Support for NZ School of Music
Those who study in the new facility will follow the pathway trod today by the graduates we are celebrating here tonight.
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Speech notes for inaugural New Zealand School of Music Graduation Ceremony, Grand Hall, Parliament
It's a privilege to congratulate graduates on your success and welcome you to Parliament.
There are some inspiring stories of success by recent music graduates, in whose footsteps you are treading.
For example, Madeleine Pierard won the 2005 Lexus Song Quest.
Students studying jazz at the Conservatorium of Music formed Trinity Roots in 1998.
Dylan Lardelli graduated from Victoria with both a Bachelor of Guitar performance and a Masters in Composition and became the youngest composer-in-residence with the Auckland Philharmonia.
That so many of us know these names is a result of their excellence, and therefore excellence in the institutions that fostered them. Today is a celebration because students are wearing the cloaks they wore and dreaming the same dream.
And today we are setting out to go further than we've gone before.
Today we're marking the first graduation from a school composed from the notes of the Conservatorium of Music and School of Music at Massey and Victoria Universities.
I welcome this partnership - and I particularly welcome it as Minister for Tertiary Education.
The reforms the government is introducing in my tertiary education portfolio encourage partnerships.
Partnerships between institutions help to build critical mass in teaching and research. They help to develop capability and they help to cut duplication.
The partnership between Massey and Victoria to create the New Zealand School of Music fits those aims neatly.
As musicians you can tell us something about the power of harmony, and the school is a tangible example.
I mean this as more than an expression of goodwill:
The universities have asked the government to contribute capital towards the cost of developing new accommodation for the New Zealand School of Music, so that it can be housed here in Wellington.
I am very pleased to announce that ministers have today approved in principle a one-off capital contribution of $11.15 million to the construction of a new building.
The government's contribution is dependent on a new business case, with more information about the cost of the new building.
It will have to show how the school fits into the network of tertiary music education and the financial sustainability of the school. The government will require performance commitments in return for the cash contribution.
I am sure you can meet these requirements and this announcement will help realise the vision for a purpose built school.
There are planned contributions also from the universities, from Wellington City Council and from private donors.
With the support of all, together, the school can move from possibility to reality.
New Zealanders want us to be a creative nation; one that celebrates those who express what's special about us through their creativity. New Zealanders want to take pride in who we are. That is what national identity is all about. It's why this government made national identity one of our core themes, along with families young and old, and economic transformation.
Our creativity is expressed through many forms, and the talent of our music graduates provides many shining examples.
I am sure the future for the school in new accommodation will help to foster more of our talent. Those who study in the new facility will follow the pathway trod today by the graduates we are celebrating here tonight.
So I wish you success in bringing to reality your new facility. I wish the school all the best for the future. And I wish graduates every success in their creative endeavours.
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Speech notes for inaugural New Zealand School of Music Graduation Ceremony, Grand Hall, Parliament
It's a privilege to congratulate graduates on your success and welcome you to Parliament.
There are some inspiring stories of success by recent music graduates, in whose footsteps you are treading.
For example, Madeleine Pierard won the 2005 Lexus Song Quest.
Students studying jazz at the Conservatorium of Music formed Trinity Roots in 1998.
Dylan Lardelli graduated from Victoria with both a Bachelor of Guitar performance and a Masters in Composition and became the youngest composer-in-residence with the Auckland Philharmonia.
That so many of us know these names is a result of their excellence, and therefore excellence in the institutions that fostered them. Today is a celebration because students are wearing the cloaks they wore and dreaming the same dream.
And today we are setting out to go further than we've gone before.
Today we're marking the first graduation from a school composed from the notes of the Conservatorium of Music and School of Music at Massey and Victoria Universities.
I welcome this partnership - and I particularly welcome it as Minister for Tertiary Education.
The reforms the government is introducing in my tertiary education portfolio encourage partnerships.
Partnerships between institutions help to build critical mass in teaching and research. They help to develop capability and they help to cut duplication.
The partnership between Massey and Victoria to create the New Zealand School of Music fits those aims neatly.
As musicians you can tell us something about the power of harmony, and the school is a tangible example.
I mean this as more than an expression of goodwill:
The universities have asked the government to contribute capital towards the cost of developing new accommodation for the New Zealand School of Music, so that it can be housed here in Wellington.
I am very pleased to announce that ministers have today approved in principle a one-off capital contribution of $11.15 million to the construction of a new building.
The government's contribution is dependent on a new business case, with more information about the cost of the new building.
It will have to show how the school fits into the network of tertiary music education and the financial sustainability of the school. The government will require performance commitments in return for the cash contribution.
I am sure you can meet these requirements and this announcement will help realise the vision for a purpose built school.
There are planned contributions also from the universities, from Wellington City Council and from private donors.
With the support of all, together, the school can move from possibility to reality.
New Zealanders want us to be a creative nation; one that celebrates those who express what's special about us through their creativity. New Zealanders want to take pride in who we are. That is what national identity is all about. It's why this government made national identity one of our core themes, along with families young and old, and economic transformation.
Our creativity is expressed through many forms, and the talent of our music graduates provides many shining examples.
I am sure the future for the school in new accommodation will help to foster more of our talent. Those who study in the new facility will follow the pathway trod today by the graduates we are celebrating here tonight.
So I wish you success in bringing to reality your new facility. I wish the school all the best for the future. And I wish graduates every success in their creative endeavours.