UWA Conservatorium of Music

Last updated

UWA Conservatorium of Music
UWA Conservatorium of Music West 2020-02-03.jpg
The Conservatorium of Music, viewed from the grassy knoll in the northwest
Former names
UWA School of Music; UWA Department of Music
Established1959
Affiliation University of Western Australia
HeadProfessor Alan Lourens
Location
Perth
,
Western Australia
,
Australia
Website http://www.music.uwa.edu.au/

The UWA Conservatorium of Music is a teaching and research school offering undergraduate and postgraduate study in music at the University of Western Australia. It is located at the north-east corner of the Crawley campus and teaches predominately Classical music, with focus in the undergraduate curriculum on performance, as well as overall strength in musicology, composition and electronic music. In 2016, UWA entered the top 100 "Performing Arts" institutions in the world, and in 2017 and 2018 the School improved its ranking to enter the top 50 in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings. [1] The Conservatorium is also well regarded in research. Under the research code "19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing", the Conservatorium was rated as "4 - Above World Standard" by the Australian Research Council [2] in 2018. Previously, the name of the organisation has been the UWA Department of Music, and the UWA School of Music.

Contents

Looking towards the UWA Conservatorium of Music from the east UWAMusicSchool2.jpg
Looking towards the UWA Conservatorium of Music from the east

History

The Conservatorium started life as part of the education faculty under the foundation Professor Sir Frank Callaway. It was the fourth Australian university to establish courses in music (after Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney). [3] The first graduates to include a significant study of music in their degrees were two Music Education students in 1957. This followed shortly thereafter with the appointment of Frank Callaway as the foundation professor, concurrently with the establishment of the department of music in 1959.

First graduates followed in 1960 (one being the noted composer Jennifer Fowler) with a BA in music, and the first graduates from the Bachelor of Music degree emerged in 1965. The first students to graduate with post-graduate qualifications emerged in 1971, and the late seventies saw the beginning of the Bachelor of Music Education - the department now having come full circle from its roots. [4]

In 1991, the Department of Music became a School in its own right, as part of the change of structure across the university that reduced the number of faculties. [5] On 1 November 2017, the School was officially renamed the UWA Conservatorium of Music. [6]

Faculty

The UWA Conservatorium of Music has several notable members of staff in the fields of Musicology, Performance and Composition such as Dr David Symons, Dr Chris Tonkin, [7] Dr Suzie Wijsman, [8] and Graeme Gilling. [9]

In January 2012, Professor Alan Lourens was appointed Head of the School of Music. [10] [11] Appointments since 2013 have included Dr Ashley William Smith as Chair of Woodwinds and Contemporary Performance, and Dr Andrew Foote [12] as Chair of Voice.

Dr Cecilia Sun, a Fulbright scholar and protégé of Malcolm Bilson, joined the faculty in 2017 as a musicologist and performance specialist. Dr Sun, together with concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Shaun Lee-Chen and celebrated vocalist Sara Macliver, founded the school’s Irwin Street Collective. [13]

Noted composer James Ledger, appointed as a fractional full-time staff member in 2005, has increased his involvement with the school to be full-time by 2018.

In 2018, Dr Sarah Collins joined the faculty and was subsequently appointed Chair of Musicology, while Dr Paul de Cinque joined as Chair of Brass in 2019.

Dr Adam Pinto, pianist, composer and well known for his research on Roger Smalley, joined the faculty as full-time staff in 2022.

In 2020, principal percussionist with a partner Western Australian Symphony Orchestra Brian Maloney became Chair of Percussion. His WASO colleagues assistant concertmaster Semra Lee, principal timpanist Alex Timpke and others teach performance students.

Former faculty include Emeritus Professor Dr Geoffrey Lancaster AM FAHA, composer Emeritus Professor Dr Roger Smalley AM FAHA, musicologist Emeritus Professor Dr David Tunley AM FAHA, Winthrop Professor Jane W Davidson, John Exton, [14] Winthrop Professor Paul Wright, [15] Berian Evans [16] and Mark Coughlan. [17] Foundation Professor Sir Frank Callaway was a leading figure in Music Education in Australia, and a former President of the International Society for Music Education. [18]

Ensembles

The conservatorium has a number of important performing ensembles. The UWA Orchestra [19] [20] is one of Australia's notable student ensembles, [21] with the Winthrop Singers and the Symphonic Choir [22] offering students the opportunity to sing in chamber and large choirs. A recently re-established UWA Wind Orchestra has performed regularly across campus. The UWA Big Band [23] is an occasional ensemble formed for special events. Of note is the recent establishment of broadenening ensembles for students whose major is not music. These ensembles range from the skilled (for students with previous musical training) to the unskilled (for those who have no experience with music). [24]

