Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Encyclopedia
History
The Conservatorium opened its doors on 18 February, 1957 and was initially based at the former South Brisbane Town HallSouth Brisbane Town Hall
The Old South Brisbane Town Hall is the heritage-listed town hall of the Borough of South Brisbane, later the City of South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
; its director during the first two years was the English composer William Lovelock
William Lovelock
William Lovelock was an English classical composer and pedagogue who spent many years in Australia. He was the first Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, and later became the chief music critic for The Courier-Mail newspaper.He is not to be confused with the...
. The conservatorium moved into the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
(QUT) in 1975 and subsequently into its present location in 1996.
The Queensland Conservatorium remained an independent tertiary institution until its amalgamation with Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
during the late 1980s, when the Dawkins Reforms
Dawkins Revolution
The Dawkins Revolution was a series of Australian tertiary education reforms instituted by the then Labor Education Minister John Dawkins....
were introduced. In 1996, as part of the amalgamation, the Conservatorium moved to its present location at the South Bank Parklands, and was then renamed as Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. The institution is affectionately known as "The Con" to students. In 1999, the Conservatorium launched its Bachelor of Popular Music program and from 2000 this course has been taught from an information technology facility in the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University. In 2003, The Conservatorium Research Centre was opened as part of the 30 innovative research centres in the University. The Research Centre aims to investigate the dynamics of contemporary musical environments and is headed by Professor Huib Schippers as its director.
Facilities
Facilities include the Conservatorium Theatre—also used for smaller productions by Opera QueenslandOpera Queensland
Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981, then under the name Lyric Opera of Queensland, after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in December 1980.It is after Opera Australia the second...
— which seats a maximum of 727 and has one of the highest fly towers in Australia, the Ian Hangar Recital Hall which seats 200 and the Basil Jones Orchestra Hall. There are also music production, post production, multimedia lab and recording facilities both in the South Bank and Gold Coast Campuses.
The Queensland Conservatorium also includes the Young Conservatorium, an external, classical based music program for pre-schoolers to year 12 students run by Ralph Hultgren
Ralph Hultgren
Ralph Hultgren is an Australian trumpet player and composer.-Personal life:Hultgren was born in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia....
, head of pre-tertiary studies. In the past 12 months the "Young Con" has engaged more than 1500 students in performances.
In 2007 the Conservatorium celebrated its 50 year anniversary with alumni reunions and visiting artists from around the world.
The current Director is Professor Huib Schippers who graduated with a PhD from the University of Amsterdam.
Notable staff
- Margreta ElkinsMargreta ElkinsMargreta Elkins AM was an Australian mezzo-soprano of great renown. She sang at Covent Garden and with Opera Australia and other companies, but turned down offers to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth and Glyndebourne...
- Ralph HultgrenRalph HultgrenRalph Hultgren is an Australian trumpet player and composer.-Personal life:Hultgren was born in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia....
- Carmel KaineCarmel KaineCarmel Kaine is an Australian classical violinist.She was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium, graduating at the age of seventeen with the prize for the most outstanding student. As a 19-year old, Kaine spent a year as a member of the South...
- Stephen LeekStephen LeekStephen Leek is an Australian composer, conductor, educator, and publisher.-Early life:Leek was born in Sydney, Australia in 1959, lived in Brisbane from 1964 through 1969, and then spent the rest of his childhood in Canberra...
- Peter MussonPeter MussonPeter Musson : is former principal Bassoonist in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and former Senior Lecturer in Bassoon at the Queensland Conservatorium and is a soloist and member of chamber music ensembles.-Background:...
- Max Olding
- Larry SitskyLarry SitskyLazar Sitsky AM, usually referred to as Larry Sitsky, born 10 September 1934, is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar...
- Donald Smith, father of Robin Donald
- Carl VineCarl VineCarl Vine is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music.-Career:Vine was born in Perth, Western Australia. When he was ten years old, he took up the piano. An adolescent encounter with Karlheinz Stockhausen inspired a period as a teenage modernist, a direction which he abandoned in 1985...
- Nancy WeirNancy WeirNancy Mary Weir was an Australian pianist and teacher.-Biography:Nancy was born in Kew, Melbourne on 13 July 1915. Her father was a publican who ran a small hotel in Lockhart, near Wagga Wagga, and Nancy grew up "behind the bar" as she said. She studied piano with Ada Corder in Melbourne...
- John Willison
- Christopher WrenchChristopher WrenchChristopher Wrench is a renowned organist and lecturer.- Education :Wrench attended Brisbane Grammar School, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and undertook postgraduate studies in Vienna at the Vienna Conservatorium and then at the Hochschule für Musik .- Awards :Wrench has gained...
Alumni
Notable students who attended the Queensland Conservatorium of Music are:- Daniel AmalmDaniel AmalmDaniel Amalm is an Australian actor and musician.-Early life:Daniel's mother is Maltese and his father is Swedish. Daniel's Father introduced Daniel to Guitar from an early age...
- Jason Barry-SmithJason Barry-SmithJason Barry-Smith is an Australian operatic baritone, vocal coach, composer and arranger. He works with organisations such as Opera Queensland, The Queensland Orchestra, Seven Network, and the Queensland Youth Choir.- Education :...
- Jeffrey BlackJeffrey BlackJeffrey Black , is an internationally acclaimed opera singer. He studied singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and appeared in many of the operas staged by the Conservatorium students and post-graduate students, including appearing in the role of "Figaro", as a First year Opera...
