John Bishop, Charles Bodman Rae add to Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium prestige from 1948
John Bishop, Adelaide University’s Elder professor of music, helped found the National Music Camp Association that led to the Australian Youth Orchestra, in 1957.
Image courtesy University of Adelaide
John Bishop’s years (1948-66) as Adelaide University’s Elder professor of music saw initiatives such as the university’s wind quintet and the Adelaide Festival of Arts (as inaugural artistic director).
Bishop was taught piano from 12 by the noted Adelaide teacher William Silver and, in 1919, won the Alexander Clark Scholarship to the Elder Conservatorium, folled by winning the 1923 South Australian Elder Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London, to study piano and conducting.
After eight successful years as a conductor of Royal Wellington Choral Union and Wellington Philharmonic Orchestra in New Zealand, he became music director at Scotch College, Melbourne, in the late 1930s.
With fellow music teacher Ruth Alexander, he founded summer music camps for young musicians from 1948. The National Music Camp Association led to the Australian Youth Orchestra in 1957. Both initiatives were important steps in expanding musical education and opportunities for players in Australia.
Appointed Elder professor of music at the University of Adelaide in 1948, Bishop reorganised the curriculum with valued composers and musicologists as well as performance excellence and visits from lecturers in composition.
Bishop was instrumental in starting the Adelaide Festival of Arts and was its artistic director from its inception in 1960 until his death. He was a member (and later chairman) of the UNESCO Committee for Music and held many other appointments in the arts.
Professor Charles Bodman Rae, from 2001, again repositioned the Elder Conservatorium’s leadership. In 2005 the Elder Conservatorium received a classical music award (from the Australasian Performing Rights Association) for “outstanding contribution by an organisation” (the only Australian music academy to have won such an award), recognising its music program for the 2004 Adelaide Festival of Arts (curated by Bodman Rae).
In 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013, the Elder Conservatorium hosted the National Music Camp (Australian Youth Orchestra's annual summer school, founded by Bishop).
In addition to Elder professors, many distinguished composers and performing musicians were vonservatorium directors and staff members including clarinettist David Shepherd, pianist Clemens Leske, horn player Patrick Brislan; pianist David Lockett, and composer Graeme Koehne. composer Peter Maxwell Davies, David Cubbin (flute), Clive Carey (singing), Jirí Tancibudek (oboe), Gabor Reeves (clarinet, Beryl Kimber (violin), Clemens Leske (piano), James Whitehead (cello), Lance Dossor (piano), Richard Meale (composition), Tristram Cary (electronic music), Janis Laurs, cello; Keith Crellin (violist, resident conductor and head of strings). In the 1990s, Professor Andrew McCredie held a personal chair in musicology.
The Australian String Quartet, started in 1985, has been quartet in residence at the Elder Conservatorium since 1991. In 2011, the new contemporary music Soundstream Collective,was established as ensemble in residence under artistic director Gabriella Smart.
