News and Events

Professor Margaret Kartomi playing a gamolan

Professor Margaret Kartomi of the University’s School of Music – Conservatorium, recently presented the keynote address at the International Seminar on the Traditional Lampung Musical Instrument, the gamolan.

The event, which was organised so that young Lampung people can learn more about their indigenous art and culture, was attended by more than a hundred elders in traditional costume.

The gamolan is an eight keyed bamboo instrument, beaten by two musicians, each with a pair of wooden hammers. Professor Kartomi believes this instrument is of great ethnomusicological interest.

“I was attracted by the gamolan because of its incredibly sweet sound when played by experts, the fact that it is found in the isolated mountainous areas near 3000-year old megalithic sites, and its interesting name, which suggests that the instrument may date from the 8th century or earlier, though it later became the name of a whole orchestra – the gamelan – rather than a single instrument,” Professor Kartomi said.

Invited to the conference to speak on the origins of the gamolan by the Governor of Lampung Indonesia, Drs Sjachroeddin ZP, Professor Kartomi has been researching the instrument since visiting Lampung in 1983.

“I hope that through this seminar, the gamolan and other Lampung arts will receive the national recognition it deserves. The music of this area is one where very little ethnomusicological data has been collected,” said Professor Kartomi.

The Governor of Lampung has invited Professor Karatomi to return in December to receive a formal title traditionally reserved for royalty and honoured guests as part of his efforts to promote the culture of the Lampung people.

Professor Tony Gould

In a coup for Monash University, internationally renowned performer, educator and musicologist, Dr Tony Gould AM has accepted the position of Professor within the School of Music – Conservatorium.

Commencing in 2012, Professor Gould will teach across the undergraduate program in jazz, classical performance, composition, history and arranging. In addition, he will work to enhance the development, understanding and promotion of ‘performance-based’ research within the music school.

Professor Tony Gould is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most distinguished jazz musicians and educators. In 2008, he was awarded an Order of Australia for his services to the arts, in particular, music education, as well as his work promoting jazz and improvised music.

With a career spanning more than five decades he has received innumerable accolades for his contributions to music as a composer, performer, recording artist, musician and teacher.

Professor Gould now brings that expertise to Monash University.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Rae Frances, said Professor Gould’s appointment enhances the Monash School of Music’s reputation as one of the premier music institutions in Australia. In addition, it promotes the School’s ever-growing international reputation for excellence in performance, composition, ethnomusicology and musicology.

“Tony’s decision to join Monash is, without question, an absolute triumph for the University – there isn’t a better musician to build the already impressive reputation of the School of Music,” Professor Frances said.

“The School already attracts students and visiting academics from all over the world. It is also highly successful at obtaining competitive research funding. I can only envisage that with Tony’s expertise the School will continue to flourish.”

In accepting the position, Professor Gould emphasised his delight at joining the University where he completed his post-graduate studies; an institution that has a positive and bright future in music education, as well as more broadly.