Associate Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Director of Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, explored the power of music, at the 2016 Arts, Education and Law in a public lecture earlier this month.
Held at the Queensland Conservatorium theatre, Associate Professor Bartleet drew on work from recent national and international music projects to examine the critical role musicians, educators and researchers are playing inhealth,social justice andpoverty alleviation,intercultural understanding,prisons, post conflict settings and environmental conservation.
“For every major social movement, social change, social upheaval throughout history, music has been present; sometimes driving change, other times resisting change; other times documenting and commenting on that change,” she said.
“Music has played a key role in bringing about global awareness of major social and political causes or health crises around the world.
“Mass events such as Live Aid, Human Rights Now, and social media campaigns such as the recent Africa Stop Ebola which involved the recording of song in seven languages with highly influential African artists, provide a very effective medium in communicating to young people on what they need to know about health services.”
Closer to home in Australia, Associate Professor Bartleet also spoke of the calls for change and reconciliation which have come through song, such as the Warumpi Band — ‘Black Fella White Fella’, Yothu Yindi- ‘Treaty’, Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s — ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, and course, Archie Roach — ‘Took The Children Away’.
Watch the lecture ‘Can Music Change the World?’ in full here.
Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC) undertakes leading research that tackles the complex and multi-faceted role that music plays in contemporary society.
Collectively working on close to 50 projects at any given time, the Centre’s researchers produce well over 100 creative and text-based research outputs each year. These outputs are designed to cater to diverse audiences across the community, music industry and higher education sector and are published and presented across a wide range of platforms to achieve far-reaching impact.
Find out more about the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre >