ANAM END OF TERM REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2024
AT THE BEGINNING OF 2024, ADAM CHALABI JOINED THE ANAM RESIDENT FACULTY AS HEAD OF VIOLIN. HE REFLECTS ON HIS FIRST 6 MONTHS IN THE ROLE.
The first half of the year has been a typically busy and engaging period for the violin cohort. Our violin faculty – Zoë Black, Sophie Rowell and I – have given hundreds of hours of lessons as well as weekly violin classes (some of which have been attended by our donor groups – events which we love!).
As always, the whole cohort has been involved in the ANAM orchestra projects both at the St Kilda Town Hall and Melbourne Recital Centre as part of the Mostly Mozart series. It has been wonderful to see the musicians respond with flexibility, skill, and nuance to the directions of various guest artists.
We are extremely proud of several of our violinists involved in the ACO Emerging Artist program who have returned full of enthusiasm from their performances and tours. It is always pleasing to see that the majority of participants in this program are either current ANAM musicians or alumni.
From a chamber music perspective, the ANAM violins have excelled in performances at a variety of leading venues across Melbourne and nationally, including Beleura House, Elgee Park, the Finnish Embassy in Canberra and the State Library of NSW in Sydney.
The second half of the year sees plenty of events to come including a masterclass with renowned Chinese violinist, Lu Siqing and string-focussed performances at some of our favourite venues such as Elgee Park and the Melbourne Recital Centre for our final Mostly Mozart concert for 2024, as part of Howard Penny’s (Head of Strings and Cello) Artistic Residency.
— ADAM CHALABI, RESIDENT FACULTY, HEAD OF VIOLIN
Adam Chalabi. Photo by Pia Johnson.
ORCHESTRAL IMMERSIONS
Performances with the great state orchestras under their chief conductors are a cornerstone of the ANAM training program. So far in 2024, our musicians have performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Simone Young AM, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra directed by Jaime Martín, the Auckland Philharmonia led by Giordano Bellincampi and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Asher Fisch.
Sitting side by side with professional musicians is a highlight for most musicians during their time at ANAM. Laura Cliff (flute 2023) has been able to experience immersions from both perspectives, having secured a Sydney Symphony Fellowship in 2024. Laura considers the immersions during her time at ANAM as a key part of her development and “extremely valuable for networking, learning, understanding how orchestras work and orchestral etiquette.”
Bede Hanley, Principal Oboe at the Auckland Philharmonia describes the collaboration between APO and ANAM as “one of our most valuable projects...the young people bring a freshness to the orchestra and our audience.”
Bede reflects on similar experiences sitting beside his teachers as “some of the highlights of my musical life, there are so many things (style, tone, timing, confidence, to name a few) that can only be learned this way.”
“Performing with the SSO and Simone Young was one of the most incredible experiences of my career so far... It was an absolute honour to be part of it... a once in a lifetime experience.”
— SEBASTIAN COYNE (VIC) VIOLA
ANAM musicians performing Gurrelieder with Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in March.
Photo by Daniel Boud.
MASTERCLASSES
Masterclasses – both in-house and public –provide our musicians with unique insights and mentoring from leading soloists, conductors, chamber and orchestral musicians. For first year pianist Francis Atkins (NSW), masterclasses with international guest artist Claudia Chan were invaluable. Francis recalls “the insights through Claudia’s personal connection with the composers, having access to her knowledge ‘from the source’ and her performance experience of these works with these composers allowed me to also have a sense of expressive freedom and confidence whilst I was playing them.”
The learnings from masterclasses can be deeply varied, from deeper understandings of repertoire to developing confidence in artistic convictions. Third year clarinettist Dario Scalabrini (QLD) reflects on the impact of masterclasses with Christoffer ‘Toffe’ Sundqvist (Principal Clarinet, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra). “Toffe encouraged the musicians’ input and conversation… it was really valuable being able to come to our own conclusions alongside him about what worked, which then lead us to us to develop courage in our own musical opinions.”
In the first half of 2024, ANAM Musicians have benefitted from participating in masterclasses with the following guest artists: Pianists Claudia Chan and Kirill Gerstein, Tine Thing Helseth (trumpet), Colin Prichard (trombone), Christoffer Sundqvist (clarinet). Masterclasses at ANAM are generously supported by the Robert Salzer Foundation.
“Working with Kirill Gerstein on the Berg Sonata reinvigorated my passion for the work, which I’ve played many times. I’m inspired to be more investigative and have a strong musical opinion. I have so many new ideas now; he wouldn’t let me get away with anything!”
