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2016 Annual Report

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Our mission

Music for Canberra’s mission is to create and provide high quality, educational and enjoyable musical

experiences which are accessible for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Music for Canberra

believes in fostering innovation, diversity and creative thinking through music.

Our vision

The music for Canberra vision is to be the leading provider of musical learning and performance

experiences for the Canberra community. We will achieve this vision by providing quality education and

performance opportunities across a range of instruments and vocal programs, with learning and

performance pathways to suit the artistic goals of each individual.

Our History

Music for Canberra incorporated on January 5th 2015 from the amalgamation of Canberra Youth Music

(50 years) and Music for Everyone (30 years). Music for Canberra draws on both the standard of

excellence, and community-focused strengths of both these ‘parent’ organisations to create a new and

dynamic entity to provide excellence in music experiences for all Canberrans.

This 80 years of combined musical history enables Music for Canberra to draw on the corporate

knowledge, staff and member skills and the positive attributes of an organisation that encourages

engagement with music, and respects that music belongs to all of us.

It is imperative that we continue to collect, collate and record and present appropriately the history of

our company in mediums that will inform and enrich our future.

ABOUT US

Music for Canberra is a Key Arts Organisation, Not for Profit music education provider, offering musical

learning and performance experiences for the Canberra community. Our vision is clear and simple: to be

the leading provider of the musical learning and performance experiences for the Canberra community.

We will achieve this vision by providing quality education and performance opportunities across a range

of programs (instrumental and vocal), with learning pathways to suit the artistic goals of each individual.

To achieve these aims we will follow these principles:

People of all ages, backgrounds and abilities should be encouraged to explore music and achieve individual music goals in either a solo or group setting

Music participation and learning should be accessible in a range of contexts to all in the community

Participation in music-making enriches the quality of the individual’s cultural life and that of the community

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Music for Canberra ensures these principles by:

Working with the participants to meet their needs

Providing enriching and innovative repertoire

Engaging audiences using a range of performance platforms

Managing its operations in a sustainable and professional manner

Partnering with key organisations and community groups

OUR PEOPLE

PATRON

Tim Ferguson is a comedian, screenwriter and director. He has created, written and starred in many TV series in

Australia & the UK. Recent credits include: co-writing (with Edwina Exton) co-directing (with Marc Gracie) the

rom-com feature film SPIN OUT (Sony Pictures) which opened in cinemas nationally in September. Tim was also

Series Script Editor for the ABC1 sitcom RICKETTS LANE (2015) and THE LEGEND OF GAVIN TANNER (2016).

Tim is a member of the international comedy success trio the Doug Anthony Allstars (D.A.A.S with Paul McDermott

and Richard Fidler) since 1984. They reformed in 2013 (with Paul ‘Flacco’ Livingston) and have since enjoyed

many sold-out major theatre tours nationally, and have just returned from the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and

a series of shows in London.

Tim wrote the bestselling memoir CARRY A BIG STICK which details his career and battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

He wrote bestselling comedy screenwriting manual THE CHEEKY MONKEY – WRITING NARRATIVE COMEDY.

He is Australia’s foremost teacher of screen comedy, consults for international production companies and

networks. Tim conducts his own Cheeky Monkey Comedy Courses worldwide. He currently lectures in comedy &

screenwriting at the Australian Film TV & Radio School (AFTRS), RMIT University, Victorian College of Arts (VCA)

and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Tim is also a highly experienced keynote speaker and corporate event host and is thrilled to be Patron of Music

for Canberra.

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BOARD

Name Position

Peter Thrall Chair

Geoffrey Manning Vice Chair

Anne Buck Secretary

Gavin Kellett Treasurer

Alan Hui Member

Nathan Hancock Member

Kerry Mills Member

Catherine Carter Member

2016 Administration Staff

Name Position Month started/finished (if not

engaged for whole year)

Kathleen Grant CEO & Artistic

Director

Mieka Vigilante Marketing and

Programs

June. Worked remotely until

Saturday 23 September

Kate Firkins Finance, HR and

Programs

Included Programs June

Maryanne Picker Administration

Officer

June

Skye Gallagher Administration

Officer

March to July

James Brogan Administration

Officer

July to October

Jenny Brain Marketing

Manager

September

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Casual Staff

Surname First Name Position

Month started/finished (if not engaged

for whole year)

