Ramsay Lectures
A matter of some notes
Why we should still study classical music in Australia
Prof Peter Tregear OAM – Conductor Singer Author
Prof Peter Tregear discusses the importance of, and the changes to the study of classical music in our universities and our society today. He argues that great music in all its forms, in all its genres, wherever it is found, and however it is ultimately labelled by us, should properly be understood.
Professor Peter Tregear OAM
Professor Peter Tregear OAM is a Principal Fellow of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the inaugural Director of Little Hall, University of Melbourne. He worked extensively across Australia and the United Kingdom as a performer, teacher, and educational advocate. A graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, he subsequently undertook doctoral studies at King’s College, University of Cambridge, and from 2000 to 2006 was Lecturer and Director of Music at Fitzwilliam College.
Since returning to Australia in 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Academy of Performing Arts at Monash University and Head of the School of Music at the Australian National University and has performed as a soloist or conductor with Melbourne Opera, Victorian Opera, Kronos Quartet, The Rolling Stones, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and Australian Youth Orchestra, among other leading ensembles. He also remains active as a teacher and academic, and is currently the convenor of the International Centre for Suppressed Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, which promotes the recovery of the history and music of composers and performers who were banned, exiled, or murdered as a result of the rise of Fascism in Europe. Published work include Ernst Krenek and the Politics of Musical Style (2013) and Enlightenment or Entitlement: Rethinking Tertiary Music Education (2014). In 2019 he conducted the Australian premiere of Krenek’s Zeitoper ‘Jonny spielt auf’ to international acclaim. Earlier this year he was awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for services to music education.