School of Music here to stay, with everybody's support

Canberra needs the ANU School of Music. And the School of Music needs the support of Canberra.

 

As the pages of The Canberra Times reveal, the School of Music has rarely been out of the news since its inception in 1965. Andrew Podger's recently finalised community consultation report on the school, commissioned by the Australian National University, has documented that loud past, with its stunning array of performances, illustrious graduates and scholarly achievements, as well as a lingering legacy of disputes, tensions and insecurities, particularly those associated with a major restructure of 2012.

 

Podger's community consultation was extensive, his recommendations comprehensive, and his message clear: Canberra wants a strong, diverse and top-quality School of Music, as much as ever.

 

So, where now for what I affectionately remember as the Canberra School of Music? Part of a world-beating university, certainly, but equally a loyal partner in the vibrant arts community we all know Canberra to be.

 

Tuesday's announcement of a $12.5-million strategic investment by ANU provides a not-to-be-repeated opportunity for the School to recover a good slice of past glory, but also to refashion itself to serve the role of music in coming decades.

 

Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt has committed to this extraordinary funding for 2017-21, recognising the need for patient investment in re-establishing the school's prowess.

 

This hard-earned grant, which the university could have chosen not to make, is not to be used to fill up yawning, unplanned gaps between income and expenditure, and so just "pass the parcel" of future crisis on for a few more years. It is to build a stronger staffing, curriculum and research base to a school that will now offer programs in composition, musicology, music technology and performance, and continue with its programs in schools and the community. Music will also foster double degrees with other ANU courses, and provide elective offerings to music-loving students across the campus, and beyond.

 

Universities, like the press, are committed to freedom of speech and balanced reporting. The ANU's detailed response matches Podger's frankness. It recognises the university "has not handled the challenges facing the school very well" in recent times, and commits to rapid resolution of outstanding issues. But its focus is on the future, of how Podger's and many other inputs can now be fashioned into a compelling strategy and rapid implementation, owned by the university, but equally consonant with the music community's aspirations.

 

So, the ANU now needs your support. If that most costly service of all - an elite, internationally-competitive performance program - is to be offered, then the community that benefits from such a program's presence needs to contribute, too.

 

Podger suggested, and the ANU has accepted, that an $800,000 annual community co-contribution is reasonable to expect. That's a bit under $2 per Canberra citizen, so not exactly outrageous against the annual $8 of strategic funds being contributed by ANU itself, per Canberra citizen, over the coming years.

 

That community contribution would go specifically to fund international-level masterclasses, workshops and performances. These events are the capstone of excellence upon the school's rebuilt programme of individual and ensemble tuition. All local musicians, music organisations and audiences should benefit from that exposure, keeping the school - like the rest of the ANU - on the map of international excellence, through regularly visiting soloists and groups of especial renown.

 

The pledge of ACT Labor to contribute $250,000 per year for four years is a welcome start to the university's initiative. With the ANU future blueprint for the school now public, conversations are proceeding with other institutions and individual donors, as well as with the many Friends of the School.

 

The reception of ANU's bold initiative has so far been truly heartening. We recognise that some will still look to the past, with its aspects of distrust and distress, but now is the time to applaud, and support, this singular, strategic commitment of the ANU. Without a government-supported professional orchestra - unlike each of the state capitals - or major music or operatic company, the financial support of the local community is especially crucial to the School of Music's efforts.

 

Half a dozen Australian universities have lost their distinctive music programs in recent years. ANU is determined that Canberra will defy that trend.

 

 

This opinion piece was originally published in The Canberra Times on 7 October 2016. Read the piece on their website.