Vol 17 No 3

NOVEMBER 2004

Memories of

2004 ANATS National

Conference still linger……….

Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 15-18 July 2004

As the ‘dust settles’ after the successful 2004 ANATS

National Conference in Sydney last July, members will

be reminded of sessions by Neil Semer, Peter Hunt,

Diana Hunter (Hughes), Kerrie Biddell, Leigh McRae

and Irene Bartlett with more session reports by ANATS

members Marilyn Smith (TAS), Tim Collins (NSW),

Wendy Todd (VIC), Judith Lindeman (NSW), Stella

Panozzo (SA) and Katie Packer (SA).

President of the ANATS NSW, Rowena Cowley,

provides the following report about the Conference

Evaluations that members sent in with the last edition of

Voice of ANATS.

It will come as no surprise that ANATS NSW is still in

recovery mode after the July National Conference. So,

having asked for feedback about the conference in the

last Voice of ANATS, I would like to thank those

delegates who took the time and trouble to fill in their

evaluation forms.

Most of the evaluations spoke warmly of the conference

organization, atmosphere and venue, so the NSW

committee hopes that it will be possible to present at the

Sydney Conservatorium again. Several people

commented on the food on the first day, but most were

Closing date for submissions for the March edition of Voice of ANATS is 14th February.

happy with the resolution of the problem. Several people

commented on the quality of the amplification, so well

done, Phil Evans. As for atmosphere, the comment I like

best was that 'everyone was on a level playing field, that

is, no-one was aloof [and] I felt very welcomed'. Good

old Aussie inclusivity. I like it.

Conference structure came in for some comment. Some

found the concurrent sessions frustrated their wish to

hear everything, some wanted videos of those they

missed. There were comments about the difficulty of

keeping to time (the committee knows what you are

talking about!!) and at the same time, wanted more time

to talk with colleagues. Are these issues solvable?

Perhaps, but it occurs to me that one of the things we

could do as a membership is use the website more for

discussion with colleagues. Still, face to face with a glass

of wine in your hand is hard to better!

The overall conference content and presenters were, on

the whole, highly rated. Not surprisingly, most found

Neil Semer, Peter Hunt and Norma Enns very good.

Panel discussions received a mixed reaction, with some

finding that the conversational mode they tended to take

was difficult to follow. Others found them particularly

interesting. Our remaining presenters received generally

favourable reactions, with some strongly for or against. I

think that only by continuing to present to our colleagues

do we learn ideal balances between skill sharing and con-

tent presentation.

Many delegates made helpful comments under the

heading 'proposals for future conference sessions topics'.

Several expressed appreciation for the availability of

contemporary voice sessions, and suggested sessions on

boys changing voices and belt, music theatre styles for

males and career structures. Sessions on vibrato, body

mapping, 20

th

century song-cycles, more Australian

repertoire, the relationship of singers to accompanists,

directors and conductors (amateur and professional), the

philosophy and priorities of teaching

(Continued on page 6)