Mr BURKE - 2006-06-14
Shakespeare tells us that music is the food of love. Can you inform the House what is in store for lovers of classical music in the Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his great question. Shakespeare, for at least a moment, can transport us from this veil of tears that is parliament to think of the finer things in life. One of those finer things of life is the Territory’s own community orchestra, the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. The DSO has been with us for 17 years and has evolved into one of the Territory’s flagship arts companies.
It is with great pleasure that I inform the House that they have been accepted as such by my department and will now be funded on a triennial basis. It is well deserved, something which has finally been recognised by the federal government. I am sure I am not stealing the thunder of my federal counterpart, Senator Kemp, in informing the House that they are to receive $100 000 annually over the next four years to build artistic excellence within the orchestra, which I am sure the member for Nelson will be very happy about.
I am told that the only real disappointment from the federal Australia Council for the Arts officers who came to Darwin last week to negotiate how the funding might work, is that they were unable to time their visit here to coincide with the historic performance the Darwin Symphony Orchestra is staging with a full company of the Australian Ballet on 19 July 2006. The performance of Giselle, which we have assisted with a grant to the ballet of $45 000, will be staged as a free event at the George Brown Botanical Gardens Amphitheatre, on the 165th anniversary of Giselle. I am sure this performance under the stars will be a memorable one.
In addition, I am very happy to announce to the House that the Northern Territory government is matching a $35 000 grant from the federal government to boost the DSO’s famous program of touring regional centres - so we are not forgetting about the regional centres around the Territory. The DSO has a wonderful future, based on a 20-year vision of where classical music might be, not just in five years, but 20 years from now. I am sure everyone in the House wishes this great organisation all the best in what they do in serving the Territory community.
Members: Hear, hear!
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his great question. Shakespeare, for at least a moment, can transport us from this veil of tears that is parliament to think of the finer things in life. One of those finer things of life is the Territory’s own community orchestra, the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. The DSO has been with us for 17 years and has evolved into one of the Territory’s flagship arts companies.
It is with great pleasure that I inform the House that they have been accepted as such by my department and will now be funded on a triennial basis. It is well deserved, something which has finally been recognised by the federal government. I am sure I am not stealing the thunder of my federal counterpart, Senator Kemp, in informing the House that they are to receive $100 000 annually over the next four years to build artistic excellence within the orchestra, which I am sure the member for Nelson will be very happy about.
I am told that the only real disappointment from the federal Australia Council for the Arts officers who came to Darwin last week to negotiate how the funding might work, is that they were unable to time their visit here to coincide with the historic performance the Darwin Symphony Orchestra is staging with a full company of the Australian Ballet on 19 July 2006. The performance of Giselle, which we have assisted with a grant to the ballet of $45 000, will be staged as a free event at the George Brown Botanical Gardens Amphitheatre, on the 165th anniversary of Giselle. I am sure this performance under the stars will be a memorable one.
In addition, I am very happy to announce to the House that the Northern Territory government is matching a $35 000 grant from the federal government to boost the DSO’s famous program of touring regional centres - so we are not forgetting about the regional centres around the Territory. The DSO has a wonderful future, based on a 20-year vision of where classical music might be, not just in five years, but 20 years from now. I am sure everyone in the House wishes this great organisation all the best in what they do in serving the Territory community.
Members: Hear, hear!
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016