A long list of musicians, including Jimmy Barnes and Genesis Owusu, are using their voices to save the ANU School of Music.

In July, it was reported that the Australian National University would have its School of Music absorbed by another department to save money. Among the changes was the move to replace traditional one-on-one instrument lessons, while seven positions in performance, composition, theory and musicology were terminated.

This week, the Canberra Times reported that ANU School of Music students are leaving Canberra to pursue musical opportunities in Melbourne.

Australian musicians are among the team putting pressure on ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop and the ANU Council to abandon their plans to dismantle the School of Music. The team have called on Bishop to halt job cuts, continue its performance and composition majors, and maintain one-on-one music tuition in an open letter.

The open letter was written by the newly formed School of Music Advocacy Roundtable and signed by over 40 high-profile supporters.

Commenting on how the ANU School of Music has trained generations of world-class musicians, and the next generation would miss out due to the proposed rehaul, Jimmy Barnes said, “I’ve seen how classical training and rock and roll can come together to create magic. But that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because we invest in serious music education.”

He continued, “If one of our leading universities walks away from its responsibility, it sends a clear message that we don’t value the next generation of musicians, and we can’t let this happen.

“Music isn’t just entertainment, it’s an ecosystem. It supports jobs in venues big and small, it drives tourism, and it builds communities. The ANU’s plans to dismantle the School of Music put all of that at risk. They need to do better.”

Other names pledging their support to save the ANU School of Music include Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulkner, The Church’s Steve Kilbey, Elana Stone, Frenzal Rhomb’s Lindsay McDougall, You Am I’s Tim Rogers, Regurgitator’s Quan Yeomans, Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers’ Scarlett McKahey, and many more.

School of Music Advocacy Roundtable Chair Robyn Hendry added, “Cutting off the pipeline of musicians, which is exactly what will happen if ANU pushes these changes through, has a much broader impact than denying music students the education they need and deserve.

“As well as harming performance, it will strip the industry of the people who might become our future composers, producers, technicians, teachers, advocates and international ambassadors for Australian music. That we’ve heard from performers and industry leaders of all ages, genres and backgrounds demonstrates the level of concern across the board.

“It is not too late for the ANU to pause and reconsider its plans and for the Governance Council to realign with the ANU ACT.

“We are ready and willing to bring our industry experience to bear and collaborate on solutions that will offer an attractive product for students based in Canberra or who want to come to the nation’s capital, study at ANU and emerge at the end of it as professional musicians.”

Signees of the open letter are:

Members of the School of Music Advocacy Roundtable 

Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Jessica Cottis 

Prof Paul Dugdale

Michael Wilson

Robyn Holmes FAHA

Lindy Reksten

Christine Goode

Emeritus Professor Malcolm Gillies AM

Ditta Zizi

Connor Moloney

Chloe Law

Richard Tognetti AO

Genevieve Jacobs AM

Supported by 

Jimmy Barnes

Dave Faulkner

Lucy Sugerman

Bec Taylor

Catherine Carby

Emily Granger

Dr Sally Walker

Simon Tedeschi

Emma Grey

Ilya Isakovich

Kristian Winther

Dr Nicolette Bramley

David Caffery

Claire Edwardes OAM

Ed Le Brocq

Catherine Haridy

Tim Rogers

Steve Kilbey

Quan Yeomans

Genesis Owusu-Ansah

Lindsay McDougall

Phil Moriarty

Elana Stone

Paul McDermott  

Nigel McCrae and Beth Tully

Michael Simic

Pip Branson

Zoe Hauptmann

The Conway Brothers

Duncan Lowe

Joel Tyrell

Kojo Owusu-Ansah

Bree Van Ryk

Louis Montgomery

Ben Woolner

Live Performance Australia 

Symphony Services Australia 

Carmen Nieves

Tim Hollo

Nicole Van Bruggen

Dr Ian Whitney

Dr Catherine Crock

Steven Isserlis CBE

Scarlett McKahey