Queensland Conservatorium Research Articles

The 8th SIMM-posium (Social Impact of Music Making)

Social Impact of Music Making 8th SIMM-posium, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University 20-22 November 2023, Australia

TEACHING TERTIARY MUSIC IN THE #METOO ERA

AbstractOver the past two decades significant changes in approaches to gender equity have taken place in the fields of contemporary music and music research. However, women in music are still disadvantaged in terms of income, inclusion and professional opportunities. In Australia a national approach to improving gender equity in music has begun to emerge as once-controversial strategies trialled by four tertiary institutions have become established practices. This article discusses successful inclusion strategies for women in music, including the commitment to gender-balanced programming across all concerts at Queensland Conservatorium of Music by 2025, the introduction of mandatory quotas in recital programmes at Monash University, mentoring programmes for women composers at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and the development of coursework devoted to women in music at The University of Western Australia, as well as other initiatives that have emerged from them, both within and beyond the institution. Each approach is examined in the context of broader global discussions around gender and feminism. The public willingness to engage in discussions over sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination in the workplace that has resulted from the #MeToo movement is cited as key in influencing the engagement of students and professionals with these strategies and subsequent influence on performance practices, project development and presentational formats in new music.

Beyond a Doctorate of Musical Arts: Experiences of its impacts on professional life

There is much dialogue in the academy about the role of doctoral studies in relation to employment, career trajectories and graduate outcomes. This project explores the experiences of Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) graduates and students at the Queensland Conservatorium in Australia to reveal how the programme has impacted upon their professional activities, while also addressing assumptions promulgated through the literature on artistic practice and research education. The paper presents emergent themes and concludes by offering insights into artistic research in music more broadly.

The South Brisbane Municipal Chambers

During its 125-year history, the South Brisbane Municipal Chambers (Old Town Hall) has had numerous custodians and functions. Designed as a prominent landmark directly across the Brisbane River from the Queensland Parliament building, its ornate architectural features make it a unique example of late colonial extravagance. With the absorption of the City of South Brisbane into the greater Brisbane City Council in 1925, the building lost its original purpose, but was subsequently deployed in various ways. After serving as a Council Works Depot, it became the headquarters of the US armed forces Military Police during World War II, and was then converted into post-war residential flats for government engineers and architects. Since the late 1950s, ‘The Chambers’ has been an educational and cultural centre, initially as the first campus of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, then as a centre for adult learning, and finally now in its completely refurbished form as part of the girls’ school Somerville House. This ‘building biography’ traces the various phases of this iconic landmark from the viewpoint of those who worked, lived or studied there, and also provides insights into its social context within the South Brisbane community.

Jazz Culture in the North: A Comparative Study of Regional Jazz Communities in Cairns and Mackay, North Queensland

Jazz Culture in the North: A Comparative Study of Regional Jazz Communities in Cairns and Mackay, North Queensland

Enhancing intercultural engagement through service learning and music making with Indigenous communities in Australia

This article explores the potential for music making activities such as jamming, song writing, and performance to act as a medium for intercultural connection and relationship building during service learning programs with Indigenous communities in Australia. To set the context, the paper begins with an overview of current international perspectives on service learning and then moves towards a theoretical and practical discussion of how these processes, politics, and learning outcomes arise when intercultural engagement is used in service learning programs. The paper then extends this discussion to consider the ways in which shared music making can bring a sense of intercultural “proximity” that has the potential to evoke deep learning experiences for all involved in the service learning activity. These learning experiences arise from three different “facings” in the process of making music together: facing others together; facing each other; facing ourselves. In order to flesh out how these theoretical ideas work in practice, the article draws on insights and data from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s award winning Winanjjikari Service Learning Program, which has been running in partnership with Barkly Regional Arts and Winanjjikari Music Centre in Tennant Creek since 2009. This program involves annual service learning trips where university music students travel to Central Australia to work alongside Aboriginal and non-Indigenous musicians and artists on a range of community-led projects. By looking at the ways in which shared music making brings participants in this program “face to face”, we explore how this proximity leads to powerful learning experiences that foster mutual appreciation, relationship building, and intercultural reconciliation.