As a signatory to the constitution of the Australian Music Education Board (AMEB), the Head of Keyboard Studies, Graeme Gilling, and Head of School Prof. Alan Lourens have held a seat on the AMEB Federal Board. [25]

In 2012 the Conservatorium formalised its relationship with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, with whom it has a unique tertiary partnership, which has seen UWA students performing with WASO, as well as workshops and masterclasses by WASO members and soloists on campus. This is an interesting "closing of the loop", with WASO having given very many performances (as the Perth Symphony Orchestra) on campus in Winthrop Hall in the early days of the orchestra, and in the period between 1967 and 1973 while the Perth Concert Hall was being built. [26]

In 2017, The West Australian Opera and the UWA School of Music signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding to engage in joint masterclasses, and allow UWA students to learn from the best professionals in workshops and performances. [27] In 2021, they jointly mounted a production of Mendelssohn's Elijah in Winthrop Hall at UWA. [28]

Honorary Research Fellows include composers Iain Grandage, [29] early music specialist and administrator Emeritus Professor Margaret Seares Guitarist Craig Ogden, [30] the soprano Sara Macliver and organist and choral director Joseph Nolan [31] [32]

Undergraduate courses

Students rehearsing in the Eileen Joyce Studio. Note the collection of historical and notable keyboard instruments behind them. UWAEileenJoyce.jpg
Students rehearsing in the Eileen Joyce Studio. Note the collection of historical and notable keyboard instruments behind them.

In 2012, UWA adopted a new set of standard degrees, similar to other universities in Australia who have been examining the "Melbourne Model" [33] This requires students to take at least one major, and other related areas. In line with this model, there are six modes of study for Music at UWA. [34]

  1. The First Major in Music gives students the ability to take Music Studies, including one-on-one tuition on their instrument (or composition) for a year. Normally, students will pick up another major (often Engineering Studies, Languages or Sciences) in other parts of the university. If music is taken as a first major, the degree awarded will be a BA.
  2. The Bachelor of Music degree was re-introduced for 2021. This is a Double Major in Music, and replaces the BA Dual Major in which students took Music Studies and Specialist Music Studies as their two majors. It is a performance intensive course that can also be taken composition, musicology or studio pedagogy. It is also available for students in Creative Music Technology. An audition/interview for the BMus is required. [35]
  3. Introduced in 2018, Music General Studies is designed for students with considerable music experience, who don't wish to pursue the full performance major. It is designed to be taken as a second major, and allows students to take performance units. Students in this major will take 4 units in performance, but will receive only 6 hours of one-on-one tuition on their instrument per semester. However, students make take this major in jazz and non-classical instruments. An audition is required for entry to this major. The degree awarded will be the area in which the major belongs. So, for example if English is the first major, a BA will be awarded; if Physics a BSci, or if economics a BBus or BComm.
  4. Also introduced in 2018, the Electronic Music and Sound Design major can be taken as a degree specific (1st) major or a 2nd major. It focuses on the use of technology and artistic medium, and can accommodate students who have a very high level of existing musical experience, or students who have no previous musical experience. No audition is required for this major.
  5. Introduced in 2024, a major in Contemporary Popular Music was introduced within the Bachelor of Arts. Normally taken in performance, the major requires an audition. [36]
  6. The Broadening units in Music are designed to give all students on campus a musical experience if they wish and are qualified to do so. Broadening units include performance options such as large ensemble in both auditioned (Orchestra, Wind Orchestra and Winthrop Singers) and non-auditioned (Show choir, Percussion ensemble) form. The non-auditioned ensembles give students who have no musical experience at all the opportunity to perform music. Also offered as Broadening units are academic studies such as History, Music Language, and Music and Science units.

In 2011, James Ledger's (member of the music faculty) work Chronicles was voted as a "Classical Masterpiece", and the best Australian Masterpiece since 2000. In 2016, The UWA Conservatorium of Music was ranked in the top 100 "Performing Arts" institutions in the world, and ranked number 1 in Australia, by the QS Top Universities Guide. [1] In 2017, the conservatorium increased its ranking to 33rd in the world.

