The University of Sydney is in the process of recruiting someone for the role of the Sculthorpe Chair of Australian Music, a new position at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music made possible by a generous bequest from iconic Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, who died in 2014.

Peter Sculthorpe. Photo © Sam Grimmer/Limelight

“My association with The Con goes way back,” Sculthorpe said in 2009 when plans for the chair was first announced, ahead of the composer’s 80th birthday. “In fact, I have been associated with every director since Eugene Goossens in the 1950s. Little did I know back then that the conservatorium would reach the heights it has today where it is regarded as one of the top ten music institutions in the world.”

“Given that we have Chairs of Australian Literature, the question I asked myself was ‘why not a Chair of Australian Music’,” he said. “It is a logical, timely and obvious move. And it was imperative that it be at Sydney’s Conservatorium.”

“It was Peter Sculthorpe’s intention that the Chair may ‘grow to become a greater support for the cause of Australian music’,” the University says in its job listing, “as ‘that cause has been the impetus to my whole compositional life’… ‘and in recognition of my love for Australia and the mysterious presence of its land especially in its remote areas’.”

The Conservatorium is seeking applications from suitable candidates for what will be a full-time position with a fixed-term period of five years. According to the University, the successful applicant will “provide leadership and foster excellence in research, teaching and policy development in Australian Music within the University and within the domestic and international community,” “have attained recognition as a leading authority in Australian Music and composition, and will have achieved distinction for this at national and international levels,” and “be expected to make original, innovative and distinguished contributions to scholarship, research and teaching in the field of Australian Music and make a commensurate contribution to the work of the University.”

The Con is seeking someone with an outstanding career in research and/or composition, national and international profile and a strongly developed research agenda that fosters and extends Australian music as well as a strong track record in teaching and a leadership profile that includes collaboration with Australian and international stakeholders.


Applications close on June 26 at 11:30pm (AEST)

Apply Here

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