Subversive Climes: Exploring the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes

Name: Bethany Shepherd Main Subject: Early Music Singing Research Supervisor: Charles Toet Title of Research: Subversive Climes: Exploring the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes Research Question: What is the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes? Summary of Results: Exoticism in Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les Indes Galantes has three primary functions. By setting the plots of the four independent entrées in real but geographically distant cultures, the librettist Louis Fuzelier was able to introduce new spectacles to the operatic stage, providing novelty for audiences jaded by the tradition of entertainment based on gods and mythology. This dramatic development in turn provided Rameau with the opportunity to manipulate and extend the musical conventions of the time in order to create a style of expression appropriate to depict these exotic characters and locales. A deeper understanding of the context in which Rameau and Fuzelier created this work was has further revealed that the libretto and Rameau’s musical depiction of the characters in Les Incas du Pérou and Les Sauvages reflect the practice in early Enlightenment literary and philosophical cirlces of idealising exotic cultures to criticise eighteenth century French society. These conclusions offer modern performers a wider range of interpretive options when approaching this work, allowing for a more nuanced performance which brings together the elements of drama, music, philosophy and entertainment in a cohesive manner. Biography: Australian soprano Bethany Shepherd studied Classical Singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, under renowned Wagnerian soprano Lisa Gasteen. After obtaining a Bachelor degree with distinction in Australia, Bethany moved to The Netherlands to undertake studies in Early Music at the Koninklijk Conservatorium. She is currently completing a Master of Early Music Singing, studying with Rita Dams, Jill Feldman, Peter Kooij, Michael Chance and Pascal Bertin.

South Brisbane's Cultural Hub

Entering Brisbane's South Bank from the Victoria Bridge, we walk past the concrete 1980s Queensland Performing Arts Complex, the brick Queensland Conservatorium and the modern, glass-fronted ABC Broadcasting buildings, then past assorted cafes and pseudo-beaches until reaching the Ship Inn. Here, we enter an enclave of mid- to late-nineteenth-century architectural gems, surrounding and focusing on the small but tranquil South Brisbane Memorial Park (1923). Opposite the Ship Inn (1865), Cumbooquepa (1891) and South Brisbane Town Hall (1891–92), and adjoining the Maritime Museum (1881), at the eastern edge of South Bank Parklands stands a magnificent old building now known as the Griffith Film School. This building has been the cultural hub of South Brisbane for 130 years, and provides a stylish, heritage ‘bookend’ to today's South Bank Cultural and Educational Precinct.

Reforming a Bachelor of Music programme: A case study

In 2010, the authors conducted a formal review of the Queensland Conservatorium’s Bachelor of Music programme to determine to what extent the programme prepared graduates for professional life in the 21st century. The process was informed by comprehensive performance indicator data and substantial feedback from staff, students, and other stakeholders. Information was collected through meetings with staff and students, student evaluations, graduate surveys, and feedback from the music industry, along with benchmarking with other Australian and International tertiary music institutions. The review found that teachers at the Conservatorium were committed to striving for excellence yet strong criticism was made of the existing programme’s perceived limitations in preparing students for their likely futures. Following extensive consultation, consensus reflecting the review recommendations was reached, resulting in a new Bachelor of Music programme design. This article reports on the process undertaken and the major changes that are now being implemented.

Analysing the effects of an industry-based jazz education performance training programme on the development of adjunct-professional skills

Since 2002, The Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM) has maintained a partnership with Hamilton Island Enterprises (HIE). Within this partnership the Bachelor of Music (Jazz & Popular) students visit Hamilton Island (HI), an island resort located off the Australian east coast, 4–6 times annually to engage in 3–10 days of performance and educational activities. During each visit, students within the degree present daily performances in the HI's entertainment zones. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the CQCM/HIE partnership on the development of students' adjunct professional skills, working with band equipment, time management in the set-up process and interacting with venue management.

Beyond the Ivory Tower - Higher Education Institutions as Cultural Resource: Case Study of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music

This paper focuses on the interface between higher education and the arts, in particular the role of the music school or conservatorium as a cultural resource. The genesis of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music leading to its establishment in 1957 in Brisbane, Australia, and its subsequent development to the early 1990s, is used as a case study. Perceptions of cultural cringe, both in respect to the northern hemisphere and also the southern Australian states, have been lively discussion points in Queensland’s artistic development for many years. The foundation of the Queensland Conservatorium was therefore viewed as a cultural emblem of mature statehood, and threats to its survival have been debated in this light. The unique socio-political dynamics of the state, whose capital city Brisbane is far removed from regional centres, also play into any study of Queensland’s artistic development. The conservatorium’s cultural value in contributing to society as a talent pool, incubator of original work, and as an arts centre, is examined. Evidence that the relationship between academia and the broader arts community can be both symbiotic and ambivalent is also presented, largely through analysis of the mass print media, where much of the early history of Queensland Conservatorium is documented.