Entry

Entry to the UWA Conservatorium of Music is a two-stage process that requires both an audition for the school, and admission to the university. Auditions are held towards the end of the year, and require students to undertake both performance and aural activities. [37]

Admission to the university usually requires an ATAR of 75 or more. [38] UWA does, however, offer many points of access, and non-standard admission to the university is not unusual. [39] [40]

Post graduate degrees

The UWA Conservatorium of Music graduated its first postgraduate student in 1967, and its first PhD student in 1971. [41] Currently, the School offers the following postgraduate qualifications:

Music buildings

Callaway Auditorium with the seating fully extended UWACallawayAuditorium.jpg
Callaway Auditorium with the seating fully extended

Located on the North Eastern corner of the Crawley campus, the Conservatorium of Music overlooks the Swan River. The current buildings were opened in 1978. In a contemporary report discussing the large number of towering pine trees in the adjacent outdoor auditorium, the architects noted "the retention of the present special qualities of Sommerville Auditorium and its unique character is considered a priority in the total solution". [42] The most recent work (2012) has been the addition of a large elevator on the northern edge.

Within the School there are a number of specialist facilities. The Music Library, housed in the Reid Library, is one of the leading academic music collections in Australia. The Eileen Joyce studio, dedicated to the memory of one of Australia's great pianists, houses a significant collection of antique and current keyboard instruments, and is regularly used for chamber music performances. It received a considerable upgrade to the facility as part of the repair process following devastating storms in March, 2010. [43]

The Callaway auditorium, dedicated to the foundation Professor of Music, is an oft-used small concert venue, and houses most of the large-scale lectures. The Tunley Lecture Theatre, named for a former long-serving faculty member and Head of School, is a small lecture theatre. In 2012, both the Callaway Auditorium and the Tunley Lecture Theatre received upgraded IT infrastructure to allow for lecture control from the podium, and the digital recording and broadcasting of lectures and performances.

Notable alumni

APRA AMCOS Art Music Award winners

Winners and nominees of APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards who are UWA Alumni or faculty

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Western Australia</span> University in Perth, Western Australia

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UWA was established in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane School of Music</span>

The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elder Conservatorium of Music</span> Australian conservatorium of music


The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883, it has a history in professional training for musical performance, musical composition, research in all fields of music, and music education. The Elder Conservatorium of Music and its forerunners have been parts of the University of Adelaide since the early 1880s. The current Director is Professor Anna Goldsworthy.

John Roger Smalley was an Anglo-Australian composer, pianist and conductor. Professor Smalley was a senior honorary research fellow at the School of Music, University of Western Australia in Perth and honorary research associate at the University of Sydney.

Carl Edward Vine, is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservatorium High School</span> School in Sydney, Australia

The Conservatorium High School is a public government-funded, co-educational, selective, secondary day school that specialises in music education. It lies on the western edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, off Macquarie Street, in Sydney's CBD.

Damien Ricketson is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music. He is best known for his innovative compositional practice and in his capacity as the co-founder and co-artistic director of Ensemble Offspring. He is currently an academic at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney of which he is also an alumnus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lovelock</span> English classical composer and pedagogue

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 while developing an independent career as a composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Gospel Choir</span>

The Southern Gospel Choir is a gospel choir based at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music in Hobart, Tasmania, and is directed by Dr. Andrew Legg.

David Evatt Tunley was an Australian musicologist and occasional composer, noted for his work on François Couperin and French music in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was Emeritus Professor at the School of Music, University of Western Australia in Perth.

<i>Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth</i> 2005 Ben Folds live DVD

Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth is a DVD featuring performances by singer-songwriter and pianist Ben Folds, backed by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Filmed over two nights on March 12 and 13, 2005, at Kings Park and Botanical Gardens in Perth, Australia - a venue Folds jokingly refers to as a "luminous green petri dish" - the DVD offers 14 songs from the three major Ben Folds Five albums and Folds' debut solo album Rockin' the Suburbs.

Sir Frank Callaway was an influential music educator and administrator. He was born in New Zealand but spent the major part of his life and career in Perth, Western Australia, where he built the UWA School of Music. He was one of the most highly honoured musicians and music educators in Australian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music school</span> Institution specializing in music education

A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department, conservatory, conservatorium or conservatoire. Instruction consists of training in the performance of musical instruments, singing, musical composition, conducting, musicianship, as well as academic and research fields such as musicology, music history and music theory.

The Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College is a music conservatory located in Wheaton, Illinois. It is both a department and professional school of Wheaton College. It currently has 21 full-time faculty members and approximately 200 undergraduate music majors, and is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The Conservatory also operates a Community School of the Arts, serving the music and arts education needs of the surrounding community.

