Community Music and Facilitative Leadership: Relationship, Relevance & Respect with Dr Graham Sattler

Wednesday 1st May
7:30pm-9:30pm
R2 Room, Riverina Conservatorium of Music

Cost: $25pp

A two-hour public forum for anyone and everyone interested in community-based music education, leadership and facilitation, exploring and discussing key aspects of:
- Musical inclusion
- Quality and excellence (definitions, dynamics and resonances)
- Community and leadership (responsibilities, opportunities, and small ‘p’ politics)
- Group musicking and resilience

The forum will involve discussion of current international models, investigated and experienced by Graham during a three-month Churchill Fellowship during which he investigated best-practice Community Music Leadership Training environments across England, Ireland, Scotland, North America, Norway, Portugal and Armenia.

Based on his experiences and relationships with leading Community Music practitioners and institutions, and backed by 20 years of community music leadership in regional NSW, Graham's findings and recommendations will provide a starting point for sharing, questioning, and refreshing approaches to effective, accessible and inclusive music education and participation for communities of all types.

The first part of the evening will take the form of an interactive presentation, following will be a sharing and discussion of perspectives and approaches to inclusive music making, and we’ll cap the session off with some live music making.

Graham began his career as an orchestral trombonist, became a singer specialising in opera and music theatre, a conductor and artistic director, then commenced research in the field of community music activity and musical inclusion. He holds a Diploma of Operatic Art and Music Theatre, a Master of Performance (Conducting), PhD in Music Education and a Graduate Certificate in the Psychology of Risk.

From 2001 to 2012 Graham was Director of the Orange Regional Conservatorium (NSW, Australia), during which time he led multiple community music programs across aged, disability, disadvantaged and at-risk youth cohorts, and engaged in the design and delivery of the Associate Degree in Music Education program at Charles Sturt University. From 2014 to 2021 Graham served as Executive Director, Mitchell Conservatorium, and casual academic with Central Queensland University.

Regularly presenting at international Music Education conferences, he has carried out community-focused fieldwork in Australia, North America and Bolivia, collaborated on community music development activity with groups in and from Armenia, and designed and delivered multiple professional learning music courses for non-specialist teachers in Australia. Graham is a Churchill Fellow, and has recently returned from investigating best-practice musical inclusion and community music leadership training programs in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Portugal and Armenia. Graham was appointed CEO of Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in late 2021.