Brown David Tutor

Buckler Josh Tutor Commence July

Cavalo Ben Tutor September to December

Claringbould Greta Conductor July

Findlay Fraser Tutor September

Firkins Kate Tutor

Firkins Mary Tutor

Fisher Elysia Tutor

Forman Michelle Tutor December

Genet Toby Tutor

Gisz Madeleine Tutor

Hendy Bronwyn Conductor September to December

Higgs Jenny Conductor

Jerjen Barbara Tutor

Knight Kirsten Conductor December

Chloe Lankshear Conductor July to September

Latham Hanna-Marie Accompanist

MacPhail Rosemary Tutor December

Manning Richard Tutor

Maxfield Toni Tutor December

Neidorf Demetri Tutor December

Owens Karen Tutor

Owens Sarahlouise Tutor

Patrick Erin Tutor September

Philipse Mandy Tutor

Phillips Claire Tutor December

Quinn Quirke Patrick Tutor

Raffan Zach Tutor

Rufus Victor Tutor July

Slater Dylan Tutor

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Temby Scott Tutor Resigned October 10 2016

Weiss Leonard Conductor

Wickham Tim Conductor

Williams Neille Tutor April

Woolhouse Rita Tutor January - October

Ye Shilong Conductor

Managers

Name Position Month started/finished (if not

engaged for whole year)

Mary Tough CYO Manager

Dot O’Connor JMO Manager

Kerry Mills Peg Mantle Strings Manager

Caroline Sayers String Ensemble Manager

Penny Dakin Sinfonietta Strings Manager

Stef Pidcock, Camerata Strings Manager

Hanna-Mari Latham Canberra Youth Choir Manager

Kirsten Knight Canberra Children’s Choir

Manager

Hanna-Mari Latham Training Choir Manager

Martin Elias Transport

Peter Hislop, Photographer

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OUR SUPPORTERS

Music for Canberra is a Key Arts Organisation, and generously supported by artsACT. The Snow

Foundation is a key sponsor contributing to offsetting the costs for members attending the Mixed

Abilities Program.

Music for Canberra is also generously supported in a variety of ways by the following establishments:

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STRUCTURE & MANAGEMENT

Music for Canberra Incorporated is a community not for profit Key Arts Organisation. Its structure is

staffed by skilled and experienced staff and supported by generous assistance from volunteers,

particularly during events and performances.

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CHAIR REPORT

It has been an interesting and challenging year indeed but with many successes along the way. From

my perspective, Music For Canberra is beginning to settle into its own identity. Yes, the culture and

future direction of this organisation is still evolving, but I can already see great things happening and

many new initiatives and events to look forward to. All in all, a very successful year as we continue on

the journey!

Kathleen Grant has continued with us in her role as CEO and Artistic Director, and she continues to

demonstrate a very high level of enthusiasm, energy and commitment to making Music For Canberra

the very best that it can be.

I’d also like to acknowledge the consistently high quality of the contributions that our Board has made

this year. We have been fortunate in having a diverse skillset represented, including experience in

program management and procurement, finance, higher education, public policy and human rights,

organisational development and culture, communication and marketing.

During 2016, there have been a number of changes in our teaching and administration staff. I’d like to

note in particular, some of the administrative staff changes which partly represented a response to

concerns raised by teaching staff and members. I’d really like to thank the office team for their hard

work this year, and their willingness to adapt – this has helped to ensure key improvements in

efficiency and effectiveness, and a strong customer focus in everything we do. This has included paying

more explicit attention to how we communicate with each other across the organisation (e.g.

newsletters and emails), and ensuring that everyone was aware of expectations and standards across

the business.

The Board and CEO have put emphasis on building a more transparent, open and inclusive culture

within Music For Canberra. During 2016, round table discussions were held with staff to provide

opportunities for people to talk about the things that matter to them, to raise issues and to contribute

their ideas to how we move towards the future. This consultation process provided excellent

information to inform the organisation’s pathway for further change and development. Given all the

other demands on people’s time, there will always be challenges with maintaining the momentum for

positive change but I am confident that this will happen, given strong Board and CEO commitment to

making MFC a great place to work as well as a great place to participate in music activities.

Following on from the AGAC renovations in 2015, there has continued to be some challenges for us

around the availability of working spaces and equipment storage, our ability to flexibly expand MFC

activities, and the need to fit in with a range of other organisations using the new facilities under the

new AGAC business model. This has resulted on some occasions in missed classes or timetable clashes

– discussions are ongoing with regard to how best to address this issue.

