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Australia, report 2003

Presented at IAML Conference, Tallinn, 2003

The 2002 Biennial Conference

The 2002 national biennial conference was held in September in Perth, Western Australia. Approximately 30 people. The theme of the conference, “Ad Infinitum: Preserving Australia's musical culture” was reflected in a variety of papers and included a keynote address by one of Australia’s eminent musicologists Emeritus Professor David Tunley. Prof. Tunley’s presence provided a valuable connection with the “living” researcher and highlighted the need to strengthen these connections. There were a number of formal papers as well as a tour of the State Library of Western Australia. A Directions forum was held, with issues concerning the future directions of IAML Australia highlighted and actions established. Issues such as education of music librarians and paraprofessional staff, volunteerism, outreach, future collaborations with other cultural library organizations, promotion of the profession were addressed. The conference ended with a privileged visit to the Benedictine Monastery Music Archive at New Norcia (established in the isolated bush of inland Western Australia in the early nineteenth century). Despite the fact that most of the members were women, we were apparently the first women to enter the archive, due to our professional status. The archive holds manuscripts and published sacred and secular works by the monks who have lived at the Monastery, including a number of Spanish monks. The music was composed for use in the services and the schools in New Norcia.

The Biennial General Meeting took place at this conference. Constitutional changes were ratified. It had been 30 years since the constitution had been updated. It now reflects the activities of the group as it exists today.

Membership

Membership of the branch stands at 35 individual and 25 institutional members.

Publications

The IAML (Australia) web page continues to be regularly updated. Volume 31 of the journal Continuo was published in 2002, containing the proceedings of the conference. Intermezzo newsletter, issued quarterly, continues to inform members and the latest edition is available on the webpage. See www.iamlaust.org

Other highlights:

Planning towards a joint conference with IAML NZ is currently underway. It will be held in Canberra in September 2004.

IAML (Australia) is supporting a session on music research and technology at the Symposium of the International Musicological Society to be held in Melbourne in July 2004.

The National Library of Australia has secured the archive of major Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe. See http://www.nla.gov.au/epubs/sculthorpe/

The MusicAustralia project continues to expand and create interest. See http://www.musicaustralia.org/

Georgina Binns,
President, IAML (Australia),
June 2003