Chapter Reports

Newsletter No. 64 (March 2006)

MSAQ is looking forward to an enjoyable string of activities in 2006. Professor Philip Gossett from the University of Chicago, School of Music will be presenting the MSAQ Annual Lecture in July. The Chapter is looking forward to Professor Gossett’s visit and hearing about his current research. MSAQ will also be hosting the annual Student Symposium Music Down Under III in September. This has been a highly successful event in past years, and we are aiming to encourage even more local students to present their research in this collegial environment. MSAQ will also be spending 2006 planning towards the 2007 MSANZ Conference. The theme of the conference will be Islands, and will be run in conjunction with Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre’s Encounters – a weeklong series of concerts, lectures and workshops that investigate musical encounters between Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The theme of the conference will accommodate a wide range of music research: from ethnomusicological studies of localised cultures in literal danger of being submerged in a rising ocean, to studies of developments in composition in the European-based art music of major land areas such as Australia and New Zealand. The theme will also invite more metaphorical reflections on connections and disconnections from culture to culture, island to island, person to person, and musicians and audiences.

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 63 (September 2005)

The MSAQ has had an exciting year so far with a handful of successful local and national events, and a number of local and international symposia coming up on the 2005 calendar.

On April 16/17, the MSAQ co-hosted a two-day symposium, titled “Celebration, Appropriation, or Reconciliation: Two hundred Years of Musical Encounters on Australian Soil,” with Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC) at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane. This symposium was part of QCRC's project “ Encounters: Meetings in Australian Music,” which critically traced the interaction between indigenous and European-based music from 1804 to 2004 with performances of over 60 rarely heard works, film screenings, the symposium, and a unique collection of essays on the topic, still available from Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University.

On September 11, MSAQ will present its annual student symposium at the University of Queensland and celebrate the launch of the MSA National Workshop 2003 book proceedings, entitled Aesthetics and Experience in Music Performance , edited by MSAQ members Liz Mackinlay, Sam Owens and Denis Collins (see report on the symposium, p. 9, and release notice, p. 24 of this Newsletter) .

From 10 to 13 November, the VIIth International Symposium Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) will also be held in Brisbane. Over the past twelve years, this conference has become a lively and in-depth platform for debate between practice and academia in this field. A number of MSA members will be participating in the discussions with national and international practi­tioners and scholars on issues such as methodology, context and appropriation in a rapidly expanding area of activities and study. For further information see www.gu.edu.au/centre/qcrc/cdime/

MSAQ encourages all members of the society to join us for these stimulating events.

Huib Schippers (MSAQ President),
Brydie-Leigh Bartleet (MSAQ Secretary)

Newsletter No. 62 (March 2005)

The MSAQ is anticipating an eventful 2005 with a continued commitment to stimulate innovative research, and number of upcoming local, national and international projects, conferences and symposia. On April 16/17, the MSAQ will mount a two-day symposium, titled “Celebration, Appropriation, or Reconciliation: Two hundred Years of Musical Encounters on Australian Soil,” at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. This symposium is part of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre's project “ Encounters: Meetings in Australian Music.” On September 11, the MSAQ present its annual student symposium and celebrate the launch of the MSA National Workshop 2003 book proceedings, titled “ Aesthetics and Experience in Music Performance” (edited by Liz Mackinlay, Sam Owens and Denis Collins). From November 10–13, the VIIth International Symposium Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) , will also be held in Brisbane (finally coming to a hemisphere near you!). MSAQ members will be given the opportunity to actively participate in the discussions with national and international practitioners and scholars. MSAQ encourages all members of the society to join us for these landmark events.

