The Hunter River Times

BY JEM ANSHAW

The Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music has a new maestro at the helm and he has his sights set on sharing the resource with the wider community.

When the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music is mentioned some people tune out because they don’t listen to classical music.

This is a perception that new director Andrew French-Northam is looking to change.

“The word (Conservatorium) itself is intimidating to some people I think, they think some how they have to listen to Mozart or Beethoven, but it’s really not that,” he said.

“The regional conservatoriums have a really interesting role; they really have an unusual role to play.

“We are not a school, but we are funded to a large extent by the Department of Education who takes responsibility and ultimately managerial control for us, or oversite of us anyway.

“But we are sort of independent of them as to what we do.”

Mr French-Northam has a lifetime of music experience including a Bachelor of Music majoring classical horn and guitar, many years as a touring contemporary musician and most recently 15 years running TAFE Music Industry courses in the Central West.

This diversity is something he hopes to share with the Upper Hunter community in his new position.

“I have got a few things I would like to put into the agenda as well, one of which is a once a month pub choir, which we were very successful doing in the Central West,” Mr French-Northam said.

“A new initiative would be to choose a bunch of musicians, nominate a particular album they want to do and they play that album live.

“It is a covers night but it is a very specific covers night.

“I am trying to outreach into the more contemporary vein because that is how people, usually, consume music.

“That doesn’t mean you are jeopardising all the other great musical things that a conservatorium is usually associated with, orchestras and bands, that still exists, it’s not like one thing negates another.”

As social distancing restrictions ease Mr French-Northam is working to deliver the visiting artists program scheduled for this year in 2021, as well as getting back to more of a normal relationship with students.

“The young cohort of teachers here is really very strong,” Mr French-Northam said of the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music team.

“Some of the teachers I only meet on zoom because they are so busy outside of the building.

“Some people wouldn’t realise that either, that I would suggest more than half of the teaching is out there – from Merriwa through to Cessnock and then all around the planet.

“Although a lot of people do come up here, around 80 per cent of their workload is in schools.”

The next job for the Conservatorium is to celebrate their scholarship holders, following the trend of modified events in 2020.

“It won’t be what we would like to do but it is still a performance which will be great,” he said of the concert that will be held with consideration to all the social distancing restrictions.