Federal MP rep meeting with sMAG Co-Chairs

Following the success of the Federal Music Education Charter on the change.org platform, https://www.change.org/p/the-hon-daniel-tehan-mp-federal-election-music-education-charter sMAG members printed and delivered the near 10,000 petition signature document to the Hon. Dan Tehan’s MP (Federal Minister for Education) office requesting a meeting.  On August 29, Co-Chairs Susan Buchan and Fiona Phillips, along with Bradley Merrick and Professor Gary McPherson met with Fabian Harding, advisor to Daniel Tehan MP.  The discussions around the points in this petition were discussed at length.  Specific recommendations under Federal legislation were listened to, and various points that fall under State legislation were redirected to those authorities.

sMAG Co-Chairs have also scheduled a meeting with the Victorian Education Minister, the Hon. Mr James Merlino MP.

Our main focus was to see a commitment from Federal government that pre service training for specialist music educators would improve.  Without expertly trained, specialist music teachers delivered to the field by reputable tertiary institutions, any investment in music education becomes money thrown to the wind.  We need a national plan of reform to ensure schools can employ the best staff, so that our students receive the best music education possible.

A focus on Early Years and and regional and rural potentialities being realised were also discussed with a focus on pedagogies that are relevant to the child. 

The lack of sequential, continuous and developmentally appropriate learning in music as per the National Curriculum for secondary were also made very clear in the discussions. Bradley reiterated the inequities experienced in Victoria in ATAR scores for those studying Music at VCE level. Nationally, the way an ATAR system is administered holds significant discrepancies across States.  These points will again be raised with local members and the Hon. Mr James Merlino MP. We are hopeful that every child, in every Australian school will experience more music in schools every day. 

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Don’t Stop The Music will rebroadcast on ABC TV and iview from 17 November at 2.30pm.  https://www.abc.net.au/events/dstm/

Results following the 2018 broadcast are published here: http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/sound-of-music-plays-out-in-australian-classrooms-thanks-to-dont-stop-the-music-donation-drive/

sMAG will continue to promote, lobby and argue that expertly trained music specialists, is the best way to support all efforts in delivering the best music outcomes for all Australian children.

The Ian Potter Southbank Centre Highlights

Highlights The Hon Martin Foley MP officially opened the Ian Potter Southbank Centre in the Henson Dyer Hall on June 1, 2019. https://www.martinfoley.com.au/ Conservatorium students played Greenbaum - Fanfare to commence proceedings. Virginia Trioli oversaw proceedings as the Master of Ceremonies Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Maskell gave the opening speech. Chair of the Ian Potter Foundation, Charles Goode AC gave a speech, before we heard from Martin Foley, who outlined and honoured all involved in the creation of the building, future plans for more ARTs buildings in the precinct, and affirmed the partnership with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Official Opening The official opening of the Ian Potter Southbank Centre featured performances from the undergraduate students. The full orchestra performed Carinal Overture by Dvorak, Concerto for Orchestra (Mvts 4 &5) by Bartok, and Hungarian Dance No 5 by Brahms. The performance was outstanding and received a standing ovation!  The future of music in Australia is bright with such talented undergraduate students reaching such virtuosic heights at such a young age. Professor Gary McPherson is pictured with undergraduate music students - and is a member of the sMAG committee - Congratulations Gary! Australian Chamber Orchestra partners with University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Duncan Maskell announced the partnership at the official launch of The Ian Potter Southbank Centre, a new home for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, in the heart of Melbourne’s Arts Precinct on Saturday 1 June. Students and staff at the University of Melbourne will have unparalleled access to education and research opportunities with a $1 million partnership with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). Read more: University of Melbourne - Fine Arts Media Release FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN REPORT sMAG Co-Chairs, Fiona Phillips and Sue Buchan, engaged in a letter writing campaign during the Federal Election.  A total of 345 letters were sent to every candidate or office of party. 50 candidates responded including Josh Frydenburg, Julian Burnside and Mark Dreyfus.   Most statements and responses stated that the relevant party valued music education and that after the election, would hold the Victorian State government to account and work with the Federal Minister for Education to see that the recommendations from the Vic Parliamentary Inquiry were followed through. They would consider the statements in the signed petition carefully.  The Change.org petition now has around 10,000 signatures:  https://www.change.org/p/the-hon-daniel-tehan-mp-federal-election-music-education-charter  Funding of around $5M  was promised from both major parties. The sMAG committee will meet again this Thursday June 13 to consider next steps. Queen's Birthday Honours Congratulations to Guy Sebastian on today's Queen's Birthday honour - the Medal of the Order of Australia. Guy's contribution to 'Don't Stop The Music' catapulted the situation around Music Education into the limelight, creating a significant platform for change. Since the story aired on the ABC, thousands of instruments were donated to the Salvation Army music programs, school programs have been initiated, and politicians have taken note of the need for increased supports. The music community thanks you, Guy! Enjoy the moment! ABC Radio: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/breakfast/sami-guy-sebastion/11195226 Congratulations and Best wishes to Dr Rosalind McMILLAN. Honoured today in the Queen's Birthday 2019 list as AM for significant service to music education in Victoria. Music Educators everywhere thank Ros for her dedication to teaching and lecturing preservice Music specialists over her career. Thank you, Ros. https://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/membership/life-members/73-dr-ros-mcmillan.html Opera Australia’s Regional Vocal Scholarship closes in just one month! Since 2014, OA has provided four annual scholarships to senior secondary students from locations on OA’s National Tour. These Scholarship recipients have had the opportunity to partake in a week-long intensive with Opera Australia in Sydney, where they receive voice and acting training, an insight into the opera and musical theatre industries through backstage tours, and an exclusive performance opportunity. Regional Vocal Scholarship auditions are now open to Year 11 and 12 students from all across Australia, as long as they live 100kms or more from their capital city (Tasmania and NT are exempt from distance criteria). This revamped program is facilitated by our online platform, allowing students to provide links to their audition videos. Round One applications are open now until 5pm (EST) Friday 28 June, with some applicants being invited to reapply for a second round in late-September. This is a very exciting initiative, and we would like to get the word out as widely as possible. Attached here is a flyer which provides basic information, our website is linked here, and we have this post on Facebook about the new program. We invite you to share this information with your networks in your preferred manner, either by forwarding this email, sharing on social media or posting on any community boards and forums. If you know anyone who would be interested in this opportunity, please let them know! Opera Australia Website: https://opera.org.au/aboutus/opera_australia

