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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-04-13 Daily Xml
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Sia Furler Institute for Contemporary Music and Media

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:48): The Elder Conservatorium of the University of Adelaide has been a pioneer in establishing music programs for over 130 years. Despite its classical origins, it has marked the way for new and diverse music well ahead of its time, pre-empting change and evolving with genres and styles as they emerge onto the music scene. The Elder Conservatorium provides, and I quote Professor Jennie Shaw, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, 'music and media students access to some of the best teachers and industry experts available in Australia'.

On 31 March, I attended the launch of the Sia Furler Institute for Contemporary Music and Media. Joined by the Premier, parliamentary colleagues and associates from the music industry, we were delightfully entertained by several performers from the school—namely, Sam Diwell, Caitlin Feagan, Jessica Seyfang, Harrison Visintin, Hannah Yates, and lecturer Grayson Rotumah—showcasing their skills and achievements as musicians in their diverse chosen fields.

The Sia Furler Institute's scholarship program was also announced as a mark of this event. In the words of Professor Jennie Shaw, the scholarship will aid future students, some of whom relocate from all over Australia and the world from remote and rural areas to join the current 1,100 students enrolled in the music and media programs at the University of Adelaide.

Sia Furler was born in Adelaide to parents, Phil and Loene, and began her career in the nineties gigging around Adelaide with acid jazz group, Crisp. After releasing two albums with the group, she put out her debut solo album. Fast-forward to 2016, and how things have changed. Arguably one of the greatest musical talents of the modern era, it was not until she moved to the UK in the late nineties that Sia began to gain recognition for her songwriting and performing abilities.

In London, she landed a spot as backup singer for British funk jazz act Jamiroquai and featured as a recurring guest vocalist on three albums for electronica outfit Zero 7. Sia has since gone on to release a number of successful solo albums and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the international music industry. Her musical contributions have been nominated for countless awards across the globe. In 2002, Sia received the Breakthrough Songwriter award at the APRA Music Awards.

Since then, Sia has been nominated for and/or won People's Choice Awards, BRIT Awards, World Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Golden Globe Awards, NRJ awards, ARIA music awards and APRA Music Awards. In 2013, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominated the song Wild Ones (Flo Rida featuring Sia) for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and in 2015 she received four Grammy Award nominations of her own.

What these accolades demonstrate is that Sia convincingly shines in parallel careers. She is a great singer and her body of work is testament to the uniqueness of her sound and song content. A great deal of her success has been in writing hit songs for others. Sia's songwriting talents have benefited the likes of Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Rhianna and Adele.

In March 2015, Sia won an APRA award for Best Songwriter for the third year in a row, the first artist to do so, which Brett Cottle described as 'unprecedented, and very likely, a never-to-be-repeated achievement by one of our most talented songwriters'. Clearly a prodigious talent, it is indeed an honour that Sia is lending her name to this initiative. In thanking Loene Furler and Sia, Professor Graham Koehne, Director of the Elder Conservatorium and celebrated composer, welcomed the establishment of the institution which, in his words, is:

…an institute that brings together the University's Music and Media schools to foster teaching and researching contemporary music and media…[the] aim is to prepare students for careers in contemporary music performance and composition, film, digital and other new media, sound engineering and music technologies.

Professor Koehne went on to introduce the institute's first artist-in-residence, Mr Jon Lemon, legendary live sound engineer, who works regularly with Sia and some of the most celebrated names in music including Pink Floyd, Christina Aguilera, Spandau Ballet, Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Seal, Jennifer Lopez, INXS and even more.

The Sia Furler Institute for Contemporary Music and Media is a testament to the university, students and affiliated bodies such as the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, the State Opera and the Australian Ballet and of course to Sia Furler herself. I also wish to acknowledge and thank the Music Development Office's role in assisting the various parties to come together. Finally, I extend my thanks to Leah Grantham for her assistance on the day.

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