ANU - SCHOOL OF MUSIC STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS The Australian National Today, the School continues to aspire to be among the world’s University (ANU) has always most innovative and challenging institutions for music education been a University with a and research. The School’s identity stems from values that place difference. It is the only creativity, passion and a sensitivity to the distinctive Australian University to be established by voice in music making at the centre of all its education and an Act of Federal Parliament research. The broader College has an impressive international and has the specific legislated profile and research record. Graduates from the College are purpose of conducting leaders in their fields all over the world and include an award- and promoting research winning orchestral composer in New York. in Australia. Although still Consistent with the ethos of the University as a whole, the relatively young, ANU sets itself apart by its intense concentration School of Music also has a large research role, in areas that include on research. The University is consistently ranked as the best Classical performance, Jazz performance, piano, fortepiano University in Australia by many worldwide ranking systems and and harpsichord performance, composition and musicology. its staff and alumni include five Nobel laureates. An exciting new initiative currently under development at Forming part of one of the seven Colleges at the University, the School is the installation of artist-level videoconferencing the School of Music has a proud and rich tradition in its teaching facilities. This will facilitate innovative practice-led research into of elite music performers. The School of Music was originally the opportunities and challenges for artist-level music pedagogy, established under the name “The Canberra School of Music” in performance and creation in the virtual environment. 1965 with Ernest Llewellyn as the founding Director. Llewellyn’s The School offers various degrees in Music, including the grand vision for the School was based on the Juilliard School; the Bachelor of Music and the Postgraduate programme of Master famous performing arts conservatory based in New York. He of Music. regarded Isaac Stern, with whom he had studied at Juilliard and A client of Harper Bernays set up their own Charitable Fund who was his long time friend, as the “father” of the school. He as part of the Harper Bernays Public Charitable Trust in 2006 set the School up with a hand-picked staff, including some of the top orchestral performers in the country. The focus was to be on the training of soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians. “The Australian National In 1987, the Canberra School of Music combined with the Canberra School of Art to create the Canberra Institute for the University (ANU) has always Arts, subsequently to form part of the ANU in 1992. In 2004, the Institute of the Arts was dissolved, with the Schools of Music been a University with a and Art becoming part of the ANU Faculty of the Arts. Following further changes this year, the School now sits within the Research difference.” School of Humanities and the Arts. 6 The first postgraduate Scholarship for Master of Music “The first Undergraduate has just been completed. The initial recipient was Benjamin Connor, who majored in Classical Voice. During his scholarship Scholarship is now in its year, Ben performed the title role in the new opera “Grimm and the Blue Crown Owl” by Joshua McHugh, which he regarded fourth year ... (and) ... The first as an extremely valuable experience and was one of the major highlights of his year. He has been nominated for a Canberra postgraduate Scholarship for Area Theatre (CAT) award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance. He also made his professional stage Master of Music has just been debut in the Street Theatre’s production of “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris”. Ben’s performances during his completed. ” studies also included excerpts from the opera “Voss” by Meale in the National Library’s Voss Project, the Friends of Opera embassy and has provided recurring funding to the School of Music in the concert series (with the most recent concert at the Governor form of both an Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarship. General’s residence) and the ANU’s Floriade Concerts at Stage The two Scholarships that have been offered are provided by an 88. Following completion of his Masters of Music, Ben now Endowment that we have set up that is, at the request of the hopes to head to Vienna, Austria, later this year to further his Donor, completely anonymous. The Scholarships are set up in music career and education. the name of the Endowment – “Harmony Endowment”, and We know that the donor of the Harmony Endowment is there is no reference to the donor. Harper Bernays acts as the looking forward to the prospect of providing assistance to many conduit between the University and the undisclosed Donor. Led more young classical musicians furthering their studies at the by the donor’s keen interest in classical music, the Scholarships ANU. have been strictly limited to students in a classical area of study, including Composition, Voice and Musicology. The first Undergraduate Scholarship is now in its fourth year. The inaugural recipient, Luke Toppin, is a young bassoonist, originally from Queensland. In addition to his bassoon studies, he is also working seriously at the contrabassoon and has conducted the ANU Choral Society Orchestra. Luke has performed on numerous occasions with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, including their Berlioz Fantastique Symphony concert. During 2009 he also had the opportunity of playing a full concerto as soloist with the Canberra Youth Orchestra. He performed the Kozeluch Bassoon concerto in C using articulation and phrasing information he gained from studying Harpsichord as an instrumental study. Luke has a strong interest in early music and is using harpsichord as a method of gaining some insight into historically-informed baroque style. According to Luke, the scholarship has contributed greatly not only to his parents’ ability to support him while he studies, but also allowed him to participate in many events and concerts alongside professional musicians with whom he may not otherwise have had the opportunity to work. Luke Toppin: First recipient of the Undergraduate Ben Connor (second from right) performing with Luke Toppin (second from right) performing Scholarship. (left to right) Jessica Harper, Joshua McHugh and with the Australian Youth Orchestra. Karen Fitz-Gibbon in the ANU School of Music opera production “Grimm and the Blue Crown Owl” 2009. 7.