During COVID lockdowns, instrument retailers throughout Australia saw a huge uptick in sales of pianos, guitars and other instruments — which has remained even as the effect of COVID has waned in the community. In times of stress, loneliness or even just a desire for self-improvement, — we turn to music to tell a story.
We believe in the power of music. The neurology is impressive, and the ability of music to communicate culture is well known. But the ability to “express the inexpressible” — to tell us something about ourselves, is the reason music is so powerful. In troubling times, music is our touchstone, be it classical, pop, jazz or electronic music. And not just “consuming” music — it is a desire to make music that people are seeking.
Image: Unheard Concert
UWA has been at the forefront of music education for more than 70 years. We have produced and nurtured some of Australia’s great composers: Carl Vine, Jennifer Fowler, Roger Smalley and James Ledger, among others, and nurtured an emerging generation in Olivia Davies and Kate Milligan. Australia’s orchestras, concert venues and even pubs and clubs are peppered with UWA Music graduates.
In recent years we have added Electronic Music and Sound Design, and Creative Music Technology to the portfolio. Already, we can boast about WAMI winners, most recently MAVER winning the Electronic Music Song of the Year. And we now provide music performance classes each semester to more than 350 students who have never studied music.
In the small window of 24 teaching weeks the UWA Conservatorium mounts more than 200 performances, ranging from small single recitals, or free lunchtime concerts to huge multi-party performances. In 2022 we presented concerts with WA Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in the Perth Concert Hall, and WA Opera in the Government House Ballroom. We were part of a regional innovative and exciting production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen presented at the Albany Entertainment Centre. And at the end of last semester, our Electronic Music and Sound Design Students presented their works with UWA’s School of Design.
In 2023 visiting artists — performers from around the globe — will enrich the music and wider Perth community. David Greco (voice), Philippe Limoge (percussion/electronics), Laura Snowden (guitar), Paavali Jumppanen (piano) among so many others, will bring the world to Perth. We will continue to extend our students through performances with WA Opera and WASO. We offer the ability to experience delicate chamber music performances, such as those in the Perth International Classical Guitar Festival, or in Electronic Music exhibitions, in which every note is nourished and cherished, or to listen to our own Irwin Street Collective’s world-class historically informed performances of the great masters.
Our staff are musicians and musicians are our staff. We teach music for what it does for life; for your development; for our state. But mostly we perform and teach music because it is what needs to be done. We need to express ourselves; and pass that gift to the next generation of Western Australians.
By Professor Alan Lourens, Head of Conservatorium of Music