Music For Canberra also had many highlights during 2016. These include a diverse range of

performances (e.g. the combined Mannheim Youth and CYO orchestras which represented our first

venture into live streaming). Overall, during this year participation numbers increased in many of our

ensembles as well as the audiences at these events.

Another major event for us was the installation of MFC’s first patron, Tim Ferguson, who would be

well known by many for his contributions to film, comedy, writing, teaching and the arts. Tim is

particularly passionate about promoting inclusion and a great supporter of the social importance of

making music accessible to everyone.

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Overall, I see continued evidence that Music For Canberra is growing and progressing in diverse ways,

and I have complete confidence that the organisation will continue to be an important resource for

making musical experiences widely available to the Canberra community.

Peter H. Thrall

Chair MFC Board

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CEO & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Music for Canberra (MFC) means different things to members and to our young music makers,

seniors, mixed abilities students or in a standard of excellence ensemble; community, music making

with the attributes of inclusion and fun at the core of every MFC experience.

Since merging in 2015, MFC has provided music experiences in a variety of formats for a wide range

of ages, abilities, genres and goals. Whether it is music for personal joy, social or cognitive

development, or in preparation for a musical career, MFC aims to provide the best music experience

possible to maximize inclusion and participation. This is achieved through a variety of services and

strategies including providing, where possible, multiple iterations of classes, keeping costs as low as

possible to accommodate a broader socio economic bracket, researching and delivering pilot

programs to learn more about our community, refining our product to include our communities

most vulnerable, and increasingly engaging with industry professionals and visiting artists to enrich

our programs.

With this in mind MFC is researching and working with our peers and colleagues to continually

develop MFC as a Key Arts Organisation within our sector, providing outstanding artistic

opportunities within the community and offering leadership and support to the community. With a

settling and refinement of programs and staff in 2016, we are now focussing on the actions required

results of the staff consultation meetings of late 2016 and incorporating knowledge learned into a

membership consultation process with the aim to continually refine and develop our product and

services.

MFC in 2016 looked quite different to its original 2015 merge. Physically the completion of building

renovations had sorted some of the challenges of the last half of 2015 had mostly been resolved by

establishment of systems to cater for room bookings and staff communication. More challenges

awaited in 2016 with the addition of new tenants to the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre community.

Some of these organisations were, and are, in direct competition with MFC and sometimes their

work activities placed new pressures on room availability for MFC classes. Our customer base

remained relatively consistent during the entire year, starting with 600 members at the beginning of

the year and finishing with 602.

We continued to refine and utilize Music Biz (customer service software) which has a range of

functions that allow us to book in new members, construct timetables, send invoices and reminders

and process and record payments. We are looking forward to developing more of its capabilities in

the future to continually improve our service.

Music for Canberra has our main office and the bulk of our activities are the Ainslie and Gorman Arts

Centre and operates at several other venues around Canberra. Rehearsals and classes are scheduled

regularly at the ANU School of Music and Tuggeranong Arts Centre. From time to time as bookings

require, we will also work at the Canberra City Band Hall and Canberra Boys Grammar School. MFC

is fortunate to have performance opportunities at both Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres, ANU

Llewellyn Hall, Orana Steiner School, the Great Hall of Parliament House, the High Court and other

iconic venues around Canberra.

Music for Canberra engages in the traditional medium of master and apprentice (whether individual

tuition or group) and in support of the teacher/student engagement, we encourage all staff and

members to provide performance opportunities for their students regularly and at least once a year.

Audiences generally consist of family and friends of the performers, although the engagement of

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guest artists within our Canberra Youth Orchestra Concerts in 2016 have shown to be a draw card

for increasing number and diversity of attendees.

Collaborating with ANU School of Music also allowed MFC to experience for the first time a local and

international a digital presence in 2016 during the Mannheim and Canberra Youth Orchestra’s

combined concert on Saturday 13th August via Live Streaming. This performance is still viewable

online and has over 2200 views which is outstanding.

In regards to the growth and retention of members, we took 2016 with caution so as not to over

extend the human and physical resources. However major changes in administration staff caused

stress on the staff remaining and as such some key issues arose requiring support and resolution.

Great thanks to the resourcefulness and resilience throughout 2015 of Kate Firkins and Mieka

Vigilante, who created some exciting pilot programs and supported staff well beyond the normal

working hours for which I am very grateful. We also welcomed in new marketing manager Jenny

Brain who fitted in seamlessly with our operations and the hectic pace of the business.