James Ledger is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music, and senior lecturer in composition at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orchestral composition.

Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director.

Simone De Haan is an Australian trombonist.

Alan Lourens is a classical musician, composer, euphonium player and conductor from Perth, Western Australia. He is the head of the UWA Conservatorium of Music.

Ashley William Smith is an Australian clarinet player and academic. He is the chair of woodwind and contemporary performance at the UWA Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, and a member of the Queensland-based Southern Cross Soloists.

Lachlan Skipworth is an Australian composer based in Perth, Western Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Performing Arts".
  2. ↑ "ERA Outcomes 1018 - UWA". dataportal.arc.gov.au. Australian Research Council. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. ↑ Meyer, John A., ed. (1999). Touches of sweet harmony : music in the University of Western Australia : 1953-1998. Nedlands, W.A.: CIRCME. p. 13. ISBN   978-0-86422-914-4.
  4. ↑ Meyer, John A., ed. (1999). Touches of sweet harmony : music in the University of Western Australia : 1953-1998. Nedlands, W.A.: CIRCME. pp. 19–20. ISBN   978-0-86422-914-4.
  5. ↑ Meyer, John A., ed. (1999). Touches of sweet harmony : music in the University of Western Australia : 1953-1998. Nedlands, W.A.: CIRCME. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-86422-914-4.
  6. ↑ "Vice-Chancellor's Voice - 13 December 2017 : Archive Page : The University of Western Australia".
  7. ↑ ""Chris Tonkin" at The Australian Music Centre" . Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "Suzanne Wijsman on Apple Music". iTunes Store.
  9. ↑ "Graeme Gilling". the UWA Profiles and Research Repository. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Rowbotham, Jill (9 January 2012). "Diversity to Improve the Tempo of Learning". The Australian. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  11. ↑ UWA Music - Dr Alan Lourens. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ "Andrew Foote at Art Song Perth" . Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Team, ABLE Marketing. "The Irwin Street Collective | Research". UWA. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  14. ↑ "John Exton".
  15. ↑ ""Paul Wright" at The Australian Youth Orchestra website" . Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Berian Evans". Discogs.
  17. ↑ "Mark Coughlan".
  18. ↑ Stowasser, Helen (1997). "Sir Frank Callaway". Oxford Companion to Australian Music.
  19. ↑ UWA Symphony Orchestra - soloist Riley Skevington. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  20. ↑ Spitfire Prelude and Fugue by William Walton. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  21. ↑ Cohn, Neville (11 May 2011). "Concert Review: En Francais". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Mahler 2 (West Australian Symphony Orchestra)".
  23. ↑ "University Club Big Band Performance" . Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Conservatorium of Music".
  25. ↑ "AMEB Federal Website" . Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "ABC Programmes 1970-1979" (PDF). State Library of Western Australia Materials. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  27. ↑ UWA and West Australian Opera strike up duet. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  28. ↑ Cusworth, David (15 May 2021). "Elijah at UWA Winthrop Hall triumphs after Lachlann Lawton steps into WA Opera star James Clayton's shoes". The West Australian Newspaper. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "Home". iaingrandage.com.
  30. ↑ "Craig Ogden at All Music". AllMusic . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  31. ↑ "UWA List of Music Staff".
  32. ↑ "St Georges Cathedral Organist" . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  33. ↑ Healy, Guy (17 October 2007). "UWA to Streamline Courses". The Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  34. ↑ "Future Studies in Music at UWA".
  35. ↑ "UWA Course Handbook for BMus". UWA Course Handbooks. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  36. ↑ "Contemporary Popular Music". University of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  37. ↑ "UWA Music Application Procedures & FAQ".
  38. ↑ "TISCOnline".
  39. ↑ "UWA Admission Policy".
  40. ↑ Hiatt, Bethany (8 March 2012). "UWA Scheme is Music to Sarah's Ear". The West. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  41. ↑ Meyer, John A., ed. (1999). Touches of sweet harmony : music in the University of Western Australia : 1953-1998. Nedlands, W.A.: CIRCME. pp. 150–155. ISBN   978-0-86422-914-4.
  42. ↑ Meyer, John A., ed. (1999). Touches of sweet harmony : music in the University of Western Australia : 1953-1998. Nedlands, W.A.: CIRCME. p. 64. ISBN   978-0-86422-914-4.
  43. ↑ "Widespread Damage from Freak Storms". ABC Online News. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  44. ↑ "jamesledger.com".

31°58′36″S115°49′12″E / 31.976679°S 115.820060°E / -31.976679; 115.820060

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.