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Leanne Walton

InSchool

What do you teach at WollCon?

School Band Programs Conductor, Clarinet & Sax

What genres do you teach?

Wind Band and Classical Clarinet or Chamber Music is where I’m most at home and I love the energy of school ensembles.  However, I also enjoy playing and teaching a good arrangement of film music,  swing band standards, or even a klezmer transcription.

What is it that you love about teaching music?

I love the moments when people’s eyes light up – making an amazing sound, falling in love with a special piece of music or achieving something they didn’t think was possible!  At WollCon I really value working with a team of dynamic and inspiring colleagues, and of course, in such a beautiful surrounds.

Please share a particular career highlight and why it’s special to you.

I think the most memorable moment has been Conducting a performance with Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony – the intense sound bath you experience standing on the podium in front a professional wind ensemble is indescribable, and the energy between conductor and ensemble is electrifying.

What’s one piece of music that you’d recommend people listen to?

How to choose!!  Dvorak’s Serenade for Winds, Arvo Part’s Fratres for wind octet, Giora Feidman playing Bela Kovak, Holst’s Hammersmith, John Mackey’s Strange Humours or anything really, Reynold’s transcription of O Magnum Mysterium, Grainger… and so much more!

But I think I have to pick Mozart’s Serenade No 10 for Winds ‘Gran Partita’.  This music is so sublime, (especially the adagio) and it is such an important piece in the development of both the clarinet and wind symphony.

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Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is funded by the NSW Government through the Regional Conservatorium Grants Program

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Anne Mowbray

Director

Anne has been a member of the Wollcon Board since 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from UNSW. She is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law and an accredited Mediator and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. She has taught family law and other subjects at Wollongong University.

For a number of years she has been a subscriber to the Australian Chamber Orchestra which regularly performs in Wollongong . She has been passionate about music and in particular music education to children and adults.

Jake Pearson

Director

Jake has worked in the disability sector for 24 years- 17 of these with Interchange and 7 years as their CEO. Jake is passionate about inclusion and equality for both people with disability and their carers.

He holds an MBA, Bachelor of Commerce, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, as well as completing Diploma’s in Case Management, Community Services Coordination and the AICD Company Directors Course.

Jake is also a committee member on the International Short Breaks Association Board and has been a Director on the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music Board since 2022.

Wayne Morris

Director

Wayne is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors as well as being a qualified company secretary and accountant with over 35 years experience in banking and finance. He performed for nine of those years as Chief Executive of IMB Ltd, and the preceding seven years as Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, also with IMB. Wayne’s primary expertise is in the areas of governance, management, accounting, risk management and banking and finance. He has spent his whole life living in the Illawarra and is passionate about ensuring the Illawarra can provide the best possible opportunities and lifestyle for its residents. In 2024 Wayne was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community.

Dr Terumi Narushima

Deputy Chair

Dr Terumi Narushima is a senior lecturer and Music Discipline Leader at the University of Wollongong. She is a composer, performer and sound designer specialising in microtonal tuning systems. Her works include Tritriadic Chimes, a sound installation for LA MicroFest, Hidden Sidetracks, a composition for custom-made instruments premiered by Ensemble Offspring at Sydney Opera House, and a project to build microtonal flutes using 3D printing. She has worked on theatre collaborations which have been presented nationally and internationally, including Yasukichi Murakami: Through a Distant Lens, Lost in Shanghai, and The Story of Chi. She performs with microtonal ensemble Clocks and Clouds, and her book Microtonality and the Tuning Systems of Erv Wilson is published by Routledge.

Nicky Sloan

Chair

Nicky is the CEO of Community Industry Group. She has degrees in Dementia Care, Community & Environment and Marketing, and a Grad Dip in Project Management. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Honorary Fellow of UOW. In addition to Chairing the WollCon Board, she is Deputy Chair of the Regional Development Australia Illawarra Shoalhaven Board and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Warrigal, a large not-for-profit specialising in the provision of services for older people.

Her corporate governance and strategy experience extends through a 20+ year career on boards in the corporate, government and NFP sectors.