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 61 (September 2004)

The MSAQ has enjoyed a vibrant and diverse range of activities this year, which have been characterised by stimulating dialogue and debate. In May MSAQ members attended a highly engaging presentation by one of Australia's most distinguished scholars, Professor Philip Hayward from the Department of Contemporary Music Studies at Macquarie University. Professor Hayward's lecture, titled: “Facilitating Heritage: Agendas for active research in local music cultures,” detailed some of the research ventures he has undertaken in communities in Pacific locations such as Lord Howe, Norfolk and Pitcairn islands, and the Whitsundays.
In August MSAQ's student members took to the podium for our annual Student Symposium, titled: “Music Down Under: A celebration of emerging Australian music research.” Students presented papers on topics as diverse as Australian 'cello music, nineteenth and twentieth-century French requiems, music technology and meaning, compositions of the post-World War II avant garde, the cultural ramifications of the British occupation of Manila, and contemporary music performances of Indigenous Australian women. The Gordon Spearritt Prize for Best Student Presentation was awarded to both Kate Barney and David Irving.

The MSAQ committee is also busy planning ahead for 2005 and beyond! In April 2005, MSAQ will be involved in an Australian Music Initiative run by the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre. This project will explore the relationship between Western classical and Indigenous music as it enters a new phase in its 200-year history with the recent completion of Peter Sculthorpe's Requiem (2004). MSAQ members will be heavily involved in a series of lectures and panel discussions, which will address this exciting theme of cultural exchange.

MSAQ committee also encourages all MSA members to consider attending the International Symposium Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) 2005, which will be hosted at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, in November. Themes include: Dabbling or Deepening, Method and Organisation, Context, Concepts and Intangibles, Honouring and Appropriation. The deadline for abstracts is 1 October 2004. For further information a PDF flier is available for download from: http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/qcrc/resources/CDIME2005_call.pdf.
With these and other upcoming events in the pipeline, including the 2007 MSA/NZMS conference, MSAQ is looking forward to building on the momentum of the society's recent events and taking music research in Australia into fresh spaces.

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 60 (March 2004)

This year MSAQ put all of our energy into the staging of the MSA National Workshop. Held in the School of Music at the University of Queensland from 3-5 October, this event provided a valuable opportunity to put MSAQ on the national music research map, to show case musicology, to cross borders and enter into dialogue with researchers positioned in many different disciplines where music too is fast becoming the latest thing in academic discourse. The workshop theme was "Performance, aesthetics and experience" and over 26 paper presenters engaged in a scholarly dialogue on the technical, expressive and embodied aspects of performance. Formal paper sessions were combined with panel sessions on particular themes which included Early Music, Queer Musicology, Women and Music, Musicology and Music Education, and Music Technology. Together these forums catered for a rich variety of presentation styles, performances and discussions to take place. The publication of papers presented at the National Workshop is now well underway and we hope to finalise the proceedings mid-year.

The 2003 annual MSAQ lecture was held during the National Workshop as the keynote address. Dr Linda Barwick, research fellow in the Department of Music at the University of Sydney, accepted our invitation to speak in this role and reflected upon her own experiences of Aboriginal women's performance and aesthetics amongst the Warumungu community at Tennant Creek. MSAQ received special funding from the MSA National Executive to host Linda's participation and the Chapter would like to extend special thanks to the Executive for their financial support of chapter activities.

Another highlight of the National Workshop was the staging of the MSAQ Gordon D Spearrit Prize for best student paper presentation. This has become an important annual event for our Chapter - it is our once a year opportunity to highlight, promote, support and encourage the work of students in musicology. Presented by Gordon Spearritt, in 2003 the prize was shared jointly by Samantha Cobcroft for her paper titled "The Nurturing of the Late 18th-Century Prima Donna" and Katelyn Barney for her paper titled "Celebration of Cover Up?: 'My Island Home', Australian National Identity and the Spectacle of Sydney 2000". Thanks to the adjudicators Carol Williams and Linda Barwick for their work in this role. Both were extremely impressed by the depth of scholarship demonstrated by students at this workshop.