- Rob Black
- Ray ChenRay ChenRay Chen is a Taiwanese-Australian violinist. He was the first prize winner in the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.-Biography:...
- Gerry ConnollyGerry Connolly (comedian)Gerard William "Gerry" Connolly is an Australian comedian, actor, impressionist and pianist. He is best known for his satirical caricatures of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Bill Collins and Dame Joan...
- Sarah CraneSarah CraneSarah Crane is an Australian operatic soprano.-Education:After attending All Hallows' School in Brisbane, Sarah Crane graduated in 1997 from the Queensland Conservatorioum of Music and received the Brisbane Lord Mayor's Performing Arts Fellowship...
- Tyson Illingworth (known as TyDiTyDityDi is an Australian DJ and producer. He is currently listed as Australia's #2 DJ, losing out in 2010 to Aston Shuffle after holding the #1 spot for the previous two years.-Biography:...
) - Brett DeanBrett DeanBrett Dean is a contemporary Australian composer, violist and conductor.-Career:Dean studied at the Queensland Conservatorium where he received a Medal of Excellence. From 1985 to 1999, Dean was a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000, he decided to pursue a career as a freelance...
- Candy DevineCandy DevineCandy Devine is an Australian born broadcaster, singer, and actress. Her real name is Faye McLeod . She is presently a radio broadcaster and singer in Northern Ireland, and lives in Belfast with her husband, Donald McLeod....
- Robin DonaldRobin DonaldRobin Donald Smith , who appeared professionally as Robin Donald, is an Australian operatic tenor. He performed leading roles in opera houses in Britain, Europe and Australia....
, son of Donald Smith - Helen DonaldsonHelen DonaldsonHelen Donaldson is an Australian opera singer best-known for her performances of the heroines in Gilbert and Sullivan operas.-Biography:...
- Lisa GasteenLisa GasteenLisa Kinkead Gasteen AO , is an internationally acclaimed Australian operatic soprano, renowned for her performances of the works of Wagner. She won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1991...
- the Gormley sisters (Miriam and Clare)
- Graeme Jennings
- Kanon (singer)Kanon (singer)Kanon is a Japanese singer and song-writer born in Tokyo, Japan on March 9, 1980. She is signed to Sony Music Japan International.Her latest mini album, My Road ~ Songs for Guin Saga was released on August 26, 2009. Her fifth album planned to be released on March 31, 2011 as she stated on her blog....
- Lynette LanciniLynette LanciniLynette Lancini, born Lismore, 23 June 1970, is an Australian composer of a variety of works including orchestral, chamber, piano and vocal music.-Life:Lynette Lancini studied music at the Queensland Conservatorium and University of Queensland...
- Piers LanePiers LanePiers Lane is an Australian classical pianist. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works.- Early life :...
- Tahu MathesonTahu MathesonTahu John Parke Matheson is an Australian classical pianist and conductor. He was born in London, but grew up in Australia. He currently resides in London.- Piano :...
- Kate Miller-HeidkeKate Miller-HeidkeKate Miller-Heidke is a singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. Although classically trained, she has followed a career in alternative pop music. She is signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK.-Career:...
- Katie NoonanKatie NoonanKatie Anne Noonan is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she sings in the groups george and Elixir, duets with her mother, Maggie Noonan and is currently playing with support from the group The...
- Barnaby RalphBarnaby RalphBarnaby Ralph is a professional virtuoso recorder player. He studied with a number of teachers, including Rosalind Kelly and John Martin in Australia and Hans Maria Kneihs in Vienna. In 2000, he was awarded the Postgraduate Association Medal of Excellence as the top Masters graduate of the...
- John Rodgers (musician)John Rodgers (musician)John Rodgers is a Brisbane-based Australian composer, improviser, violinist, pianist and guitarist.Rodgers had an early background in classical music. He was the leader of the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Queensland Theatre Orchestra, and the Hunter Orchestra. With these and other orchestras, he...
- Barry SinghBarry SinghBarry Singh is the artistic director and conductor of the Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra. The story of his journey from a banana plantation in the Murwillumbah Hinterland to the Queensland Conservatorium and to the establishment of the premier orchestra for the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers...
- Megan WashingtonMegan Washington-Studio albums:-Extended plays:-Singles:-External links:* *...
- Jonathon WelchJonathon WelchJonathon Welch is a choral conductor and singer from Melbourne, Australia.Welch was the 2008 winner of the Australian Local Hero Awardin recognition of his work with The Choir of Hard Knocks, a choir made up of homeless and disadvantaged singers from Melbourne...
- Christopher WrenchChristopher WrenchChristopher Wrench is a renowned organist and lecturer.- Education :Wrench attended Brisbane Grammar School, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and undertook postgraduate studies in Vienna at the Vienna Conservatorium and then at the Hochschule für Musik .- Awards :Wrench has gained...
APRA Classical Music Awards
The APRA Classical Music AwardsAPRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) and Australian Music Centre
Australian Music Centre
The Australian Music Centre fosters the development of an Australian music community by providing specialist support to its membership of performers, composers, sound artists, educators, students, and music specialists across Australia and throughout the world.The AMC is the Australian national...
(AMC).
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| 2006
APRA Awards of 2006
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2006 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 5 June at the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel, they were presented by APRA and the...
|| Encounters: Meetings in Australian Music program – curated by Vincent Plush – Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
|| Outstanding Contribution by an Organisation ||