Words by:
Bridget Davies, guest contributor
Performance may be at the heart of a musician’s life, but for these ANAM alumni, providing the platform to perform has become an equally rewarding part of their professional purpose. Bridget Davies spoke with Anna Goldsworthy, Chris Howlett and Alex Raineri.
Accomplishment in artistic direction might be viewed akin to the way Shakespeare told us to think about greatness; some are born with it, some achieve it and some have it thrust upon them. Whether it’s something a musician has always wanted to do, been invited to do or somehow they just fall into it – creating and leading a program or festival is undoubtedly a challenging exercise. But for those up to the test, there’s joy to be found in the chaos of creation.
“It’s like throwing a party and inviting all your most fantastic people in and seeing the chemistry that emerges,” Anna Goldsworthy says. “I love that aspect of it.”
There isn’t much Goldsworthy hasn’t turned her hand to across her celebrated career, which has extended beyond the boundaries of piano and seen her ascend to the nation’s top echelon of writers, educators and festival directors. Like her diverse career, Goldsworthy’s path to artistic direction is one that came via multiple avenues.
ANAM alum Anna Goldsworthy started her training at ANAM in 1999
It was ANAM’s Advanced Performers Program that brought the young pianist to Melbourne in 1999 and a mentorship with one of her piano coordinators, Stephen McIntyre, which led to her first formal directing position at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.
“I looked at it and thought, that’s the kind of thing I could do,” Goldsworthy says.
“I was always really interested in exploring ways to present chamber music that wasn’t just sitting down with a meat and potatoes program. So in that sense it was quite a natural transition.”
Goldsworthy took the reins of the festival from her teacher McIntyre and ran with them for several years. “I was cooking up all these ambitious programs that I didn’t have the capacity to perform, I enjoyed the festival situation where I could come up with the ideas and get revered colleagues to come and do them for me.”
And the ideas didn’t stop coming.
Since Goldsworthy’s time at ANAM, the now Head of the Elder Conservatorium’s catalogue of director accolades has continued to boom. Aside from affording an outlet for her creative energy, it’s in the role of caretaker, of both people and music, where Goldsworthy finds fulfilment.
“It’s something Genevieve Lacey said to me years ago, it’s partly a pastoral role,” she says. “We have an oversupply of really excellent musicians and any ways in which I can give them opportunities to be themselves and to flourish, make contact with an audience – I really love doing that.”
This professional generosity is a trait shared by 2011 ANAM alum, Chris Howlett. The past decade has seen the star cellist run major festivals including the 3MBS Fine Music Marathon (for the entire 10 years), found international touring companies and create a revolutionary digital performance platform.
Chris Howlett trained at ANAM from 2009-2011
His experience at ANAM remains central to his directorial ethos to this day.
“I think it shows volumes to the connection that alumni have at ANAM, the fact that when I was putting together partnerships, I wanted to make sure that ANAM was part of that,” Howlett says of the Australian Digital Concert Hall.
It was during his third year at ANAM, Howlett began his foray into festival direction, co-founding the Sanguine Estate Music Festival alongside his mentor, Howard Penny. Even at that early stage, Howlett knew his musical vocation wasn’t going to be linear.
“For me, it was something that I learned at ANAM, an artist has to have a portfolio approach to their career,” he says.
“If I can, through my artistic directorship give emerging artists and additional pedagogical, but also an additional professional experience to learn from, then that’s absolutely awesome.”
Pianist and director Alex Raineri founded the Brisbane Music Festival just two years after his time at ANAM in 2016. He describes the fellowship he undertook that year as “important springboard” to starting the festival.
Alex Raineri was a pianist at ANAM from 2014-2016
“It was an incredible opportunity to artistically experiment in a safe space, with support that is unparalleled in the professional sphere,” he says.
Unlike most festivals, which might span a week of each year, Brisbane Music Festival runs from July through December. This year the enterprising 29-year-old will oversee an incredible 44 events in the River City.
It’s an enormous undertaking, but Raineri says growing a creative community around the festival grants him the feeling of giving back to the industry he loves.
“The festival provides employment to many artists, arts workers and composers each year,” he says. “It is wonderful with each festival iteration to feel a community growing around it.”