- I just found this incredible joy
when it came to movement.
- What drew me to teaching music
was to have great teachers.
- It's not until you're in
that performance kind of state
that you really know who you are as a musician.
- There's something very beautiful
about performing and rehearsing in bigger spaces
and ones that were specifically made
for instruments and the voice.
- I'm from a working-class background.
Getting into high cultural spaces can be quite challenging,
so having the support is what actually brings
diverse voices to these spaces.
- The highlight of my time being at the VCA
was working with distinguished choreographers,
as well as the fabulous Faculty
of incredible dance lecturers.
The Martyn Myer gives us a new performance space,
a new rehearsal space to work in.
- So, as a peri-regional student,
having a space in the city was really valuable.
It meant that I could connect to galleries
and spaces that support the arts and support students.
I got to exhibit a video work at the Buxton Contemporary,
which is just next door to the studios at The Stables.
I also got the opportunity to exhibit
at the Ian Potter Museum, and that was a real highlight
and really propelled my practice forward
into the public eye.
- The facilities just open up way more opportunities.
It's a real privilege when there's a chance to play
in a beautiful hall like this
it just kind of pushes you that extra bit.
- So the Southbank Campus on Sturt Street
is a wonderful place for music.
It's right in the heart of the Arts Precinct,
right next to The Recital Centre.
We have VCA next door and the gallery
and the Art Centre as well.
We've got a really great connection with our community here
and to foster collaboration
between art workers, dance, music and theatre.
As a lecturer, it's wonderful to come into a room
and to be able to have such facilities at your fingertips,
but also for the students to feel
that they can reach their full potential here,
it's what we really highly value.
- I think there's a real cross-pollination
between all these different art forms
and artists - I think is really important
to meet other people and see how they're working
and what they're taking inspiration from -
definitely feeds back into your own practice.
- These new spaces definitely
have created an improved performance experience
just because of the variety of performances
that can be done here.
When I'm in a practice room practising,
and I'm hearing a violinist,
I'll go in and just say, "That's beautiful,"
and sometimes that's resulted in a project outside of Uni,
and yeah, just building those connections is so important.
- We've got all of our new facilities,
which are really wonderful to be a part of.
Performing in these spaces
as a flamenco guitarist is beautiful.
It's such an amazing sound.
The opportunities for students
to really develop their artistic skills here
lie on the stage, and the potential for more performances,
and at the new centre, we have quite a few new stages,
more rooms for creativity and collaboration.
- Well, I think we're really fortunate here
to have these amazing instruments.
To find your sound and the possibilities of the repertoire,
you really need access to the instruments
that bring out things in you
and in your kind of vision for the music
that you might not have even known were there.
They really kind of just open
this whole other world of possibility.
I think we'll all be eternally grateful
for that kind of support, really hard to overstate
how much it's appreciated.
- I'm so thankful, because it's really,
this is what it takes to go international
or to just keep pushing yourself to be a better artist.
- We do need this assistance in this type of field.
So yeah, thank you so much.
- Having there be support in the arts,
especially financial support, I think it's so important,
especially with these current times.
We are beyond grateful for all the support we get.
It is greatly appreciated,
and it helps breed the next generation,
but it also helps the current generation
to be able to keep doing what they love.