Winter School
Tenterfield NSW

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Download the 2021 Brochure here!

Guest Lecturers specialising in the
Kodály Method

Click here to register

Winter School Music Program

Monday 28th June – Friday 2nd July 2021 – Tenterfield, New South Wales

Director of the Cuskelly College of Music, Dr James Cuskelly OAM invites you to be part of the 2021 Winter School Music Program. Since being involved with the Australian Kodály Training Programs since their inception and President of the International Kodály Society, James is well known as a global leader in terms of the Kodály philosophy of music education.

The 2021 Winter School Brochure can be downloaded here.

The Winter Music Program is a pivotal component of our commitment to Music Education. The key characteristic of this program is the development of requisite skills and knowledge for effective teaching and learning in Music.  Tenterfield High School will be the home base for the program and we will also be using other performance venues around the town.

Featuring highly experienced Australian music educators, courses are offered for teachers in Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary classroom music specialists. Special programs are available for primary, (years 8-13), secondary (years 12-18) and tertiary students..

Interested members of the public are also welcome to attend our Community Access Programs which include musicianship, choir, instrumental masterclasses, song writing, theory and performance.

Assisting Dr James Cuskelly OAM, course lecturers include professional musicians, performers, songwriters and conductors from across Australia.

For further information on the Winter School Music Program, please download the 2021 Winter School Brochure. Please Contact us to discuss part-time attendance, levels of participation and individualised programs.

Application for Registration for Winter School Music Program 2021

Applications for registration are now open! To register, click HERE

Course Lecturers

  • Phil Ryan

    Brass and Woodwind

    Brass specialist teacher, performer and conductor in Brisbane and Toowoomba, lecturer in the Summer and Winter School Music Programs

  • Kate Schirmer

    Music Theatre

    Highly-experienced singing teacher, and currently works at The University of Canberra/Southbank TAFE in the Bachelor of Acting and Performance, and at QCGU in their Performing Arts department (Musical Theatre).

  • Annie Lower

    Voice Musical Theatre Excerpts

    Soloist with Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, English Concert Singers, The Australian Army Band, Underground Opera and The Seven Sopranos. Founding member of critically acclaimed chamber ensemble, Soirées Musicales Quintette, Voice teacher at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School, Pathways to Music Programme and director of the Pre-tertiary Classical and Children’s Musical Theatre programmes at the Cuskelly College of Music Summer School. Published author in Australian Voice, the journal of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS).

  • Dr Michael Bradshaw

    Musicianship, Piano

    Classroom Music teacher and Choral conductor at Sydney Conservatorium High School (NSW).

  • Dr James Cuskelly

    Director, Methods of Teaching, Musicianship

    Director of Winter School (NSW) and Summer School Music Program (QLD). Head of Music, Classroom Music teacher and choral conductor at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School (QLD), conductor of Queensland Kodály Choir, international lecturer and key note speaker in music education and aural studies, President of the International Kodály Society.

  • Carla Trott

    Musicianship, Children’s Choir

    Classroom Music Specialist, currently facilitating a Music Every Day program at Fort St Public School and a specialised program for auditioned high school students at the Conservatorium High School (Sydney)

  • Helene Matters

    Musicianship

    Lecturer at Holy Names University Summer Kodály Institute, lecturer in the Summer School Music Program, and is the director of a womens vocal ensemble in Brisbane.

  • Mattias Lower

    Vocal Program, Music Theatre

    Soloist and chorus member with Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia, Opera Australia, West London Opera, Guildford Opera, Underground Opera and with the touring companies Co-Opera and Oz Opera.

  • Rebecca Thomas

    Violin Program

    Teacher in a variety of instrumental immersion programs while working as a classroom music teacher, founding member of Fusion Vocal Ensemble, and currently teaches and conducts treble choirs at Brisbane Grammar School.

  • Alan Smith

    Strings Program

    Teaches at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, regular tutor for the Conservatorium orchestras as well as the Queensland Youth Symphony, director of music at the McGregor Summer School, USQ Toowoomba for 18 years, and in 2020, the head of the chamber music program at the Cuskelly Summer School in Brisbane.

