Music Archive for the Pacific

Index:

• Research and Post Graduate students
  
• Visting artists, researchers and scholars
  
• Student exchanges
  
• Staff exchanges

Aim 7 of the Music Archive for the Pacific is "to promote the collection as a resource for honours and post-graduate research projects." In order to put this aim into some perspective it may be useful provide some information about the activities and educational philosophy of the Centre for Contemporary Music.

The Centre is currently focused on an undergraduate program designed to prepare graduates for careers in the music industry. Students doing the research-based honours year and post-graduate research degrees account for only about 5% of the student population. This is not to undervalue the importance to the Centre of research and postgraduate activity. This importance is reflected in the Mission Statement of the Centre:

Mission Statement of the Centre for Contemporary Music

The mission of the Centre for Contemporary Music is the provision of education and training for contemporary popular musicians at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and the development, production, performance and recording of contemporary works. The Centre aims to create a learning environment which promotes the sensitivity to, and understanding of, all forms of contemporary music making, and a critical awareness of philosophical, social, legal and political issues arising from arts practice in a global context.

The Centre aims to respond to the needs of the music industry and other relevant industries (such as the music education industry) in the provision of appropriate vocational training programs. To this end it will establish and maintain links with a wide range of high-profile industry organisations and individuals.

At the undergraduate level the Centre's mission is the provision for students of a broad skill-base involving techniques of musicianship, performance and composition in a range of contemporary styles, as well as related technological, business, communication and academic skills.

At the postgraduate level, the Centre's mission is focused on specialised research in the field of contemporary musical practice, with an emphasis on composition and record production. The Centre will strive to maintain its position in Australia as a leader in contemporary music education, training and research, and seek to establish and maintain links with other similar higher education providers both in Australia and other countries.

In the mission statement research is strongly linked with musical practice. Indeed most students doing the honours year, the Masters of Arts by research, or the PhD are principally involved in creating musical works. Typically the format of their final presentations involves a folio of recorded works accompanied by a substantial written account of the research-basis of their creative processes.

Some areas of current activity include:

• Music Theatre
• Music and Multimedia
• A cappella Jazz arrangement and performance
• Dance Pop
• Techno

A traditional thesis on a research topic is the other main format for research degrees in the Centre. The research expertise of staff is centred on analytical and ethnographic approaches to musical repertoires.

Some areas of current activity include:

• Australian Techno Music
• Australian Screen Composition
• Mainstream Song writing in the 1960s
• Music Production
• Australian percussion ensemble music
• Indigenous popular music of Pacific countries
• Analytical models for the study of popular music

The Music Archive for the Pacific will provide an important focus for popular music research at Southern Cross University. As the Archive develops it will be able to provide primary sources for research that are either unavailable or difficult to obtain elsewhere.

Those interested in postgraduate study in the Centre for Contemporary Music should contact either of the following staff members:

Michael Hannan
Associate Professor of Contemporary Music
tel: 066 203807 (or from outside Australia: 61 66 203817)
fax: 066 223194 (or from outside Australia: 61 66 223194)
email: mhannan@scu.edu.au

Jon Fitzgerald
Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music
tel: 066 203856 (or from outside Australia: 61 66 203856)
fax: 066 223194 (or from outside Australia: 61 66 223194)
email: jfitzger@scu.edu.au

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The Centre for Contemporary Music has an active program of visiting artists and researchers. The Centre also encourages exchanges of students and staff with other institutions of similar focus. The Music Archive for the Pacific provides an opportunity for visitors to Southern Cross University to undertake work related to the theme of the Archive. This might take the form of research on the recordings and other materials in the archive; or it might alternatively involve working on performances or recordings that are related to the musical styles and cultures in the Archive.

The Music Archive for the Pacific invites performers and scholars of Pacific indigenous popular music to contact the Centre for Contemporary Music concerning the possibility of involvement in the visiting artist and visiting researcher programs.

The are a number of possibilities:

1. Grants are available to support travel, accommodation and a living allowance for artists or researchers who might consider visiting Southern Cross University for periods of between four and six months. Application for these grants is usually made at least one year before the intended visit.


2. The Centre has funds for visiting artists and researchers who might consider visiting Southern Cross University for a shorter period (usually one day to two weeks duration). These funds are used to cover travel, living expenses and a fee, depending on the contribution of the visitor to the teaching program. It is recommended that intending visitors contact the Head of Contemporary Music prior to the commencement of the academic year of the intended visit.


3. Even if there are limited or no funds available, visiting artists and researchers are welcome to visit the Archive and the Centre. It may be possible to assist them with their projects, depending on the availability of resources. e.g. recording studio time.

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Student exchanges are generally only possible if the two parties belong to institutions which have an exchange agreement. At present the Centre for Contemporary Music has no firm exchange agreements with other institutions. There is however a commitment to develop exchange agreements, and it is expected that a number will be in place in the near future. Students from other institutions interested in an exchange with a contemporary music student from Southern Cross University are invited to contact the Head of Contemporary Music to investigate the possibilities.

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Staff exchanges are usually possible if the two institutions can agree that it would be mutually beneficial for the exchange to take place. This usually means that the exchanging staff members have similar teaching and/or research profiles. Staff from other institutions interested in an exchange with a contemporary music staff member from Southern Cross University are invited to contact the Head of Contemporary Music to investigate the possibilities.

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