The Ian Potter Southbank Centre

A new home for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. World class facilities are now available for students enrolled in the University of Melbourne music streams.  Located in the heart of the Arts precinct Melbourne, undergraduate music students enjoy being surrounded by the cultural landscape between the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall, the Melbourne Recital Centre and The Malthouse.  Light cascades into rehearsal rooms as practicing musicians take in the city views.  State of the art acoustical engineering has been designed into the concert halls and spaces.  Aesthetic features reflect musicality, such as protruding coloured dots and hollows on the facade, and steel string features within the building. Such an investment into the music performance, and music education communities will bring a new sense of vivacity to the field. Be sure to be watching news outlets for all the official releases from the University of Melbourne. University of Melbourne - Fine Arts Take a virtual tour of the world class facilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZb66roCCM

Calling all members of the SIMP Victoria ASME (VIC) FORUM Marino D'Ortenzio AEU

Date And Time Thu., 4 April 2019 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm AEDT   Location Level 5, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, 234 Queensberry Street, Carlton

FORUM BRIEF ASME (Victoria) invites music teachers to attend a forum to discuss implications of the VIT’s Circular to Principals distributed in November 2018 around the PTT. This advisory outlines the different duties between an instrumental music teacher and an instrumental music instructor, and provides guidance on when a registered teacher must be employed. The panel will comprise Marino D’Ortenzio, Vice President (Sec) AEU, Carl Williams (Vice Chair SMAG) and Gavin Cornish (President, Association of Directors of Music, Independent Schools).

Find Out More

MESSAGE FROM MARINO D'ORTENZIO Incorrect Classification of Teacher Positions as Education Support The AEU has been campaigning, alongside sMAG, over the last few years to effect changes to the VIT Permission to Teach (PTT) policy and DET’s classification of Instrumental Music roles. In 2017 the PTT was successfully changed after lobbying by the AEU and a letter writing campaign organised by the AEU that involved SMAG members.  This change removed the lines stating that delivery of Instrumental Music did not require teacher registration. In 2018 this policy was supported through a Principal Advisory from VIT.  This advisory contained descriptions of the duties of a teacher, including; Individually assess student learning against the approved curriculum Plan for lessons in a sequential way Providing feedback on learning Reporting this progress to parents Thankfully, many schools had continued the good practice of employing teachers for IMT roles, but for those that had filled instrumental roles as Education Support positions this advisory now provides the AEU with a concrete base upon which to correct the misclassification of IMT jobs. In a perfect world, this correction would involve the union and the employer or VIT directly and would avoid having to involve instrumental music teachers.  In reality this requires the AEU to bring individual matters to the attention of the employer and the regulator.  In recent times the AEU has successfully acted for an IMT member whose workplace arrangement was incorrect.  The outcome involved remuneration being paid to that member. If you are a member and feel that your role is incorrectly classified, I’d like to offer you a confidential and obligation free discussion about your employment.  You can contact me on 9418 4981. I’d like to hear from you whether you are currently employed in the public system or not, currently registered as a teacher but in an ES role, or not registered and in an ES role. Kind Regards Marino D'Ortenzio AEU Victoria

VIT PTT WEBSITE LINK

Victorian Opera is offering online streaming as 'incursion' so that primary school students throughout Victoria can have access to Opera education. The Victorian Opera acknowledges the support of the Department of Education and Training, Victoria, through the Strategic Partnerships Program CLICK HERE

The Arts Centre Melbourne - Education

Federal Election Music Education Charter