One of Australia’s most celebrated musical exports was this week awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University.
Simone Young AM, internationally recognised as one of the leading conductors of her generation, was honoured in recognition of her esteemed career and her association with the Queensland Conservatorium.
Her address to the guests and almost 300 graduates focused on the crucial role of music in societies, communities and individual lives.“For me, music is the most intense of art forms – it appeals to the heart and to the intellect at the same time,” she said.
“The greatest honour I have is to be priviliged to carry the flame of passion and conviction and hand it on to those who wish to follow a life in the arts.”
Her message to the graduates was to “stay informed, always be open and embrace the humanity in your walk of life”.
Simone has conducted at all the leading opera houses including the Vienna Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera New York, Los Angeles Opera and Houston Grand Opera.
Currently Simone is the General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and Music Director of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg.
She has returned to Australia to conduct Richard Strauss’s monumental An Alpine Symphony on July 28 at QPAC with the Australian Youth Orchestra and Lisa Gasteen AO, and will conduct two performances as part of QPAC’s Hamburg Season from 23-25 August. Her schedule will also take in seven other concerts in Sydney, Perth and Auckland.
The ceremony on Tuesday 24 July was attended by Acting Chancellor Henry Smerdon, Vice Chancellor Professor Ian O’Connor and graduates from Queensland Conservatorium, Queensland College of Art and Griffith Health.
When Griffith University’s Film School’s LiveLab students teamed up with Autism Queensland and actor Hugo Weaving to share his autistic nephew Ky Greenwood’s story in 2016, it took the world by storm.
Griffith University extends its warmest congratulations to Bachelor of Pharmacy graduate Georgina Morris who has received The Pharmacy Guild of Australia / MIMS Intern of the Year 2022!
Sediment runoff from land use change is missing from global priorities, despite being one of the greatest threats facing freshwater and marine ecosystems
Griffith University contributed to a global review highlighting the effects of racism, social exclusion and discrimination on achieving universal safe water and sanitation in high-income countries and published in The Lancet Global Health. Griffith Cities Research Institute and Coauthor Associate Professor Cara Beal said despite Australia being one of the richest per capita countries in […]
