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Canberra Today 12°/15° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Choir president defends sacked conductor

The Llewellyn Choir’s conductor Rowan Harvey-Martin.

GRAEME Taylor, president of The Llewellyn Choir, has stepped up to praise the skills and compassion of sacked conductor Rowan Harvey-Martin.

In an article on June 18, arts editor HELEN MUSA reported that Harvey-Martin, one of Canberra’s most respected musicians, had been sacked from the role of Music For Canberra conductor only days before the youth orchestra was to have performed.

The dismissal came from Helen Roben, the new CEO of MFC, a not-for-profit music school supported by ArtsACT and the Snow Foundation that also acts as the umbrella for, among others, Canberra Youth Orchestra and the James McCusker Orchestra.

Harvey-Martin declined to comment, last week, except to say that she was ”very sad”.

Ms Roben said: “We have received a number of concerns raised by some parents about some orchestra staff behaviour which is not aligned to our values and they are very serious concerns.

“Our compliance with the relevant protection laws and regulations is very important. We have to protect the safety and well-being of our children. As a result, Rowan Harvey-Martin will no longer be a part of Music For Canberra.”

Ms Roben did not specify any details of the “concerns”, nor, it is believed, were they specified to Harvey-Martin but, says Musa, it is well-known that MFC has been fraught with managerial problems and internal disunity for the past several years.

“CityNews” is not aware of Ms Harvey-Martin being involved in any of the unspecified concerns of Music For Canberra, but her dismissal remains unexplained.

Taylor says that Harvey-Martin has directed The Llewellyn Choir, one of Canberra’s leading auditioned classical choirs, for the past 15 years.  

“Rowan’s strong leadership, enthusiasm, musicianship and ability to bring out the best in singers over this time, have allowed the choir to bring new and challenging music to Canberra audiences, in addition to presenting favourites from the choral repertoire,” he says in a letter to the editor.   

“One of the hallmarks of her conducting is her compassion and concern for all choir and orchestral members. For example, during 2020 she worked  with the choir committee to bring back COVID-safe rehearsals to lift the morale of all choristers.”

One of Canberra’s most respected musicians and a former principal violin with the CSO, Harvey-Martin has also directed the Canberra Boys’ Choir and the Oriana Chorale.

She has won Canberra Critics Circle awards, one in 2014 for her “versatile musicianship and tireless work as musical director and conductor of the Canberra Youth Orchestra, the Canberra Children’s Choir and the Llewellyn Choir”, and another in 2020 for her direction of a Will Todd jazz cantata.

Star conductor sacked days before youth concert

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Ian Meikle, editor

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