As part of its chamber-music affinity and identity, the School has a long tradition of supporting ensembles-in-residence, beginning with the Mayne String Trio (1980–1986), the vocal sextet Jones and Co (1982–1991), Perihelion (1988–1998), Elision Ensemble (1996–2008), White Halo (2014–2018) and UQ Chamber Players (2019 to present). These ensembles have achieved national and international recognition and have been particularly active in collaborating with composers to create new music.
3.1.6 Recent Developments Since 2012 the School’s academic staffing profile has evolved through: 1.
• • • • • •
3.1.5 Facilities The Faculty of Music was established on the St Lucia campus in 1966, initially housed in the JD Story building before moving into purposebuilt space in the Zelman Cowen building in 1976. A low-cost extension to the Zelman Cowen building in the late 1980s provided an additional 5 practice rooms and 3 teaching rooms. Mayne Hall was a major centre of musical activity for the School of Music from its construction in 1973 until 2004, when it was repurposed as an Art Museum and renamed the Mayne Centre. As a multi-purpose concert venue, Mayne Hall had been widely recognised for its beautiful acoustic and excellent pipe organ (which remains in situ) and was regularly booked by a large number of external community and arts organisations. Starting in 2003, the School’s major performances (as of 2016, the Vice-Chancellor’s Concert Series) transitioned to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) concert hall. The School has long relied heavily on the Noel Nickson Room – a much loved, well utilised, small venue for solo and chamber performance, as well as teaching and rehearsing. The Nickson Room can be described as the heart of the School of Music and has recently received a number of upgrades to ensure its continuing fitness for purpose.
Associate Professor Felicity Baker, music therapy (2013) Dr Peter Freeman, popular music and music technology (2015) Associate Professor Samantha Owens, musicology (2015) Professor Patricia Pollett, viola (2018) Dr Warwick Potter, conducting (2020) Professor Margaret Barrett, music education (2020)
2. Consolidation in the performance discipline with new staff members: • • • •
Associate Professor Adam Chalabi, violin (2014) Dr Anna Grinberg, piano (2015) Dr Shaun Brown, voice (2017) Mr Dane Lam, conducting (2021, 0.2 FTE fixed-term for 2 years)
3. Diversification into other disciplines: • • •
Dr Mary Broughton, psychology of music (2017) Associate Professor Eve Klein, music technology and popular music (2015) Dr Anne Levitsky, musicology (2022, fixed term for 4 years).
Notably, the last continuing academic staff appointment was Dr Brown in 2017. The recent fixed-term appointments of Mr Lam and Dr Levitsky are supported respectively by the Sleath Bequest and the Centre for Western Civilisation. The cumulative impacts of these staffing changes are: • • •
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Departures across the School’s disciplines:
an overall reduction in senior continuing and fixed-term academic staff headcount (from 17 in 2012 to 13 in 2022) an increase in practice-led, artistic and creative works research and public engagement capacity for the School a decrease in traditional research and teaching capacity outside of performance.
