Kinnane Bequest Enables School of Music Tour to North Queensland

3 Nov 2017
Pictured: Patrick Murphy and
Stephanie Greening with
Strings Festival Participants

The UQ School of Music’s Pulse Chamber Orchestra, comprising 20 Bachelor of Music (Honours) students, recently returned from a tour to North Queensland where they led the Trinity Bay State High School Strings Festival.

The Strings Festival brought together 110 students and teachers from 15 schools across North Queensland for tutorials, workshops and performances led by our student musicians as well as professional development workshops for local teachers led by UQ Cello Performance Fellow Patrick Murphy.

The School of Music’s annual student ensemble tours to regional and rural Queensland are enabled by the generous bequest of Paula and Tony Kinnane whose vision was to inspire students in regional areas through access to higher education in the arts.

“Cairns was an excellent experience because we not only got to play with an enthusiastic audience of students, but also workshop and play alongside them,” said second year BMus(Hons) viola student Flora Cawte.

The Strings Festival was organised by Stephanie Grenning, UQ Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Education alumnus, and aims to promote excellence by building capacity in string students from across the region.

“This project has injected enormous energy into the already thriving performing arts community, with the opportunity to work with performers such as the Pulse Chamber Orchestra and Patrick Murphy inspiring both our students and teachers.”

This wonderful opportunity for both the North Queensland music community and the UQ student involved would not have been possible without the Paula and Tony Kinnane Bequest.

The UQ School of Music is part of UQ’s Not If, When – the Campaign to Create Change, which aims to change lives within the community and globally by encouraging support for teaching leadership, and disadvantaged students.

UQ researcher, cervical cancer vaccine co-inventor and campaign Co-Chair Professor Ian Frazer said the campaign came at a time when UQ researchers were close to solving some of society’s most pressing issues.

“Donations, no matter how large or small, can accelerate important research with local and global impact,” he said. “They can also provide life-changing opportunities for deserving students who would otherwise struggle to achieve their educational dreams.”

Learn more about the campaign and how you can make a genuine difference.

Learn more now

Article originally published on School of Music site. 

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