  • Sandra Milliken

    Song Writing Program, Your Song Program

    Internationally-recognised composer, conductor, clinician, teacher and adjudicator, Sandra has achieved international recognition as an Australian composer specialising in choral music. Her works have been performed and recorded by choirs across the world. She has her own choral music series – Choral Vivace – published by Edition Peters London

  • Sally Wilson

    Vocal Program

    Soprano Sally Wilson has performed in Europe, Asia, Australia, the UK and the USA for the past twenty years. Her repertoire spans from baroque to contemporary, and includes several world-premiere performances across four continents

  • Dr. Mark Kruger

    Piano Program

    Concert pianist with Bachelor and Masters studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Melbourne and various periods abroad in Moscow, London and Germany.

  • Prof. Liam Viney

    Piano Program

    Head of School at the School of Music, University of Queensland. He is active as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist, pedagogue, and academic, with an international performance, teaching and research profile.

  • Dr. Anna Grinberg

    Piano Program

    Piano Performance Fellow and Lecturer at the School of Music, University of Queensland. She has an international profile as a pianist, teacher, and academic, and collaborates widely with orchestras, composers and other performers.

  • Caroline Ryan

    Brass and Woodwind Program

    Music teacher and Brass specialist in Brisbane and Toowoomba, lecturer in the Summer School Music Program and Winter School Music Programs. Born and raised in the Darling Downs and the Lockyer Valley, Caroline was a performer for theatre shows and with the comedic brass quintet, Brass Razoo. Now a classroom music specialist teacher, she brings to the classroom a fun-loving practical approach to making music.

Videos

Testimonials from the 2019 Winter School Music Program

The Value of Choirs

There is a growing body of evidence that singing in a choir is not only good for your musicianship but also good for your health! The combination of many voices into a wholistic ensemble requires that both the conductor and the choristers possess great skill, informed understanding and a sensitivity to the text.

Testimonials from the 2019 Winter School Music Program

https://youtu.be/arm5FuOQONg

Instrumental Performance

Participation in Music is often sabotaged by ideas of giftedness and talent, resulting in piecemeal and disorganised thinking about music education. This preoccupation with the talented has failed to provide most students with meaningful engagement in music; what is needed is a deep understanding of processes which provide logical and measured progress from one level of skill and understanding to the next. Such a conception of music teaching and learning would mean that not only the talented but the majority can be led to a real love of Music in all its forms.

Classroom Methodology

Musicians are performers and it is important that music teaching and learning happens in an authentic manner, one which reflects the actual world of performance. However, successful performing requires much more than mere technique; a true artist demonstrates technical prowess, sophisticated aural musicianship, informed music knowledge and an expressive and sensitive connection with the music itself and with the audience.

Jazz with Peter Churchill

Jazz is a specialised genre of music requiring a sophisticated understanding of harmony and melody matched with great performing skills. Essentially improvisatory in nature, good jazz is recognisable through a personalised interpretation of musical materials. While jazz is characterised by this highly individualised and somewhat spontaneous musical expression, the underlying structures and gestures of the style are best taught and learned in an engaged and participatory fashion, led by musician-educators with great expertise and experience in the style.

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“The course was brilliant to be part of and really helped me improve my own knowledge and musicianship. I look forward to the next one!”

“It was a truly wonderful experience. Thanks again.”

“A fantastic experience I will remember for the rest of my life! Will definitely coming back again and again.”

“Thoroughly enjoyed it, gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to become a more effective and influential teacher.”

“Thank you – as always, this is a truly life-changing and amazing program and I come as often as I can. Well done! I feel proud to be a part of this community.”

“My child was actually deeply disappointed that the experience had to come to an end! He expressed that he would love to go to school like this all year round and is already eagerly anticipating next year’s Summer School!”

“My first time and already I can’t wait till the next summer school! Am resolved and inspired to give a lot of time to improving my Musicianship levels throughout this year!”

“I really enjoyed the summer school. It was full on but I learnt so much and enjoyed every minute. Thank you, will defiantly be back again next year!”