Another Win for Elder Conservatorium

Wednesday, 7 September 2005

ANOTHER WIN FOR ELDER CONSERVATORIUM
Marimba players don't miss a beat

Fleur Green, an Honours student at the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium, has just taken out two first prizes at the National Percussion Eistedfodd in Sydney.

Fleur won the open marimba four mallets section and the open vibraphone section, competing with tertiary students from around the country.

"I absolutely love marimba and keyboard percussion. I have a special affinity with them and they have really become my passion," Fleur said.

So much of a passion that Fleur moves to Tokyo next year to further her studies with marimba virtuoso and composer, Keiko Abe. She is currently studying with Jim Bailey, Head of Percussion at the Elder Conservatorium, and was previously a student at the Flinders Street School of Music.

"Without Jim Bailey I wouldn't have been able to get to this level. We are very lucky to have him, he's remarkable."

In August this year, Fleur appeared as percussion soloist with the Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra and presented the Australian premiere of the Percussion Concert of the high-profile American composer, Steven Stucky, 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for music. Her performance is scheduled for recording and broadcast by the ABC.

The Elder Conservatorium's percussion department is well and truly on the international map, with student Jamie Adam winning second prize at the first international marimba competition in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in August.

In further news, the Australian Marimba Festival is being hosted by the Elder Conservatorium in the first week of October. This event will see international exponents of the marimba performing and holding masterclasses as well as two concerts for the public.

A group of percussion students will then head off for a two week study trip at the Las Vegas campus of the University of Nevada at the invitation of Elder Conservatorium graduate Dr Tim Jones, who now heads up the undergraduate percussion program there.

The group then attends the International Percussion Convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Professor Charles Bodman Rae, Dean of the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide, said the school owes a lot to the teaching skills and international networks of Jim Bailey, Head of Percussion.

"The percussion department, under the stewardship of Jim Bailey, has great connections around the world and this has contributed so much to the learning experience and musical opportunities for all of his students," Professor Bodman Rae said.

"The success of his students in competitions and their ability to be able to go on and study with musicians who are leaders in their field can be attributed to his drive and his passion for the marimba, which translates into wonderful opportunities such as these," he added.

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