19th Annual Assembly of the Music Council of Australia
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie Street at Bridge Street, Sydney
Saturday evening September 22th to Monday September 24th, 2012
The annual Music Council of Australia Assembly is the conference of the only organisation concerned with the vitality of all of Australian music and musical life. It brings together people from right across the music sector – people who never meet in other circumstances but here find that they are basically on the same side. They want an even better musical life for Australia; they want a creative and vital Australian music; they want musical opportunities for everyone; they want our best musicians to have the chance for recognition, financial reward – world acclaim. And that is what the Assembly is about.
While there is plenty of good talk at the Assembly, the Music Council means business: many recommendations from the Assembly are taken up by the Music Council for action.
From a delegate at the 2011 Assembly:
There was a great sense of collegiality – people from diverse backgrounds coming together to work for the greater good. It was great, meeting so many passionate, professional people and enjoying the positivity in the room.
The program this year will focus especially on music education, the music industry, and community music development. The new national curriculum in music up for assessment and the problems around having it actually taught make an opportunity for advocacy to the school systems. There will be demonstrations of new inventions for digital learning in music and important new research on where school music is and isn’t happening.
Frank Madrid just set up an all-day concert by Australian musicians in Central Park, New York. How did he do it? And Sounds Australia is taking Australian music to most of the major music showcases around the world. How’s that working out, Esti Zilber? We’ll be looking also at Australian music in the media after the government’s Convergence Review.
Music and Health. Music and Local Government. Music Careers. More.
Julianne Schultz, who chaired the Arts Minister’s reference group for the National Cultural Policy, will be a special guest with some widely-embracing concepts about arts and culture in Australian public life.
And the Annual Address will be given by the famousLyndon Terracini, always in the news as the outspoken Artistic Director of Opera Australia.
Check out the full program here
The Assembly always begins on the Saturday evening with a gathering, sometimes a formal reception, sometime informal drinks. We will soon also announce details for this ice-breaker. And as always, there will be a dinner, including live music by some of our finest musicians. More info is on its way.
The diversity/range of topics was very stimulating. I enjoyed the conciseness of most presentations and the great networking opportunity.
Quality presentations. National picture provided. Sense of inclusiveness. Colleague interaction. Snappy session length – great.
Community building. Update on issues. Professional development!
See details of the Assembly program here, and information about hotels here.
The MCA’s Music in Communities Network is presenting a
Community Orchestras Conference on Saturday 22 September, the day before the Assembly. There is a discount on the fees for those who attend both events. For more information and registrations, click
here.
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