Written by Leon Spikmans, February 2025
On Monday 3rd February, a group of selected AYO musicians took part in a fascinating
session with Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, led by Samuel Cairnduff. This was
the first of the four sessions planned across the year as part of the RESONATE cultural
leadership program for these AYO members. The session was hugely illuminating and
insightful spanning across several different topics, which included cultural confidence and
effective communication regarding cultures, the role of Western classical music in Australian
culture and the challenges ahead for musicians in Australia. This session was a wonderful
and inspiring start to the program, and it has set a tone for the following sessions that will
cover similar and different, but equally relevant themes. The RESONATE program has been
and will continue to be truly enlightening for the participants as it journeys further along
music and culture throughout Australia.