Guests gather to say thank you to Corinne - New England ...

DIRECTOR’S REPORTThis is my thirdweek at NECOM asDirector and I amstill whirling fromso many programsthat constitute itsrich musical life.On my first nightin Armidale I wasamazed by thehigh standard ofchoral singing at the eisteddfod’s ChoirNight. Two days later I was stunned bythe sophisticated student compositionsperformed at the presentationceremony, preceded by a seminar withthe renowned composer Stephen Leek.The next weekend witnessed aural workshopsand the NECOM Cantilena Choirperforming at the Eisteddfod Gala Concert.The following Saturday the stringteachers ran studio concerts. The nextday a French Horn Development programcommenced. On the same day theNECOM Sinfonia performed baroqueworks with stylistic flair in a Fiori MusicaliFundraising Concert. Next weekend willsee the Ensemble Offspring providing acomposition workshop and a concert. ABeginner Strings Program Concert willalso highlight students’ achievements.And all this in a three week period.NECOM’s early childhood music, Choraland Beginner String and Woodwindprograms are flourishing. Fourteen ensembles,carefully designed to maximisechoral and instrumental learning pathways,rehearse weekly, conducted andaccompanied by outstanding professionals.The quality of the instrumentaltuition program teaching is second tonone.A musical revolution of this magnitudecannot take place without a fearlessleader, and I would like to pay tribute toCorinne Arter my predecessor, who hasbuilt an institution which is enhancingthe musical lives of so many people. Astrong Board with Dr Arthur Rickards atthe helm must also be applauded for creatingan organisation of this stature.2 NECOM NEWS JULY 2009So, you may well ask, who is this personto whom the baton has been passed?Let me tell you a little of my background.I was born in Armidale and grew up ona farm north of Guyra. As a classicallytrained pianist and having completedan honours year in music from the Universityof New England I moved to thebig smoke to play in rock, blues and jazzbands and contemporary music ensembles.The best name we had for one ofthese bands was ‘Len’s Contact’ and themost ‘out there’ ensemble was classed asmusic theatre. In the latter I recall pluckingthe strings of a piano and a womansinging a song about domestic violenceto an ironing board while someonestood in a corner cracking raw eggs overhis head.After a few wild years in Sydney I hankeredfor the country and having completeda Dip. Ed. I was appointed to FinleyHigh School. Finley was a Countryand Western singing, sport dominatedtown amidst rice farms which drew theirvast water needs from the ever diminishingMurray River. My first rude awakeningcame when it was apparent thatmusic was not given the same status asany other subject. This soon changed,and when the number of participants inthe Finley and District Youth Orchestraexceeded the number of members ofthe combined local football teams it wastime to move on.I spent the next five years as a MusicConsultant K-12 for the Riverina Regionwhich reached from Lake Mungo in thenorth to the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.My second awakening came as I experiencedfirst hand the lack of systemicsupport, teachers ill-equipped to teachmusic, and the tyranny of distance.These understandings shaped mynext phase of work in the NSW PerformingArts Unit firstly as Programs Manageroverseeing state programs. Then overnightin a departmental restructuring,regional arts education programs hadbeen somehow forgotten. I was taskedwith developing a state-wide structureto reinstate them. Ten Creative ArtsCouncils and generic systems of fundingwere established resulting in unprecedentedlevels of student and teacherparticipation.I decided to take a break from thearts world and after completing an MAin Public Policy I accepted a position inAfghanistan as Policy and Planning Advisorto the Coordination of HumanitarianAssistance (CHA). Twenty three yearsof civil war had wreaked its havoc andKabul, once ‘the Paris of the East’, hadbeen reduced to rubble. Nothing hadprepared me for the despairing eyes ofparents unable to provide for their children.Not much music here. The Talibanhad banned it during their insane rule.CHA provided health, education andagricultural services to over 3 millionpeople. I worked with my Afghan colleaguesto develop policies for all sectorsand facilitated a five year strategicplan which is still being implementedtoday.On my return I worked as a SolutionsBroker for the federal government inthe Barkly Region, Northern Territory. Ahighlight during this time was the establishmentof the Winanjjikari Music Centreto meet a community identified needfor a safe place for disengaged youngIndigenous males to play music, undertakecertificated courses and to performand record their own music.Next I moved to Darwin to work for anational company ‘Outback Stores’ establishedto provide food security forIndigenous communities. As WellbeingManager on the Senior Executive team,my focus was to ensure that the imperativefor the economic sustainability ofstores didn’t overshadow the company’smission to make a positive difference tothe health of remote Indigenous Australians.During these adventures music wasnever far away from my psyche andwhen the position for Director of NECOMcame on the radar, the time was right toreturn, not only to the arts world butalso to the home of my birth and family.I believe the New England Conservatoriumof Music is poised for its nextexciting phase of development. Thewelcomed announcement of additionalfunding for the Regional Conservatoriumswill help to underpin this new phase.However, what form this takes will onlybe determined after consultation withkey stakeholders. I look forward to workingclosely with the NECOM board, staffand the New England community on afive year strategic plan to pave the wayforward.As I sit at my desk in this magnificentold building I can hear exquisite melodiesfrom the New England Singers rehearsingnext door. In the office, HeatherPavel is busily preparing music for theJunior Orchestra Workshop and FaewynGoyen is systemising the instrumentalhire program while answering endlesscalls. This is indeed a thriving institutionwhich I am privileged to be part of.Julie Croft