Communities of Musical Excellence
Reflecting on culturally engaged Community Music Research Projects in my own neighbourhood, I realise that there are patterns and synergies that energise development toward musical excellence.
My hypothesis is that the musical excellence of a band thrives when supported by the band community. This is evident in the Turn of the Century: the Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band 1909 to 2009 (Kirkwood & Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band, 2009), a book that we compiled for the hundred-year history of the band. This involved recording stories from the band community and members, and with photographs of band memorabilia, analysis of sound recordings of the band and their music manuscripts. Trophies, music compositions, newspaper articles all painted a portrait of the band over time. The efforts of musicians, leaders and volunteers revealed the progression of achievements on a timeline. The aspirational accounts of current band leaders showed positive directions for the future. Google maps allowed the interstate journeys for competitions and performances to be charted geographically.
The Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band Centennial research study was then contrasted with accounts of contemporary Nunnukal Yuggera, Aboriginal song and dance troupe in Ipswich City (Kirkwood, 2008 in A Cultural Cacophony: Museum Perspectives & Projects). This revealed similarities and differences in approach, but synergies in motivation that supported musical excellence in the communities. The striving for excellence and performing on the world stage grew musical achievement, leaving a legacy of competence passed to future generations. Both music communities continue to thrive to the present day. even though there have been name changes for the band, the legacy lives on, transmitted to younger generations. Leadership is handed on following enculturation of band members, involving children and young people from an early age in the band community.
Similarly, the Purga Music Museum in Ipswich showcases the musical achievements of Harold Blair, renowned Aboriginal tenor. Blair's rise from his childhood on the Purga Aboriginal Mission in Ipswich, Queensland, was supported by a community of people that ensured that Blair had access to music education at the Melba Conservatorium in Melbourne. There were many hurdles to cross in the late 1940s to allow Blair to travel inter-state for auditions and have his potential recognised by the gate-keepers of the Melba Conservatorium. A committee of interested Queensland supporters forged a way for Blair to meet entry requirements. He studied at high school concurrent to training at the Conservatorium to gain the education that was lacking at the Purga Aboriginal Mission. The Lloyd family graciously provided accommodation and practical support while he studied in Melbourne--allowing Blair to achieve a high level of musical excellence, performing nationally and internationally. The Purga Music Story, newspaper accounts and oral histories in National Screen 'Harold' videos describe Blair's musical journey as a performer, music educator and Aboriginal activist. In the background, Blair's wife, Dorothy and the relatives and supporters in Victoria and Queensland are the community to grow opportunities.
Early in my music research career, Queensland Conservatorium hosted Encounters: Small Island Research Symposium and book publication (Barney, Bartleet, Harrison & Macinlay). This symposium was presented by music researchers, students, and was curated by Vincent Plush. There were forums for discussion with First Nations people from the Pacific region. I sold copies of 'The Purga Music Story and Harold Blair' at the symposium, which outlined my first community development project, funded by Ipswich City Council (Kirkwood, ICC 2003-2005). This was the first time that I became aware of a local Community of Music Excellence in Queensland that was interested to explore the achievements of First Nations people's music-making across the Pacific Oceania region. The gate-keepers at Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre approved my enrolment at Griffith University. The Conservatorium Directors, Professors Huib Schippers and Peter Roennfeldt supervised my Master of Philosophy research--exploring frameworks for culturally engaged community music from 2007 to 2009.
My paternal and maternal family had connections with small islands in Moreton Bay--the Quandamooka Aboriginal region of Goenpul, Ngugi, and Nunukal clans who gained native title land authority of the region in 2011. As keepers of the lighthouse and pilot station at Cowan Cowan on Moreton Island (Moorgumpin) in the 1870s, Charles Lee family were Irish mariners that were present when Ngugi Aboriginal language was spoken. They may have witnessed some of the local corroborees or song and dance performance prior to Aboriginal institutionalisation which forced residence at the Myora Mission on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) according to the 1897 Aboriginal Protection Act. The loss of Aboriginal languages, lore, song and dance occurred in this context and the establishment of government institutions, such as the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum, where my Great Grandfather resided at the turn of the 19th to 20th Century. Minjerribah became a trysting place that was familiar within our family circle, and a refuge for employment during the Great Depression of the 1930s to early 1940s. I sought to explore the music communities of Minjerribah through PhD research from 2014 to 2016 with a scholarship from the University of Newcastle.
New Knowledge
The new knowledge from 'Frameworks of Culturally Engaged Community Music Research Practice in rural Ipswich' (Kirkwood, 2009), led to my questions about the nature of music communities in the Quandamooka region of southern Moreton Bay, including our move to live at Wynnum from Purga. My reflection on community music research from 2003 to the present, has led to thinking about Communities of Musical Excellence--particularly the supporters that forge the conditions necessary for cultural music traditions to thrive. The people who challenge the gate-keepers to find pathways of entry to music education that would normally be reserve for elite performers who have studied music from childhood. The rural and regional conditions that exist on the small island of Moreton Bay, often exclude young people form meeting entry requirements of tertiary music education facilities.
My research is focused on understanding the impact of South-East Queensland music history on young people's musical development. We published concerns about the impact of new technologies on the music learning of Indigenous Australian children (Miller & Kirkwood, 2014). This led to charting the Quandamooka music history of Minjerribah and Moorgumpin, considering the impact of historical restrictions of current day pathways to music education and vocational opportunities for young people. My research proposal is described in Music Museum Curatorship: Reclaiming Rights and Responsibilities for Musicking on Minjerribah (Kirkwood, 2016), presented at the National Museums Conference in Sydney (Kirkwood, 2015). The research is a springboard for advocacy and Music Action Planning with local people and Elders on the small islands of Southern Moreton Bay and adjacent mainland coastal areas.
Pathways and Future Directions
I have published some initial findings about small island music history. However, we do not know, what we do not know, at this stage of research. Creative collaboration is required to form a Community of Musical Excellence with support from all levels of government and corporate sector to refine the research proposal and reclaim rights and responsibilities for musicking. The cooperation of Communities of Musical Excellence is necessary for removing barriers and finding pathways for young people on the terms of local Elders and leaders. What does it take to form Communities of Musical Excellence? Why is this important? These are some of the questions that I am exploring currently through my own music research journey.
Sandra Kirkwood
Private Music Researcher
m. 0488 624 362
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