestra
Canberra Symphony Orchestra is the principal professional orchestra of the Australian Capital Territory based in Canberra, the national capital of Australia....
, Canberra Youth Orchestra, Canberra Choral Society
Canberra Choral Society
The Canberra Choral Society is a symphonic choir in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. It performs regularly with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra...
and The Llewellyn Choir) and the nation (such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appointed Artistic Director....
, and Musica Viva
Musica Viva Australia
Musica Viva Australia is the oldest independent performing arts organisation in Australia and the world's largest entrepreneur of chamber music. It was formed in 1945 in Sydney by violist Richard Goldner...
.
The ACT Government provides Llewellyn Hall $200,000 each year in addition to the ANU's $1.6 million annual funding for outreach programs. The 2010 Loxton Review of the Arts in Canberra recommended that in regards to Llewellyn Hall, "with such significant support, the ACT Government should leverage considerably greater benefits for the ACT arts and public, based more on a sharing arrangement, with extended and more affordable access. If this is not possible, it may be necessary to consider whether ACT public arts funding could be more productively invested in the arts and music elsewhere". The Loxton report also recognized the vital contribution the ANU School of Music provided the ACT public.
The Llewellyn Hall came about directly through the initiative of its namesake, Ernest Llewellyn
Ernest Llewellyn
Ernest Victor Llewellyn CBE was an Australian violinist, concertmaster, violist, conductor and musical administrator. He was the founding director of the Canberra School of Music and he is commemorated in the concert venue there, Llewellyn Hall.-Early career:Ernest Llewellyn was born in Kurri...
, the founding Head of School and instigator of the Canberra School of Music project. Llewellyn's plans, drawn with renowned architect Daryl Jackson
Daryl Jackson
Daryl Sanders Jackson AO is an Australian architect, and the owner of an international architecture firm, Jackson Architecture...
, provided for a large "lecture hall" (with seating for 1,300 people and full audio and lighting facilities), smaller rehearsal spaces, teaching studios and offices.
Peter Karmel Building
An addition to the School of Music is the Peter Karmel Building, opened in 2001. The work of MGT Architects, this building is discretely separate – both in a site planning and architectural manner - to the original building.The Peter Karmel Building was designed as a new freestanding addition to the Canberra School of Music to accommodate numerous practice and performance functions for the School, with specific accommodation of the Jazz and Percussion Departments and the Australian Centre for Arts and Technology (ACAT). The two-storey building forms a new Entry Court to the School of Music complex and provides integrated connections between practice and performance spaces in both the original School and new addition. The façade design commission by artist Marie Hagerty was intended to be an opportunity for the artist to work with the large-scale architectural forms in their three-dimensional landscape setting to create a patterning, ‘marking’, and enlivening of the glazed and solid surfaces of the building's exterior.
The building, named after former ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Karmel
Peter Karmel
Peter Henry Karmel, AC, CBE was an Australian economist and professor.-Biography:Educated at Caulfield Grammar School, the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge where he received a Ph.D., Karmel had served as the Vice-Chancellor of both Flinders University and the Australian...
, was designed and project managed by Guida Mosely Brown Architects in conjunction with commissioned artist Marie Hagerty. It currently houses the Centre for New Media Arts, the Jazz Department and the Percussion Department. It also contains the fourth most important performance space in the ANU campus (after Llewellyn Hall, the Theatre Arts Performance Space and Theatre 1, the Home of Canberra Repertory), the Band Room.