“I HADN’T appreciated how inextricably linked the School of Music was to music provision in the ACT”. Those words of ANU vice-chancellor, Prof Ian Young, quoted in the media on May 18, are archetypal of the “town and gown” mentality that most of us thought dead in Canberra.

It seems to have forgotten that the School of Music was set up, by the national government, as a national institution for the nation’s capital. While the ANU might be the current custodian of the School and has responsibility for stewardship, it does not have the right to kill it.

The 18th Canberra International Music Festival, which has just concluded, underscores the depth of the relationship between the School and this city.

The festival boasted 27 concerts over 10 days. Of those 27 concerts, 21 featured students, teachers and graduates of the ANU School of Music. In some of the concerts, such as the one I attended on May 19, “Sculthorpe: Music for Guitar”, only a handful of musicians were not from the ANU School of Music.

Many of the students in the festival rehearsed and performed for no fees. They did so because they wanted to put their performance learning into practice and because they wanted to contribute to Canberra’s rich musical life.

Festival director, Chris Latham, said that paying the musicians for all that rehearsal and performance time would cost $100,000.

But it is not just the Canberra International Music Festival that enjoys the performances of students from the ANU School of Music. Some students give upwards of 20 or 30 performances throughout the year, not counting rehearsals. This dedication was recognised by awards to outstanding performers during the festival. These accolades are only possible because of the ANU School of Music’s performance courses.

On top of that, Canberra’s children are learning music in the suburbs and in their schools thanks to the teaching force that the ANU School of Music creates in its students. Our best music students also benefit from the pre-tertiary courses.

I have only touched on the work of the ANU School of Music in its fine music department. Its jazz department is equally productive, contributing equally to Canberra’s musical life and producing many musicians of international repute.

Then there is the economic contribution to the ACT of the ANU School of Music. It attracts arts tourism. The students themselves become ambassadors for Canberra and the ANU School of Music. One needs only to read the liner notes of the hundreds of CDs they have produced to know that they studied at the School. What a great message that sends to aspiring student musicians.

Yes, Professor Young, the ANU School of Music is “inextricably linked” to Canberra. It is also inextricably linked to the nation and the world. You need to understand that before you gut a Canberra icon.