ANAM at the opening of the Commonwealth and Victorian Parliaments
ANAM was honoured this week to receive invitations from both the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments to provide performances in Canberra and Spring Street respectively – and on the same day! – to ‘play in’ the first day of the new parliamentary year.
In partnership with the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), and representing the Arts8 group of performing and screen arts training organisations, ANAM and AYO musicians performed in Parliament House in Canberra throughout the day on Tuesday.
We were welcomed into the House by the Parliamentary Envoi for the Arts, the Hon. Susan Templeman MP, who later made a statement to the House of Representatives, emphasising the importance of the Arts8 training organisations in securing Australia’s creative future.
At the same time as Ms Templeman was speaking in the Marble Hall in Canberra, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts in the Victorian Government the Hon. Katie Hall was welcoming ANAM’s musicians, and special guests Barry Jones, the architect of our refurbishment project in the South Melbourne Town Hall Peter Elliott and ANAM Chair John Daley, to Spring Street.
Ms Hall spoke enthusiastically about the role that ANAM plays in the national cultural sector, bringing the country’s finest young musicians to Melbourne each year.
Members who stopped by during the performance for a listen and a chat included the Hon Ben Carroll, Deputy Premier and the Hon. Nina Taylor, Member for Albert Park.
ANAM is grateful for the support of both governments in its continuing discussions regarding realising Peter Elliott’s vision for the South Melbourne Town Hall.