PROF Ken Lampl has stepped down as head of the ANU School of Music, it was announced to staff yesterday (Thursday, January 17) by Dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences Rae Frances.
Professor Lampl, who took up the post in 2017, came to Canberra as a well-known composer with a special interest in music for film and video games.
A DMA graduate in composition from the Juilliard School of Music, he has told Prof Frances that he wants to focus on his passions for composition and teaching. During his two years as head he oversaw the launch of the school’s new state-of-the-art recording studio, one of the best in the country.
He also raised eyebrows in Canberra’s relatively conservative music community by engaging staff and students in producing a team song for local baseball team, the Canberra Cavalry, and by spearheading an ANU honour for English-American rock identity Mick Jones, with whose band Foreigner and a handpicked ensemble of student musicians, Profr Lampl toured Australia as conductor in late 2018.
All the while he has continued privately as a composer, including for a horror film made in Canberra.
Prof Frances noted that during his tenure he had overseen the implementation of the Podger review, which had seen a significant increase in program and teaching load and a continued renewal of academic staff, saying: “I wish Ken all the best as he continue to pursue his creative and teaching work in the School of Music.”
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