Page 3778 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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(d) music teachers, music practitioners and music administrators in classical and jazz music started their careers through this program;
(e) H Courses are designed and accredited by an Australian higher education provider and successful completion of the course is recognised towards an undergraduate degree with that provider; and
(f) H Courses may contribute to the student’s ATAR calculation; and
(g) all other H Courses are funded via the Education Directorate’s ANU Extension Program deed of grant, which currently allows the ANU discretion about the courses offered; and
(2) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) continue supporting ANU’s provision of H Courses through the $120 000 per year ANU Extension Program deed of grant; and
(b) continue to support ANU’s School of Music’s provision of outreach to the students of Canberra, including high performing music students, with comparable funding to previous years.”.
The music H course is a well-regarded, rigorous program that provides one-on-one tuition and a range of focuses for high performing young musicians in years 11 and 12. Many students have progressed to tertiary level study and professional careers. It is run by the ANU School of Music and has been funded by the ACT government via the artsACT community outreach program.
All the other H courses—about 11 of them—have in fact been funded via the education directorate’s ANU extension program deed of grant, which currently allows the ANU discretion about which courses are funded. The funding changes that are relevant to the music H course were announced in February this year in a media release that I have read a couple of times.
It is probably unfortunate that we are in this position now and that people at the time did not appreciate that the media release was not just about new funding. It was about defunding old courses. That is regrettable. I know that many people in the community are very disappointed about the fact that this course will not be offered after this year. It is a pity that the community has not had a longer period to consider this. I do not know whether it would have made a difference, but I think it is unfortunate that it is only so recently that the people affected have realised what was in fact proposed way back in February.
The new programs that the media release talks about and that are being offered by the artsACT community outreach program are excellent. It would appear that they are going to be very positive for music in the ACT. The new programs at the ANU School of Music include Girls Rock, a rock music program for young girls. Their band showcase in July was excellent and heartwarming. The group that I was involved in was able to provide some of the funding for that. It is great to see that it has been taken up by the School of Music and funded via the ACT government.
There is also My Song, a mentorship program for Aboriginal youth. The list of new programs offers fabulous opportunities for a broad range of members of the
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