Post-National Workshop, four MSAQ members were able to participate in the jointly hosted MSA/NZMS conference in Wellington at the end of November. Amidst the cold weather and Lord of the Rings frenzy, two nations of musicologists came together to deliberate the notion of music and locality. Many Australians made the journey across representing research currently being undertaken by staff and postgraduate students in a variety of musicological settings. Congratulations to all who presented and also the conference convenors, Allan Thomas, Richard Hardie and the rest of their team for an outstanding event. The strong presence of MSA members at this event points to the growing strength of musicological research and activity in our country. The conference papers are currently being collated for publication as a collection of un-refereed papers on CD and we look forward to being able to re-engage with the issues and ideas raised through this medium. In 2007 MSAQ will host the next jointly hosted MSA/NZMS conference and once again play an important role in placing music research in a national and international limelight. 2004 promises to be a challenging and exciting year for MSAQ as we build upon the momentum created here in Queensland by the National Workshop for things musicological.

Liz Mackinlay
Chair, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 58 (March 2003)

Following on from a highly successful student and member symposium in August 2002, the first MSAQ Annual Lecture was held in the School of Music at the University of Queensland on Thursday 26 September. Highly distinguished musicologist and founding member of MSAQ Dr Gordon D. Spearritt was invited to present this lecture entitled "Ramblings of an Ethnomusicologist". Through a combination of anecdotes, visual and audio examples, Gordon took his audience on a musicological journey from his days as a Master of Arts student at Harvard University, to fieldwork for his doctoral research in ethnomusicology on the instrumental music of the Iatmul people, Middle Sepik River, Papua New Guinea. These were punctuated by his reflections of the state of play in music education and musicology through his involvement as National Vice-President of the Australian Society for Music Education, National President of MSA, and his experience as an academic at the University of Queensland. His outstanding achievements as scholar, musician and teacher were highlighted and provided much food for thought for all in attendance about what it means to be truly musicological.

Another one of the highlights of the second half of the year for many MSAQ members was the National MSA Conference in Newcastle. Ten QLD members presented papers, representing current research being undertaken by staff and postgraduate students in a variety of musicological areas including: Aboriginalist ethnomusicology, feminist musicology, representation and text, canonic theory, popular music, liturgical music in France and the Philippines, performance pedagogy and German music theatre. Congratulations to all who attended and also the conference convenors, Rosalind Halton and Michael Ewans for an outstanding event. The strong presence of MSAQ members at the National Conference points to the growing strength of musicological research in our state.

In early December MSAQ members joined long standing MSA member Gordon Spearritt and his wife at their picturesque home in the Sunshine coast hinterland for our annual Christmas party. Although attendance was low, members enjoined a lavish BBQ complete with festive mince tarts and a spirited game of boule.

2003 promises to be a busy year for MSAQ as we prepare to host the National Workshop (nee Study Weekend) in early October together with the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland. Our 2003 AGM will take place on Sunday March 16 and we look forward to ushering in the new committee and the challenges ahead.

Liz Mackinlay
Chair, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 57 (October 2002)

Following the AGM in March, in which most of the 2001 committee was returned, MSAQ has already held three events, with a further two planned for 2002. They essentially fit within three categories: the Words About Music series, the Student Symposium and Members' Day, and the Inaugural Annual Lecture.

Words About Music is the name given to a series of panel discussions concerned with issues currently facing the discipline of musicology. The first panel, convened in April, went by the racy title "Sex: Now That We've Got Your Attention, Let's Talk About Music," and looked into issues of gender and sexuality in relation to the study of music. The second event, held in May, was titled "Is Music Analysis (ir)Relevant?", and looked at the place of musical analysis in the current musicological climate. The committee offers thanks to all panel members for their fine contributions. These events have set a strong platform for the series, with a third event set for October on an ethnomusicological theme.