MFC as a Key Arts Organisation in Canberra is generously supported by artsACT. Funding support

from the Snow Foundation also allows us to keep the costs of our Mixed Abilities program at an

accessible level.

Fees at Music for Canberra are kept as low as possible to provide maximum potential for

engagement with young musicians in our community. Members pay for a yearly membership fee

which contributes to insurance and administrative costs. Meticulous calculations are made to

ensure costs are covered including room hire, staff fees with each class. Individual classes must be

viable as a one to one endeavour and we make decisions regarding the continuance of classes on the

same principals. However sometimes there are groups that for explicit or intrinsic reasons on

occasion we allow to run to at a loss, we will support these groups for a period of time and work to

boosting membership and achieve sustainability.

Our members receive outstanding tuition from both experienced and early career musicians. We are

fortunate in Canberra that subject matter experts for instrumental teaching and conducting work

are available from a variety of quality institutions such as Canberra Symphony Orchestra, ANU

School of Music, Orana Steiner School, Radford College, National Capital Orchestra and many more.

This adds a depth to staff that we are keen to tap into in future projects. Our program of lessons

and performances are skills and capacity based so that each member of Music for Canberra has the

opportunity to perform at least once a year in the appropriate medium for their learning and musical

experience. This is an important distinction as our most vulnerable members perform weekly in a

supportive class environment, and our Rock Academy and Youth Orchestra members perform in

public events in the space appropriate to their medium.

Music for Canberra’s main source of income is membership fees. In the past this has not been the

best with a huge number of debtors recorded for 2015/2016. We are working towards refining our

communications and handling of invoicing, debt management and recovery to ensure we are

administrating our business and resources appropriately, in a timely fashion and with respect.

Music for Canberra was thrilled to be the recipient of the Canberra Theatre Centres Charity of the

Day at the August 2016 Music at Midday Concert. A fabulous day of music generously supported by

the MFC senior’s choirs Allegro and Vivace to assist in the fundraising and marketing efforts of the

day. 2016 also was a wonderful year with generous support from the Embassy of the Federal

Republic of Germany with a donation of €5000 to hold the combined Mannheim and Canberra Youth

Orchestra’s in concert at Llewellyn Hall, Saturday 16th August. This was also generously sponsored in

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kind by ANU School of Music and new Head of the School of Music, Professor Ken Lampl. The

Canberra Symphony Orchestra generously supported in kind by rescheduling key rehearsals to allow

us Llewellyn Hall, and Anton Pemmer from Bottles of Australia provided commemorative water

bottles for the event. We were thrilled with the over 600 attending audience members and the

2200 views for live streaming, which is still available online.

The 2016 MFC skills based board provided invaluable support to me and MFC throughout the year.

There are so many instances where I called for practical assistance, connections or advice and each

member has been unstinting in their support and availability. I thank each and every one of these

amazing people most sincerely.

Music teaching and performing requires appropriate multiple resources of music and instruments as

well as dedicated and talented staff. To the best of our ability, staff are provided the resources

required to deliver a rich musical experience to their students. We are constantly working to protect

and maintain our instruments within the appropriate manner to minimize risk to health in accessing

and managing the instruments, protecting the instruments from damage and ensuring the quality of

the instrument to maximize the best musical experience.

Music for Canberra relies on the generous support of our Key Arts Organisation Sponsors at artsACT.

With funding until 2020, we are keen to ensure that our business model evolves to make the most of

becoming a sustainable business

2016 has been an intense year of developing a unique MFC identity and strong relationships with

our members and the Music community. Looking forward it is time to rework our key governance

documents to ensure that growth and identity factors are identified and pathways for enrichment

and growth are clearly articulated and strengthened. Our staff are experienced and dedicated to

their work and members provide meaningful feedback to assist us with organic creative planning.

Music for Canberra commenced a series of staff consultations at the end of 2016 to do our first all

staff health check. The results were collated and some key issues have been identified to be worked

on.

We have solved the following as a result of the inaugural staff consultation meeting:

Acquisition of new music stands

Regular staff communications

Including volunteer managers as staff in communications. Other items raised in the meetings for planning of high priority to address are

Further changes such as consistent and accessible administration support will be addressed as a priority

Review of staff wages

Succession planning Sincere and grateful thanks to all MFC staff and members for the amazing work and dedication

throughout 2016 and becoming such an active and intrinsic part of Music for Canberra.

