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Canberra Today 16°/17° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Eisteddfod Choirs to go ahead, says Eisteddfod chair

DESPITE fears raised that the Choirs section in the Australian National Eisteddfod may go the way of the National Aria—into oblivion—the event will go ahead as planned.

Happier days: Sylvia Tulloch and Prof Brian Anderson at last year's Choirs launch
Happier days: Sylvia Tulloch and Prof Brian Anderson at last year’s Choirs launch

After artsACT decided not to fund the use of Llewellyn Hall for the Choirs division in the Australian National Eisteddfod and “the Eisteddfod Board’s reticence to commit expeditiously to minimal back-up funding,” Danny Kozak resigned late in March as choirs’ convenor.

Now in a widely circulated email to Canberra choir conductors and directors, Kozak suggests that his resignation was “the culmination of a long history of apparent and sustained bias against the Choirs Eisteddfod, its participants and convenors – past and present.”

Kozak  congratulated the  Bands and Orchestras Division for obtaining artsACT funding of $18,000, but described it as  ‘distressing’ that choirs did not receive any funding at all and that the Board had not moved to guarantee losses by separate divisions.

“CityNews” has long followed the progress of the annual choir competition, generously sponsored by individuals within the music community, notably Professor and Mrs Dianne Anderson, but in recent years poorly supported by the public

The chairwoman of the Australian National Eisteddfod, Sylvia Tulloch, today assured “CityNews” that the 2016 Choirs Eisteddfod would go ahead, jointly convened by the conveners of the Bands and Pianos sections.

Meantime Kozac has written that the delivery of the 2016 Choirs Eisteddfod does not need to be done by the Australian National Eisteddfod.


UPDATE: FOLLOWING our report on Friday about the future of the 2016 Choirs Eisteddfod, President Sylvia Tulloch has emailed us to the effect that the event will be held at Llewellyn Hall on Friday and Saturday September 16 and 17, having been moved from August to avoid clashes with other major performance events.

The booking of Llewellyn Hall, she says, has been confirmed by the Board of the Australian National Eisteddfod and the newly appointed Choirs Convening Committee is made up of Ben Green, Simon Best and Di Miley, with artistic advice from Elisha Holley.

Former convener Danny Kozak, Ms Tulloch said, recently resigned, but the Board has assured all those concerned “that the Choirs Division is in excellent and experienced hands,
and looks forward to working with the Choirs community.”

They expect to post the syllabus on their website in 2 to 3 weeks’ time. Details at eisteddfod@nationaleisteddfod.org.au

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Helen Musa

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