Last week on Wednesday, Con Ball: Firebird - the Conservatorium’s annual gala dinner for 2023 - saw the return of awards presented by the Conservatorium Students’ Association.
Seventeen students and alumni, and one chamber ensemble were recognised by their peers for their talents and achievements, through votes cast by attendees on the night. Each award was accompanied by a prize donated by one of the best arts companies in Australia, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia, the Omega Ensemble, and Lazybones Lounge.
Opening two months before the Ball and closing the night of the Ball, 40 individuals nominated either themselves or their friends for one of the awards. Voting was open for 45 minutes on the night, with 95 votes being cast from the roughly 200 attendees at the Ball.
Con Ball: Prom in 2021 saw a few Prom Court-esque superlative awards given out, in the spirit of the theme; but some students found these to be overly focused on Association Executive rather than members. The last time prizes were awarded was in 2012 at Con Ball: 1920s, with the President, Bernice Zandona, reporting at the Annual General Meeting that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Musica Viva Australia both donated free tickets to those who won best-dressed.
Peak awards
There were three peak awards presented on the night, each to recognise one student for their work to make the Con an inclusive, diverse, and musical space in their different ways. Each of the peak awards are accompanied by automatic Life Membership to the Association.
The peak award for the night was the Firebird Award - named after the theme of the Ball, chosen because of its symbolism or rebirth, beauty, and magic within Russian folklore, reflecting the rebirth of the Con and the CSA after the impacts of Covid-19. It recognised Amelia Bland, a classical voice student, for her works and actions that best reflect the values of the Association: virtuosity, diversity, innovation, inclusion, storytelling, & sustainability. The Award was accompanied by a free ticket prize donated by the Australian Ballet.
The Executive of the Year, recognising the executive member who demonstrated excellence in their role, as an effective member of a team, humble leader, & efficient planner, was awarded to Ashleigh Lane. Ashleigh was the Association Women’s Officer, as well as one of the Social Directors, alongside her studies in classical flute performance. She organised the entirety of the inaugural Conservatorium Sports Team to the Interfaculty Competition, as well as the Musical Voices panel for International Women’s Day, amongst much more.
Member of the Year, with a free ticket prize donated by Opera Australia, was awarded to composition for creative industries student Yannis Low, the member who is loved by all because of his kindness, selflessness, creativity, humility, loyalty, & integrity. Yannis was previously a Social Director for the Association, and was crucial in ensuring a successful Ball last year.
Life memberships
Four other Life Memberships were awarded, to recognise and thank members for their exceptional commitment to our organisation and its activities. Those who were awarded are as follows:
Olivia Hamilton-Foster - the Association Treasurer for 2023, who put up her hand to help in the Treasury after no nominations for the position were placed. She did a massive amount of work to figure out and revamp our entire financial reporting system, and ensuring that we won’t go into insolvency.
Isabella Chiper - the Association Vice-President for 2023, who was instrumental in the representative work of the Association. She was previously the inaugural Disability Officer for the Association alongside running the Women’s Portfolio in the former half, and Secretary in the latter half of last year.
Madeline Maronese - the Association Social Director for 2021-2022, who was crucial in maintaining the Association’s image with members through her work organising the previous three Con Balls, start and end of semester parties and much more, more or less single-handedly.
Kristina Sergi - the Association President in 2021, with 3 years of executive positions held prior, and continuing mentorship of the current executive. She has spent hours of volunteer time to ensure the Association continued through lockdowns, and representing Conservatorium students to all areas of the University.
Department awards
Seven awards to acknowledge achievements in many of the different areas of study at the Conservatorium were also presented. The winners for these awards are as follows:
Australian Chamber Orchestra Dedication Award, a general award to recognise dedication to one's craft, accompanied by free tickets to the Australian Chamber Orchestra - awarded to Silvina Wong.
Bangarra First Nations Award, to recognise a First Nations student for their achievements in their chosen field, accompanied by free tickets to the Bangarra Dance Theatre, as well as a prize pack from the University Gadigal Centre - awarded to Naya Cook.
Omega Ensemble Chamber Music Award, accompanied by a full 2024 Season pass to the Omega Ensemble to all members of the ensemble - awarded to brass quintet Perfect Fifth (David Imlay, Rachael Pearson, Angus Kent, Josh de Haan, James Reeson).
Ensemble Offspring Musical Innovation Award, to recognise one’s innovations and contributions to the musical sound of Australia, accompanied by free tickets to two concerts by the Ensemble Offspring - awarded to Arabella Riepler.
Musica Viva Australia Educere Award, to recognise one’s passion to progressing musical education in Australia, accompanied by free tickets to three concerts by Musica Viva Australia - awarded to Charlotte Gaal.
Music Theatre Award, to recognise one’s involvement within Sydney’s musical theatre landscape, accompanied by a $190 voucher for 10 classes with the Sydney Dance Company - awarded to Scarlett Pearce.
Vocal Virtuosity Award, to recognise one's vocal and singing abilities, accompanied by free tickets to the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - awarded to Lucy Chan.
Lazybones Jazz Award, to recognise one’s jazz skills, accompanied by free tickets to a gig and dinner at the Lazybones Lounge - awarded to Lachie Eggert.
Sydney Symphony Best-dressed
The inspiration to organise these awards - the prizes from 2012 - returned expanded and improved as the Sydney Symphony Best-dressed Prize. There were two of these Prizes awarded: one voted by Members, and the other voted by Executive. Both of these awards were accompanied by a pair of free tickets to any concert within the 2024 Season by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Members were provided with two raffle tickets upon entry, and instructed to give them to the attendee who they thought had the best outfit, and to try to make new friends. The tickets were then brought to, and was counted by the President, Alexander Poirier, and the Members vote was awarded to classical voice student Wesley Yu.
The Executive vote was a pretty unanimous decision, and was awarded to music theatre student Andrew Smallbone. One honorary Best-dressed Prize was also awarded to James Krockenberger, for his enthusiasm and energy to present his Batman costume. Unfortunately, this did not win any free tickets.
