Embargoed until 6pm tonight, Thursday 10 May
A $400,000 bequest is set to open up a new world of sound typically out of reach to the average music student.
The generous donation from the Jani Haenke Charitable Trust will be used to purchase high quality instruments for a resident string quartet and wind quintet available to student ensembles at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.
Queensland Conservatorium Executive Manager Dr Helen Lancaster says the goal is to provide the best of Queensland’s emerging musicians with access to the best of instruments, to give them a distinct advantage in competitions and auditions at the start of their careers.
“The sounds these fine musical instruments produce will stay with the students long after their time at the Conservatorium, as will their experience joining together to create small ensembles.”
“We believe small ensembles are a significant part of the future possibilities available to our graduates, so it is important that our emerging musicians are given every opportunity to stretch their potential from the outset.
“With instruments of high quality ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 and even higher for stringed instruments, this is beyond the reach of most young musicians.
“This fund will offer student ensembles access to professional experiences and the chance to appreciate just what can be expected from instruments of this calibre.”
The Jani Haenke Chamber Music Competition will be launched later this year within the Conservatorium to encourage students to form small ensembles and compete for the chance to use the instruments for a one-year period.
The winners will then form the Jani Haenke String Quartet and the Jani Haenke Wind Quintet and will also be invited to participate in the annual Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival.
The bequest will be officially announced tonight during the opening program of the Crossbows festival of music for small ensembles – the ideal opportunity, Dr Lancaster says, to recognise “such a substantial contribution to fine music in Queensland”.
The bequest represents an important step in the establishment of a substantial endowment fund to enable the Conservatorium to make lasting contributions to quality music making in Queensland.
Announcement Details
WHEN: 6pm, Thursday 10 May
WHERE: Queensland Conservatorium, 140 Grey St, South Bank
WHO: Professor Huib Schippers (Queensland Conservatorium Director) and Executive Manager Dr Helen Lancaster, Mrs Angela
Geertsma (trustee and sister of Jani Haenke), Mr Hartley Newnham (renowned countertenor and composer) and Dr Margaret
Grace.
