New England Conservatorium 2.87

The New England Conservatorium of Music (NECOM) was established in late 2003 and commenced program delivery in 2004. It is a not-for-profit company (limited by guarantee) run by a volunteer Board of Directors. As one of seventeen regional conservatoriums in NSW, NECOM receives funding from the Department of Education (DoE) to provide extensive music education and performance programs to pre-school, K- Yr 12 students, schools and teachers. In addition it provides services to community adults and music organisations, and private music teachers through its Music Educator Member Program.

The primary campus of NECOM is located in the heritage-listed CB Newling Building in Armidale, known as the Old Teachers’ College and now held in trust by the University of New England (UNE).

At the request of a Steering Committee of enthusiastic residents and volunteers, NECOM established a satellite campus at Inverell in 2007. In 2009, NECOM was granted a 20-year lease of the Sinclair Place School and received a Community Building Partnership Grant to develop and expand the campus facilities. In 2014, NECOM Inverell became the home of the Sapphire City Concert Band Association.

NECOM is a member of the Association of NSW Regional Conservatoriums that is supported by the Department of Education (DoE) under its Specialist Programs, Schools Unit. Since 2004, NECOM has grown exponentially to become one of only five regional conservatoriums to achieve the Association of NSW Regional Conservatorium’s Tier One classification of 21,000+ estimated teaching hours of delivery per year.

NECOM's outstanding programs have received significant recognition with the 2013 national APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award for Excellence in Music Education for New England Sings! , the 2014 Armidale Dumaresq Council Australia Day Cultural Award and the 2015 APRA Art Music Award for Excellence in a Regional Area.

In 2016, NECOM provides employment for 6 full time and approximately 16 part time administration and teaching positions. Through its extensive core programs and special projects, NECOM will bring music to over 5,500 New England region school students and concert performances to audiences numbering 5,500 though:

Mini Minstrels Program - pre-school and early childhood education
K-Year 12 school programs supporting the NSW music curriculum
Instrumental, choral and ensemble programs
Professional Development programs for pre-school, classroom, studio and music specialist teachers + musicians
Aboriginal education programs including Early Childhood classes in primary schools and a Mentoring Program in secondary schools
Music Therapy programs for children and adults with disabilities
Community and school enrichment programs/events
Scholarships and bursaries
Masterclasses & Workshops
Instrument Hire
Special Projects - 2016 New England Sings! Choral Showcase; Childrens Chorus for OA The Marriage of Figaro
Regional Conservatorium Initiatives with Sydney Opera House: Opera Australia Orchestra Project 2016; Orchestra Workshop with Concertgebouw 2013; Orchestra Workshop with London Symphony 2014
NECOM has pioneered a regional conservatorium model of a ‘Conservatorium without Walls’ by establishing supportive and collaborative partnerships with schools and afiiliations with similar service providers to share resources, deliver joint programs, build organisational capacity and enhance professional development of music educators:

Music Educator Members – private studio music teachers
PAMTA - Primary Armidale Music Teachers Association
AMTA – Armidale Music Teachers Association
Local K-12 Schools – NECOM outsources classroom music teaching, instrumental teaching, and ensemble tuition services to public and independent schools
Affiliated Organisations - Armidale Youth Orchestras Association, Armidale Symphony Orchestra
Service Providers – Australian Youth Orchestra; Sydney Symphony; Pedal Early Intervention, The Ascent Group for Music Therapy programs and teachers