The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (formerly known as the Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music) is a faculty of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, in Victoria, Australia. It is located near the

Melbourne City Centre The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...

, with its main campus at Southbank on

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...

, housing the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

(VCA) and the

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is the music school at the University of Melbourne and part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne City Centre on the Southbank campus of the University of Melbourne. Degree ...

(The Conservatorium). Part of Music also operates from the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne.

History

The Faculty was created in 2009 from the amalgamation of the university's Faculty of Music (founded as the University Conservatorium in 1895) and Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts. Founded in 1972, the VCA integrated into the University of Melbourne in 2007 as a separate faculty. Due to dissatisfaction – particularly from students of the old VCA – with the structural changes imposed by the university, in November 2009 former Telstra CEO

Ziggy Switkowski Zygmunt Edward "Ziggy" Switkowski, (born 1948), is a Polish Australian business executive and nuclear physics, nuclear physicist. His most public role was as the chief executive officer of Australia's largest telecommunications company Telstra fr ...

was appointed to chair a review. A number of his recommendations were adopted, resulting in the resignation of the inaugural dean, abandonment of the previous push for full amalgamation, the creation of a divisional structure with a more centralised administration and two relatively distinct teaching entities at the Parkville and Southbank campuses, and a change in the title of the head of the two divisions to Director. The appointment of a new Dean under this new structure, occurred in 2011. This was not the first time, however, that sharing of resources across two institutions had been attempted. In 1974, at the time of the establishment of the VCA School of Music, the original entity called the University Conservatorium was finally unincorporated. Symbolically as well as in practice, the central place of instrumental tuition at the Faculty was removed to the new VCA and replaced with a more academic syllabus. Between 1975 and 1981, the teaching of most woodwind, some brass, double bass and guitar was undertaken by VCA staff at the Southbank campus. Although much work has been done to ensure the autonomy of the VCA, the economic climate of the late 1980s led to a full amalgamation of the VCA and the Faculty of Music that took effect on 1 July 1991. The new organisation was known as the Faculty of Music, Visual and Performing Arts. John Poynter was appointed as dean of the new super faculty. In September, Warren Bebbington was appointed to the vacant Ormond Chair and, at the urging of staff on both sides, worked to reverse the amalgamation, which was effected in 1994. On 1 January 2012 the Faculty's name was changed to reflect the two operating divisions and was known as the Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Faculty of the VCA and MCM). On 1 January 2018, the Faculty's name was changed again to the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. The Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium remain as schools within the Faculty.

Deans

*Peter Oyston, 1976-1984 *Andrea Hull, 1995-2009 *Sharman Pretty, 2009–2010 *Warren Bebbington, 2010 (acting) *Barry Conyngham, 2011–2021 *Marie Sierra, 2021–present

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

Relocation of Melbourne Conservatorium

In early 2019 the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music relocated from University of Melbourne's Parkville campus, to its Southbank campus. This was due to the worsening condition and lack of space of the original facilities it had been using since it was founded in 1894. Moving to the Southbank campus allows it to be alongside the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne's Art Precinct, however, has led to a greater distancing from Arts and Humanities facilities at Parkville. The relocation and build cost $104.5 million which included the construction of a new 400-plus-seat auditorium as well as a public square, Linear Park. The move was also part of a larger initiative by the Victorian Government (who also contributed funding towards the project) to completely renovate the Southbank Arts Precinct.

Victorian College of the Arts

References

External links

Victorian College of the Arts website

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music website

Faculty of Fine Arts and Music website
{{authority control Art schools in Australia Music schools in Australia VCA and Music Educational institutions established in 1972 Drama schools in Australia Performing arts in Melbourne Southbank, Victoria Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)