Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is a centre for music education, community music-making and performance, serving the city of

Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wat ...

, Australia. It is currently on the Register of Cultural Organisations (ROCO), as listed by the Australian Government. It is located in the heritage listed English Tudor style Gleniffer Brae Manor House and grounds, part of the

Wollongong Botanic Garden The Wollongong Botanic Garden is located in the Wollongong suburb of Keiraville at the foot of Mount Keira in New South Wales, Australia. It is the local botanical gardens of the Illawarra and was established in 1964. It was opened in September ...

s in the suburb of Keiraville. Built in 1938, it was originally the family home of Arthur Sidney Hoskins, who established the steel making industry in Wollongong. The garden around the house was designed by renowned 20th Century landscaper Paul Sorensen.

History

The Conservatorium was first established on 11 September 1972 as a Wollongong branch of the then New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, with James Powell as first Hon. Principal. The Conservatorium moved its operations to Gleniffer Brae in a ceremony marked on 2 June 1980 by then Premier of NSW

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman ...

. Later, the Conservatorium split from its parent organisation, and instead became affiliated with the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

, becoming known as the University Conservatorium of Music. In 1996, the Conservatorium split from the University and became incorporated as the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music. In 2022, the Conservatorium will mark 50 years in Wollongong.

Past Directors

1972-1993 : James Powell (first honorary principal) 1993-1998 : Penelope Chapple (Senior Music Administrator) 1998-2001 : Claudio Pompili (Director) 2001-2008 : Graham Drayton (Director) 2008-2013 : Andrew Snell (CEO) 2014-2020 : Joe Gaudiosi (CEO) Oct 2020 - April 2021: Justin Ankus (CEO) 2021-present : David Francis (CEO)

Description

The Wollongong Conservatorium of Music provides a wide range of programs, instrumental and vocal music tuition in contemporary, classical and jazz styles. It caters for individuals and groups ranging from pre-school to mature-age. Music theory tuition is also provided. Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is one of the largest regional Conservatoriums in NSW and belongs to a network of 18 Regional Conservatoriums part-funded by the NSW government. Individual lessons and classes are complemented by student participation in various instrumental and vocal ensembles, catering to different styles and levels of proficiency, including the

BlueScope Steel Youth Orchestra BlueScope Steel Limited is an Australian flat product steel producer that was spun-off from BHP Billiton in 2002. History BlueScope was formed when BHP Billiton spun-off its steel assets on 15 July 2002 as BHP Steel. It was renamed BlueScope ...

conducted by Nigel Edwards, which has toured internationally. The conservatorium runs over 50 events each year, most featuring students and/or professional artists. Student concerts include Performance Saturday, Instrumental Saturdays, Showcase Concerts, Open Day, Christmas at the Manor and the Mega Band. The Conservatorium's professional concerts focus o
jazz
and chamber music. The Conservatorium is also active in community music. It hosted a Community Music Conference in partnership with th
Music In Communities Network
(a program of the

Music Council of Australia The Music Council of Australia (MCA) is a national peak music organisation for Australia. It is the official Australian representative to the UNESCO world peak music organization, the International Music Council (IMC), Paris. The MCA It is also a ...

) and maintains an active role in supporting local community music. Student and community ensembles perform regularly in concert venues around Wollongong including The Wollongong City Art Gallery, The Wollongong Town Hall, and at local arts festivals including; The

Illawarra Folk Festival The Illawarra Folk Festival started in 1985 in Jamberoo, New South Wales. It has grown to become one of the largest festivals in Australia run entirely by volunteers from the Illawarra Folk Club Inc. In 2007 it moved to Bulli. The festival now ...

HONK! Oz
Street Music Festival and Viva La Gong.

Programs

* CHIME Early Childhood Music * Instrumental/Vocal : Individual & Group Tuition

Student Ensembles

* Llewellyn String Orchestra * Powell String Orchestra * Bluescope Youth Orchestra * Friday Camerata * Beginner Band * Junior Band * Concert Band * Wind Ensemble * Jazz Band * Introduction to Jazz Improvisation * Latin Jazz Ensemble * Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra * Jazz Combos * The Hummingbirds (Jazz Vocal Combo) * Youth Theatre Chorus * Conservatorium Guitar Ensemble

Community Ensembles

* The Con Artists * Curious Rendition Orchestra * The Wollongong Con Community Orchestra * The Wollongong Con Community String Orchestra * The Conchords Community Choir

Speech & Drama

Music Therapy

Theory

* Junior Theory * High School Theory * HSC Support * Jazz Theory * Theory For Adults

Con Schools Program

The Con collaborates with local public schools to run school bands and other music programs. In 2019 The Conservatorium collaborated with staff from the NSW Department of Education to present the 50th annual 'Combined Schools Instrument Festival' in the Wollongong Town Hall.

