Partnership Hits All The Sweet Notes

United by their love of music, the University of Canterbury (UC) and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) have formalised their long-standing history of collaboration.

UC’s Professor Mark Menzies at one of many collaborations with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, an arrangement that has just been formalised to further support music performance and educational opportunities.

The two organisations have been working together to nurture local musicians and music students for many years - sharing instruments, involving students in outreach and educational activities, and collaborating on projects such as the highly successful Los Angeles Percussion Quartet concert in 2019.

Newly appointed CEO of the CSO Dr Graham Sattler, and Head of School for Humanities and Creative Arts at UC Associate Professor Peter Field, recently signed an agreement that commits their organisations to a more defined and intentional partnership over the next three years.

Formalising the arrangement in writing, with a view to strengthening engagement across the creative community, was a milestone in the friendship between UC and the CSO, Associate Professor Field says.

“With UC’s new strategic focus on greater community engagement, an agreement such as this is a tangible outcome of this vision. UC Music and the CSO have much in common, not least of which is shared objectives within the community, shared staffing, and of course a love of music. We are grateful that CSO staff share our enthusiasm about formalising a partnership and we look forward to the exciting outcomes of this strengthened relationship.”

Dr Sattler says, “The CSO has a passion for deep community engagement, and the partnership with UC is an important and logical pathway to, and through, that engagement. By formalising both the performative and educational elements of our common resource, and opening up clearer and identifiable research possibilities, we are proudly heralding this partnership as a local and national resource for thoughtful, progressive development in and for the Creative Arts sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

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