The Annual Student Symposium and Members' Day took place on Sunday 25 August and was, once again, a great success. Following last year's theme of "Music and Power," this year the theme was "Music and the Body." Special thanks must go to the Queensland Conservatorium's Stephen Emmerson for generously agreeing to adjudicate the Gordon Spearritt Prize for Best Student Presentation. Thanks also to Gordon for his continuing and exceptional support of the Queensland chapter. All papers on the day addressed the notion of "body" from some perspective: Kate Barney outlined tensions and conflicts in the representation of indigenous music, Jacqueline Parry talked on music and the human rights movement in Australia, and Roslyn Kay outlined a history of music in the burial of bodies. Highly commended prizes went to Solange Eeltink for her examination of music and the brain, and Paula Melville-Clark for her research into the benefits of Eurhythmics for piano students. Joint first prize went to Brydie Bartleet for her ethnographic research into female conductors, and David Irving for his work with recently discovered manuscripts in the Philippines.

Still to come this year is another new initiative of the MSAQ committee, namely the establishment of an Annual Lecture. This event will feature Gordon Spearritt sharing his wealth of knowledge in musicology and ethnomusicology on Thursday 26 September. All in all, MSAQ has been undergoing good growth, specifically in terms of the involvement of graduate students in the chapter's initiatives. In the coming year it is hoped that greater input from staff at all the major Queensland music institutions (QUT and the Con, as well as the University of Queensland) will further broaden the reach of MSAQ. Further to this, the committee is continually engaged in addressing the problems concerned with having such a large number of inactive members.

Gavin Carfoot
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 56 (March 2002)

After a disappointing year in 2000, which saw the cancellation of the Chapter's yearly symposium (due to lack of interest), 2001 entailed a significant improvement. An invigorated chapter committee staged a highly successful symposium in August 2001. The symposium, which was warmly supported by the School of Music at the University of Queensland, attracted a full day's programme of postgraduate papers from students at the three main tertiary music institutions in Brisbane. The theme of the symposium was "Music and Power" and most papers addressed this from a multitude of angles. Papers presented included Brydie Bartleet's (UQ) inquiry into the vicissitudes of women in the orchestral conducting profession and Gavin Carfoot's (UQ) explorations of the politics of time-warping musical robotics in the world of the cyborg. Bruce May (QUT) reported on the attitudes of senior secondary students to the role played by music in their lives, and we received an illuminating textual exposition of Fauré's versions of his Requiem from Roslyn Kay (UQ). In a highly entertaining paper, Gerald Roche's (UQ) "journey to Tuva" investigated a multitude of appropriation issues. Other papers took us from Barnaby Ralph's (UQ) consideration of rhetorical articulations of 17th-century art and music to Greg Vass's discourse on the political and environ­mental activism of Yothu Yindi's latest album. In the last paper of the day, Annie Hoepper (QCM) presented on the pedagogical possibilities of "primal singing." The audience (by far the largest in recent years) and participants alike enjoyed not only intellectual food, but real food as well, in a new departure for Queensland Chapter events-full catering. This was adjudged an excellent innovation by all present. Also new to the symposium for 2001 was the introduction of a prize named in honour of Gordon Spearritt, and it was wonderful to have Gordon on hand to present the first (to Brydie Bartleet) and second (to Greg Vass) prizes personally. The committee expresses its gratitude to Gordon for his enthusiastic support for and participation in the event. This prize entailed a significant boost in its monetary value for 2001. (The committee at this stage, however, is unsure as to what degree of motivation this increase might have offered.)

Despite the success of this main event, the Chapter committee has been cognisant of a growing problem in terms of membership and especially active membership. While the level of membership has only shown a slight decline over the last five or so years, it is clear that of the current financial membership only a very small proportion actively participate in Chapter events. Only a couple of presenters at the student symposium were actually members. The 2001 committee predicts that recruitment of new members, especially at the postgraduate student level, will be the main challenge for the committee of 2002, members of which will be elected at the chapter AGM on Sunday 10 March. The 2001 committee wishes them well.

Simon Perry
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 53 (September 2000)

The start of this year saw the departure of our retiring president, Anne-Marie Forbes, to take up a Lectureship in Music at the University of Tasmania. A long-standing and enthusiastic member of the Queensland Chapter, Anne-Marie's presence will be sorely missed by us all and we wish her every success in Hobart.