Bluescope Steel Youth Orchestra

BlueScope BlueScope Steel Limited is an Australian flat product steel producer that was spun-off from BHP Billiton in 2002. History BlueScope was formed when BHP Billiton spun-off its steel assets on 15 July 2002 as BHP Steel. It was renamed BlueSco ...

has supported the BlueScope Youth Orchestra since 1986, making it one of the longest running cultural sponsorship in Australi

and enabling the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music to offer a unique youth orchestra program in regional Australia with specialist tutors, scholarships to assist the development of young musicians and new works written for the orchestra

Bluescope Steel received the Orchestras Australia 2006 Enlightened Support Award in recognition of its 20-year sponsorship of the BlueScope Steel Youth Orchestr

Jazz Program

Jazz Violinist

Don Harper Don Harper (192130 May 1999) was an Australian composer. Born in Melbourne in 1921, Don Harper showed an interest in music from an early age, learning to play the violin as a child. His formal study began at the New South Wales Conservatorium ...

ran the first Jazz Program in the 80's at the Wollongong Con. The Conservatorium Show Band held regular concerts around Wollongong including in the Town Hall with guests Bob Barnard and Don Burrows The current jazz program established in 2001 by Eric Dunan includes individual lessons in jazz, small jazz groups, and big bands. Students range in age from 11 years to adult. The advanced level Wollongong Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra toured China and Japan in 2005. James Morrison toured Japan with the band on the Japan portion of the trip and the band played with Morrison at the World Expo in Aichi Japan on 21 April. (This links to a Expo 2005 in wiki). The Jazz Orchestra has also toured to America in 2009, 2012, and 2017. Notable alumni from the Con Jazz Orchestra include; Jodie Michael - Jann Rutherford Award winner, Nick Garbett - Freedman Fellowship Winner / National Jazz Award Finalist, Novak Manoljovic - Freedman Fellowship winner,

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...

- National Jazz Award Finalist / guitarist with

Thirsty Merc Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack (bass guitar), Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Sm ...

The Wollongong Conservatorium of Music auditorium has become a notable jazz venue, with the annual jazz concert series hosting significant local, interstate and international artists including: Mark Levine /

Eugene Wright Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Career Wright was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was large ...

Joe Farnsworth Joseph Allen Farnsworth (born February 21, 1968, Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American jazz drummer. Farnsworth was one of five sons born to trumpeter and bandleader Roger Farnsworth; one of the brothers played saxophone in Ray Charles's band. ...

The Bad Plus ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. Biography He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nock began studying piano at 11. He attended Nelson College for one term in 1955.' ...

/ Bob Montgomery / Rodney Whitaker /

Lakecia Benjamin Lakecia Benjamin is an American jazz, funk, and R&B saxophonist. Benjamin was born and raised in New York City. She grew up in a Dominican neighborhood in Washington Heights, Manhattan and played merengue, salsa, and Latin music. As a touring m ...

/ Yoshio Suzuki /

Vincent Gardner Vincent Gardner (born October 31, 1972) is an American trombonist and composer. Gardner has released six albums on SteepleChase Records and also performs and records in a group with his brother, trumpeter Derrick Gardner. He is the lead trombonis ...

/ Florian Ross /

Sandy Evans Sandy Evans is an Australian jazz composer, saxophonist, and teacher. Recognition of her work has included receiving an Order of Australia Medal in 2010 for services to music.

Shannon Barnett Shannon Barnett (born 1982) is an Australian trombonist and composer who was named Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2007 Australian Jazz Bell Awards.Ingrid Jensen Ingrid Jensen (born January 12, 1966) is a Canadian jazz trumpeter. Music career Jensen was born in North Vancouver and grew up in Nanaimo. She received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, she ...

/ Jane Bunnet / Paul Grabowski /

Lionel Loueke Lionel Loueke (born 27 April 1973) is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art. Biography Loueke grew up in what he has described as a family of poor intellectuals in the ...

Phil Slater Phil Slater is an Australian jazz trumpeter and composer based in the Illawarra region. Slater has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including Archie Roach, Missy Higgins, the Australian Art Orchestra, Lou Reed, Jim Black, Jo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wollongong Conservatorium of Music Music schools in Australia Conservatorium of Music Education in New South Wales