ARIA Music Teacher Nominees Reveal Their Biggest Inspirations

Jane Nicholas

Willandra Primary School, Seville Grove, Noongar Land, WA

My parents, great-grandmother, piano teacher, cousins and contemporary Australian artists have all influenced my musical journeys. My mother was a piano-playing classical soprano, and my dad played the piano too and adored classical music. They began my forays into music with quite an eclectic series of experiences with Mum singing to and around me, John Caragher's Singers of Renown and ABC FM. There were several records and then cassette tapes, including Tijuana Brass, Neil Diamond, Helen Reddy, Nana Mouskouri and John Denver, and the Muppets Christmas Special. Live music was a frequent habit as a child through regular church services, orchestral concerts, operettas and folk performances. 

My piano and organ-playing great-grandmother, Grandma Henderson, had been a minister’s wife in Kalgoorlie and Perth, and was my first piano teacher. She was very stern, but I was determined. My chatter and antics seemed to test her good humour on many occasions. The piano that I was taught on, was the same instrument I spent hours playing duets and trios with my cousins. It was the piano my dad played as a boy. It is now in my home, and it's one of my greatest pleasures hearing my daughters play it too. Grandma Henderson passed away when I was seven. I remember being heartbroken. Mum found me a wonderful piano teacher in Mrs Willoughby of Belmont. She was so patient with me. I had lessons for almost a decade with her. 

My late teenage musical influences were popular music artists like Goanna, The Black Sorrows, Cold Chisel, Dolly Parton, Juice Newton, Madonna, Dire Straits, Paul Kelly and Kate Ceberano. It was all about singing, music and movement – dancing and aerobics especially. Since becoming a music teacher, it has been about pursuing different musical genres and appropriate music to build the strong hearts and minds of tomorrow's leaders. This has seen me explore Australia’s wonderful First Nations artists, song/storytellers and contemporary artists to bring people together through sound and song. I love my musical journeys. 

David Collins-White 

Haberfield Public School, Haberfield, Eora Nation, NSW

I credit my mother, Margaret White, for my love of music. Not only did she introduce me to the piano at the age of four, teaching me for almost 10 years, but she also took the choir at my local public school, where I sang in. Of course, all family celebrations and gatherings were opportunities for concerts when everyone performed, usually finishing with a sing-along. She also took me along to concerts and to an audition for the St Andrew's Cathedral choir, for which I was successful. During these occasions, I developed my love of singing which today, as a music teacher, I pass on to my students at Haberfield Public School.

Kathleen Dunn

Wollondilly Public School, Goulburn, Gundungurra Land, NSW

My musical journey began in primary school, with the opportunity to sing, learn the recorder and play in percussion ensembles. In high school, my lovely English teacher Ms Wilson taught my friend and I how to play the flute, and we performed in the school band and a flute ensemble. These are my fondest memories of school. The opportunity to perform at school and in eisteddfods let me feel the exhilaration that comes after making it through a performance.

I was very keen to give my own children the opportunity to gain this joy from music as well. Being involved in their musical experiences inspired me to help make these opportunities available to all of the children I teach at school. I endeavour to provide high-level engagement and opportunity for every child, no matter their circumstances. Through my own experiences, I know great joy through music can be nurtured in the primary years, giving children the confidence and desire to pursue their own path.

Matt Orchard

Apollo Bay P-12 College, Apollo Bay, Gadubanud Territory, VIC

Mum and Dad. Maureen and Bill Orchard. Dad was a fine trumpet player back in the day and had a handy tenor voice. Mum could sing and could play the piano, so they both played a part in passing on the musical genes. Their combined influence, however, was more about not forcing anything upon me and allowing me to navigate my own musical journey and tastes in my own time. 

Both relatively conservative teachers themselves, I look back and am especially grateful that they indulged me in my love for KISS. Let’s be honest, the garish make-up, the high octane, heavy music and the overtly suggestive lyrics were a far cry from their tastes, but as a nine-year-old, all that stuff didn’t register with me. I just loved the rock’n’roll part of it and still do. Mum would sit with me doing puzzles in the sunroom while I listened to Hotter Than Hell, Dressed To Kill and their eponymous first album. Two guitars, drums, bass, vocals and harmonies…the perfect sonic template. Now in her 80s, Mum recently shouted me a ticket to see KISS on their final ever tour for my birthday forty-three years on from those sunroom sessions! I’m forever grateful to them both.  

Voting for The 2022 Telstra ARIA Music Teacher awards is open now. You can cast your vote here.