At the Annual General Meeting, held on 19 March over a very pleasant lunch at the University of Queensland, the following people were elected to the Chapter committee: Elizabeth MacKinlay (Chair); Dolly MacKinnon; Timothy Passmore Griffith; Simon Perry (Treasurer); Peter Tregear (Secretary); and Shirley Trembath. We are delighted that the committee continues to contain representatives drawn from the three main tertiary music schools in Brisbane.

The major event of the early part of the year was the visit of the distinguished Debussy scholar and performer Roy Howat to Brisbane. MSA members joined with Professor Howat in an informal supper before his guest lecture at the School of Music, University of Queensland, on the evening of 18 May.

A matter for some discussion earlier in the year, the Committee was delighted to note the recent advertisement by the University of Queensland of the position of Professor of Music at the School of Music; the appointment for which will undoubtedly further the practice and promotion of music research in Queensland. Preparations are already well under way for our annual Student Symposium, to be held on 15 October. It is hoped that this year the Chapter will be able to sponsor a modest publication of proceedings from this event.

Peter Tregear,
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 52 (February 2000)

The second half of 1999 witnessed an eventful time for the Queensland Chapter of the MSA. On 29 July, the Chapter joined with the School of Music University of Queensland to host an evening seminar by visiting German scholar Professor Hartmut Moeller (Freiburg and Rostock). Professor Moeller presented a stimulating discussion on "Music in the two German States after World War II", which included many musical examples of contemporary compositions from these regions.
Entitled The Big Musicology Gig, the 1999 symposium was held on Sunday 5 September at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University.

Ten promising young researchers from a variety of music disciplines presented papers on a broad range of topics including Thomas Tallis (Bronywn Ellis), Medieval Chant Manuscripts (Rebecca Palmer), Physiographic notation (Luke Jaaniste), Australian Aboriginal ceremony (Andrea Layt), Eco-acoustology (Kai-Wei Choong), Musicology and the media (Gavin Carfoot), the Contemp-orary performing arts in urban South Africa (Brydie Leigh-Bartlett), Contemporary church singing (Penelope Bewsher), Schubert and sonata form (Sun-ju Soong), Handel and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Andrew Bull) and Music-speech relationships in Gypsy (Tim Passmore). Our congratulations go to the winner for the best student presentation, Luke Jaaniste, whose presentation on physiographic notation was lively and extremely stimulating. Our many thanks also to the two judges, Dr John Bradley (Department of Anthropology and Sociology, The University of Queensland) and Peter Tregear (School of Music, The Uni-versity of Queensland), and all those who participated to make our last seminar for the millennium memorable.

The traditional Christmas party was kindly hosted by QLD members Colin Brumby and Jenny Dawson where the chapter bid a sad farewell to our current Chairman Anne-Marie Forbes. Anne-Marie and have her family have moved south to Tasmania where she has taken up a lectureship in musicology at the University of Tasmania. Her enthusiasm, commitment, professionalism and innovation will be missed in Queensland and we wish her and her family the very best for their future.

Our next function will be the AGM on 19 March to be held at the University of Queensland and we eagerly anticipate the year ahead.

Elizabeth Mackinlay
Secretary, Queensland Chapter

Newsletter No. 51 (August 1999)

Not wanting to break with tradition, the Queensland Chapter began the year on Sunday 14 March by holding its AGM at Wordsmith's Cafe, U of Q. The following 1999 committee was duly elected: President: Anne Marie Forbes (U of Q); Treasurer: Simon Perry (U of Q); Secretary: Liz Mackinlay (U of Q); Committee members: Shirley Trembath (Griffith), Dolly Mackinnon (QUT) and Bronwen Arthur (U of Q). The Chapter extends a sincere vote of thanks to the outgoing committee. Sadly, Jenny Dawson did not re-nominate as Secretary and we'd like to thank her for her wonderful and tireless work in this position over the past nine years. We wish her all the best for the year ahead as she moves onto bigger and brighter things!