The Power of Persistence

The establishment of higher education institutions in Australia is normally an initiative of government. However, in the case of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, the journey towards establishment was delayed continually by a government that was either unable or unwilling to accede to the increasingly vociferous demands of its musically minded constituents. The long and tortuous journey towards its opening in 1957 was characterised by the dogged persistence of numerous individuals, who today might be termed lobbyists. Without their collective efforts, the institution’s arrival might have been delayed even longer than the half-century that elapsed between the first suggestion of Queensland having a premier music school and that concept being realised. Themes of cultural deprivation amounting to a ‘state’s rights’ catch-cry figure strongly in the Conservatorium’s story. It also became a socio-political issue as families sent their musically talented children to study at conservatoria in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or overseas. The stream of agitators for a Queensland conservatorium provides an interesting snapshot of the state’s musical community during the early twentieth century. This article discusses the ‘power of persistence’ by a several musical advocates — some of them were well-known community leaders, while the contributions of others have faded from public memory, but were no less significant.

Exploring an industry-based jazz education performance training programme

The Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM) has maintained a partnership with Hamilton Island Enterprises (HIE) since 2002. As a part of this partnership, the Bachelor of Music (jazz & popular) students visit Hamilton Island (HI), an island resort located off the Australian east coast, four to six times annually to engage in 3 to 10 days of performance and educational activities. During each visit, students within the degree present daily performances in the HI’s many bars, restaurants and entertainment areas. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of the CQCM/HIE partnership on student learning in respect to the development of specific performance skills, including presenting confidently, reading audience responses, being aware of fellow band members and adapting to the requirements of each venue. The findings indicate that as experiential knowledge is developed in each of the areas investigated, there is value to the CQCM/ HIE partnership as an off-campus performance training programme.

Musical politics of empire: the loa in 18th-century Manila

Journal Article Musical politics of empire: the loa in 18th-century Manila Get access David Irving David Irving David Irving holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium and the University of Queensland, and has been a violinist in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra since 2001. He will shortly commence doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume 32, Issue 3, August 2004, Pages 383–402, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/32.3.383 Published: 01 August 2004

Animation Dances with Percussion: Sound and Vision Interlocked in Australia

A s part of the larger Queensland's Jammin' Festival of music, a number of interdisciplinary works were staged in May at the Arbour Wall, a thirty-foot outside wall of the Queensland College of Art (QCA) Gallery at its relatively new campus on the river at Brisbane's Southbank. Percussion students from the Queensland Conservatorium are merely metres down the road from the QCA campus. Both colleges are now parts of Griffith University, traditionally noted for encouraging interdisciplinary experimentation in its curricula. To set the scene, the improvisation Arpeggio aimed to reflect and comment on the immediate environment of river environment. Brisbane's Southbank is similar to the generic dream emanating from the Parisian Leftbank or perhaps the London Southbank arts mecca. The atmosphere is leisure, pleasure, culture, and entertainment in all forms, within a tropical paradise nestled amongst landscaped palms and frangipanis. Tanned swimmers dive from shimmery white sands into impossibly free blue pools, an incongruous foreground for the north shore skyscraper backdrop. A multicultural array of restaurants and galleries reside on the river boardwalks and surrounding streets. On the north end, Southbank is comprised of various cultural buildings: the Queensland State Library, the site, pending construction, of the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, the Queensland Art Gallery itself (home to the Asia Pacific Triennial), and a mutiplex of theatres called the Cultural Centre of Performing Arts. Most of the designs exhibit the cool minimalism of International-style architect Robyn Gibson. The new gallery's plan introduces a contrast with more peculiarly localised Brisbane flavor of shady overhangs and verandahs, pertinent to the summer swelter. ARCHITECTUS + DAVENPORT CAMPBELL are the selected architectural team, which features the design partnership of Queenlanders Lindsay and Kerry Clare for the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/qgma /default.htm).

Acoustical design of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music

The auditorium of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music was planned for both classical music concerts and lyric performances in the newly constructed conservatorium in the Southbank of Brisbane, Australia. The retractable orchestra shell is moved forward to the proscenium on the stage, and forms a shoebox style concert space with 643 seats. Small doors are installed on the orchestra shell for acoustical fine tuning in the stage space. Absorptive materials appear when the doors are opened. In lyric performances, the orchestra shell is retracted backward. The frontal area of the stage floor is sunk as an orchestra pit. The reverberation time becomes short, from 2.0 to 1.6 s, with retracting the orchestra shell, and varies by 0.3 s with acoustic curtains on the audience side walls for both concert and lyric use. The acoustical design and characteristics of the auditorium and players’ preference on the acoustical tuning elements are reported in this paper.