Page 3280 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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(c) inequity of funding provided to the Orchestra by the Commonwealth when compared to the other State orchestras, particularly the Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras;
(d) resultant missed opportunities for the Orchestra, including the unrealised potential for the Orchestra’s collaboration and partnership with the Australian National University School of Music; and
(e) funding of the Orchestra provided by the ACT government;
(2) expresses its ongoing support for the:
(a) Orchestra and its role in our community; and
(b) funding of the Orchestra provided by the ACT Government; and
(3) calls on the:
(a) Government to pursue securing a commitment from the Commonwealth to increase its funding for the Orchestra to a level comparable to that provided to other State orchestras, particularly the Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras; and
(b) Speaker to write to the Prime Minister, the Commonwealth Minister for the Arts and the Commonwealth Minister for Education to advise them of the Assembly’s resolution.
It is perhaps fitting that the Canberra Symphony Orchestra is actually performing as we speak tonight, with a concert under the baton of maestro Nicholas Milton, who is conducting a program of Peter Sculthorpe, Gustav Holst and Wolfgang Mozart, while we are here in the Assembly considering the importance of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra to our city.
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra has held a special place in the hearts of Canberrans for more than 60 years. Far from being the small community orchestra it was in the 1950s, the CSO today is a professional orchestra led by a world-leading conductor and artistic director.
Even so, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra remains integral to the Canberra community. It has strong links with ACT schools through its “Noteworthy” music education program, and through its symphony in the park concerts associated with the Canberra Festival. Of course, its annual concert season, along with its gala concert and its ever popular prom concert in the grounds of Government House, is a centrepiece of its events.
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra also has an important role to play with the ANU School of Music, although this seems to be under something of a cloud with the ANU’s current and quite unjustified attitude towards the school. The School of Music aside, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the School of Music in the past have had quite a valuable partnership. Teachers at the school also play in the orchestra, and the orchestra has a very proactive policy of engaging students in its ranks.
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