Our first function scheduled for 1999 was a seminar by Dr. Linda Barwick titled "Responding to the Community: Experiences in Musicological Research in Italy and Australia" to be held on Friday 7 May. Regrettably, the seminar did not proceed as planned due to a last minute and unforeseeable change in Linda's busy schedule. Members retreated to the pleasant surroundings of the University of Queensland Staff and Graduates Club to ponder current musicological issues. We look forward to catching up with Linda when she next visits our fair city.

The second half of 1999 promises to be an exciting and eventful time for the Queensland Chapter. On 29 July in association with the postgraduate and staff seminar series at the School of Music, University of Queensland convened by Professor Malcolm Gillies, Professor Hartmut Möller (Freiburg and Rostock) will present a seminar titled "Music in the two German States after World War II". Members will then join Professor Moeller for drinks afterwards. After the success of our symposium last year, this year's event is entitled the "Big Musicology Gig" and is to be held on Sunday 5 September at the Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University. We are hoping to attract paper givers from a wide range of disciplines represented within the MSA and a prize of $100 will be given to the best student paper. The symposium will include a panel discussion and the issue of changing the name of the society will be debated vigorously as a lead up to the Wagga Wagga Weekend Weekend AGM.

Elizabeth Mackinlay

Newsletter No. 50 (February 1999)

Regular bulletins have kept Queensland members abreast of their Chapter's activities during 1998, which added up to a varied and successful year's programme.

Visiting Yanyuwa women performers from the Aboriginal community at Borroloola in the NT shared their knowledge and culture with Chapter members on 27 April, beside the lovely University of Queensland lake. Dinah Norman and Nancy McDinny, assisted by Elizabeth MacKinlay, introduced us to a style of music and dance previously unfamiliar to many of us. With great good nature they encouraged the audience to join in the performance, which it did with considerable enthusiasm although varying degrees of aptitude.

Enthusiasm was also a keynote of the Soiree held in the Secretary's Music Room on 8 May, at which Andrew McCredie was Guest of Honour. Members revealed some most unexpected talents, often in much lighter musical fields than those in which we are accustomed to hear them pontificate. The fare ranged from music hall and musicals to G & S, from parlour ballads to patter songs, with even the odd piece of 'legit' music for variety. The riotous evening culminated, if that be the appropriate word, with three-fortunately friendly-musicologists sharing the piano stool for a Grainger extravaganza.

The Chapter was invited to join the School of Music, University of Queensland, for its series of seminars in honour of Colin Brumby, on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Queensland. Seminars were presented through May and June by Jenny Dawson, Stephen Cronin, Malcolm Gillies and David Pear, and finally by the guest of honour himself-a warm and affectionate evening that developed into something suspiciously like 'This Is Your Life'.

'Embracing the 21st Century: Current Directions in Music Research' was the title of the symposium held on 6 September at the Kelvin Grove campus, QUT. Ten young researchers presented papers on a bewildering assortment of topics, ranging over music therapy (Deborah Bongers, Laura Kirkland, Jane Davidson), aesthetics (Gavin Carfoot), Britten (Benedikte Palings), music of non-Western cultures (Andrea Layt, John Varney, Monique Earle), music of non-cultured Westerns-er, disco (JoAnn Curtis), and Dunstable (Bronwyn Ellis). It was encouraging to see such an array of interest, itself possibly encouraged by the Chapter's Prize for Best Student Presentation. Congratulations are in order to all, especially the winner, John Varney. The day was enlivened by a spirited debate upon the topic 'Has Musicology Had Its Day?', which was adjudicated in the negative by the obviously biased audience.

The traditional Christmas Party, hospitably hosted by our Chairman on 6 December, rounded the year off nicely. Our next function will be the AGM, to be held comfortably over lunch at Wordsmiths Cafe, University of Queensland, on Sunday 14 March.

Jenny Dawson