— TIMOTHY O’MALLEY (VIC) PIANO
RESIDENCIES
Artistic Residencies connect our musicians with masterful industry leaders from a wide range of musical practices. Peter Neville, Head of Percussion at ANAM and a founding member of the ELISION ensemble, reflects on his unique opportunity to unite two of his most important musical journeys through ELISION’s residency at ANAM earlier this year.
“ELISION is now in its thirty-eighth year and is internationally recognised as one of Australia’s leading new music ensembles. During the week of the residency, eleven members and collaborators of the ensemble worked with the ANAM cohort. Music by longterm ELISION collaborators Liza Lim and Richard Barrett provided the springboard for the ANAM musicians to explore their new expertise. The presence of Liza herself and conductor Aaron Cassidy – another longtime ELISION collaborator – added a layer of authoritative insight. We were impressed with the way ANAM musicians committed to and embraced all aspects of the week, especially as improvisation of that nature was new to many. The musicians agreed it was fantastic and somewhat unique to have all ELISION members actively engaged in each rehearsal, making for a very dynamic and responsive learning experience.”
Guest Artistic Residencies in 2024 have included Claudia Chan (piano), ELISION, Brenda Gifford (composer), Erkki Lasonpalo (Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Lappeenranta City Orchestra) sponsored by David and Gai Taylor, Christoffer Sundqvist (Principal Clarinet, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra) and Osmo Vänskä (conductor).
Peter Neville, ANAM Head of Percussion. Photo by Pia Johnson.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
In May the Commonwealth Government announced a restoration of funding to the Arts8 group of training institutions, recognising the vital role played by organisations like ours in nurturing artistic talent and fostering culture in Australia. This funding restores ANAM’s Commonwealth Government funding to previous levels in real terms and fills us with optimism for the future.
We are grateful to Minister Burke for his commitment to the Australian creative sector by initiating the Financial Sustainability Review of the Arts8 and securing this budget uplift, and for the ongoing support of the Commonwealth Government, our major funder. We also deeply appreciate the continued support from our philanthropic and corporate partners, whose contributions complement this core funding and enhance our mission.
ALUMNI NEWS
ANAM alumni have exclusive access to international academy positions and fellowships to further their careers both in Australia and overseas. We recently heard from three current recipients on their first six months of 2024:
Mee Na Lojewski (2014, cello)
An inaugural recipient of ANAM’s Ian Potter Emerging Performers Fellowship.
“This fellowship has come at a pivotal point in my development and my next steps as a chamber musician and founder of Affinity Quartet. Without a doubt, it will enable me to create new opportunities for Affinity Quartet and for Australian chamber music.”
Phoebe Gardner (violin, 2021)
Current recipient of ANAM’s Eva Besen Scholarship to the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, generously supported by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.
“When reflecting on my first season at Karajan Academy I cannot help but feel so incredibly lucky and grateful. The Berlin Philharmonic tour to Hamburg and Vienna is one of the highlights from this season for me. We played an incredible program in two of Europe’s most famous halls, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and Vienna’s historical Musik Verein, which I was especially overwhelmed stepping into for the first time.”
Mana Ohashi (2018, violin)
Current recipient of the ANAM position at Bayerisches Staatsoper Hermann Levi Academy in Munich, generously supported by Jane Hansen AO.
“Aside from playing in the orchestra, I’ve also been able to collaborate with other academists which has been terrific. The academy is such an amazing experience. It’s a great place to hone orchestral skills and I’m so grateful to be in a position where I can live out this dream.”
Sola Hughes (QLD) violin and AYO peers participating in the 2024 Arts8 Collaboration in Sydney. Photo by Hanna Lassen.
END OF FINANCIAL YEAR CAMPAIGN REPORT
This year supporters were invited to “Nurture a Musician”, raising funds for the Health and Wellbeing program at ANAM. This essential program equips our young and talented musicians with the skills to manage any mental or physical challenges they may face, ensuring they go on to have long lasting careers in the industry.
Our thanks to the generous patrons of the campaign who raised $91,620 to support the physical and psychological needs of the dedicated musicians in ANAM’s care.
In 2024 to date, the Health and Wellbeing program has supported our musicians with individual physiotherapy and psychology appointments, provided resources on stress management and sleep, group exercise classes and targeted career resources such as Q&A sessions with leading orchestras.
Third year cellist Noah Lawrence (VIC) has benefitted greatly from many aspects of the Health and Wellbeing program, particularly physiotherapy, to make sure his dreams for a healthy and happy future career are within reach. Noah shares his gratitude for the support of the donors who guarantee his access to these crucial resources.
“With your support I can focus on enjoying every moment here at ANAM – it’s a real gift to have the space to work hard at my craft. Thank you for supporting us by donating to ANAM’s Health and Wellbeing Program.”
— NOAH LAWRENCE (VIC) CELLO
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ANAM MUSICIANS IN 2024