Kathleen Grant

CEO | Artistic Director

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TREASURER’S REPORT

MFC strengthened their financial position in 2016 by delivering a surplus of $62,250. The total equity

grew from $228,615 at the end of 2015 to $290,865 at the end of 2016, providing a comfortable

reserve for the organisation.

2016 was a challenging year culturally. As a result of implementing improvements to address the

culture issues significant work was invested in improving operations, specifically the policies,

processes and procedures of the MFC office. One of the key initiatives was the engagement of

Successful Alliances to undertake more functions of financial processes and reporting. This has

resulted in more transparent and timely financial reporting, and will allow MFC staff to focus on

program development and artistic outcomes. There have also been significant changes in processes

and financial software platforms, and investigations are taking to place to move banks in order to

achieve efficiency and savings.

Overall program numbers for 2016 remained similar to 2015, however due to staff changes

throughout the year there were fluctuations within individual groups. The orchestral streams

increased in size, while the choir streams reduced in numbers. The cultural legacies associated with

staff changes made it difficult to maintain numbers in the group and engagement strategies will be

developed and implemented to reverse the trend for the choirs. Individual lesson numbers have

slightly reduced. Class capacity across all programs have been impacted by both the availability of

rooms at the Ainslie Arts Centre and the availability of suitable tutors. This is currently being

addressed.

The support of ArtsACT funding must be acknowledged. ArtsACT provide a significant amount of

funding to MFC, and their continued support is appreciated. €5000 from the EU was donated, and

support in kind from bottles of Australia to supply concert bottles for MYO and CYO orchestras was

also greatly appreciated.

2017 will focus on program expansion, wider audience exposure, continuous process improvement,

and looking at various funding options in order to keep the member fees affordable.

Gavin Kellett

MFC Treasurer

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & THANK YOU’S

Music for Canberra wishes to thank everyone who has enriched our music community this

year. Without the support in all its forms, financial, attendance, transporting to and from

lessons and rehearsals,

Grants and funding

Arts ACT

Donors

Snow Foundation

Corporate & community partners

Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre

ANU School of Music

ANU Friends of the School of Music

Music for Canberra Community

There was so much achieved in 2016 and great thanks to the talented and dedicated staff at

Music For Canberra who continued to develop and work for wonderful students and

fabulous music outcomes. We wish to sincerely thank all the wonderful volunteers from our

board to ensemble managers and parent helpers for their generous and tireless work in

2016. We also were thrilled to work with some amazing people with big hearts who

continually help MFC move mountains for the love of music and provide great experiences

to our members. To our dedicated members, thank you for your diligent work and artistic

offerings in 2016 and we look forward to an exciting year in 2017.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

Music for Canberra is keen to continually improve and you can help in the following ways!

Become a member

All students at Music for Canberra become members when they enrol in a course of study,

whether individual or group tuition, or as part of an ensemble. Membership prices are

available on the website at http://musicforcanberra.org.au/membership .

Membership fees are charged as part of your first invoice along with class fees.

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Volunteer your time

Music for Canberra has a team of wonderful volunteers who understand and are committed

to assisting staff provide the best learning and performance experiences for our musicians.

If you are enthusiastic, have proven organisational skills, have a reputation for reliability and

would like to contribute to a talented and dedicated team, then contact the Music for

Canberra Office on 6182 0030 and discover how you can be a part of something special.

Make a donation

Music for Canberra is a not for profit organisation and relies on generous support from Arts

ACT and the Snow Foundation. Information regarding how to make a donation to assist the

work of Music For Canberra will be distributed to our members shortly via the newsletter,

and information will be available on our website.

Support an event or fundraising activity

Subscribe to the Music for Canberra Newsletter to find out the latest projects that you can

be a part of. Supporting Music for Canberra can be financial, attendance, donation of

services and other creative ideas. If you have an idea and would love to be a part of the

creative process and outcome, express your ideas and interest via email at

info@musicforcanberra.org.au.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Details of sponsorship opportunities will be coming soon. To register your interest in

sponsoring Music for Canberra or an ensemble, please contact CEO Kathleen Grant at

kathleen@musicforcanberra.org.au .

Other ways you can help our cause

We love to receive feedback and great ideas. Write to info@musicforcanberra.org.au with

any news, ideas and feedback to help improve our product and the learning and

performance experiences for our musicians.

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CONTACT US

Music for Canberra

30 Elouera Street

Braddon ACT 2612

02 6182 0030

www.musicforcanberra.org,au

info@musicforcanberra.org.au

facebook/musicforcanberra