MAGA Scene_2015 Issue #30- 150824

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August 2015
Issue #30
MAGASCENE
Welcome back MAGA!
From new board member and publisher Jessica Wells
Welcome members to the new look
MAGAScene Newsletter for 2015! It is my
privilege to have been elected to the new
board and to have been a part of energetic
discussions on how to move MAGA
forward into the future and provide more
for our members.
I have been a member since 1998 and one of
the things we are addressing currently is
the revitalization of the old “stamp” as a
digital watermark of sorts that members
can add to their scores and parts easily in
software. I must say that I have mislaid my
old red-handled stamp and I would love to
know if there are any members still using
theirs! I think the consensus is that it is
long out of date and the new watermark
will be a welcome change.
I’ve not published a newsletter before so I appreciate feedback from members,
as well as contributions from members to include in future newsletters and
also email news. We’d love to hear from you!
Another important change for members are the NEW GUIDE RATES
for which are available in the members section of the MAGA website. This
has been debated for over two years! A simpler way of calculating fees has
been needed for a long time. We also welcome feedback on these new
guidelines for pricing. If you need help with logging in please email
Issue #30, Aug 2015
Contents
President’s Message
A message from George Bruno
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Final message from outgoing
Secretary, Robert Gavin
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Building the LEGO Movie soundtrack.
Jessica Wells
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OBITUARIES:
John Grimsley
William Motzing
Tommy Tycho
Patrick Crichton
The role of MAGA in WA Jazz
education.
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MAGA Patrons announced
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webmaster@magainc.org.au
National Executive for 2015/2016
President: George Bruno
Board Member: James Humberstone
Vice President: Greg Schultz
Board Member: Andrew Batterham
Secretary: Annette Golden
Board Member: Ian Boath
Treasurer: Ross Maio
Web Master: Tim Middleton
Publishing Editor: Jessica Wells
Board Member: Matt Amy
http://www.magainc.org.au
Board Member: Kieran Hurley
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August 2015
President’s Message
Inc has always enjoyed. Robert’s departure
has left a major hole to fill. It has become
obvious that one person alone cannot do all
that is required, particularly on a voluntary
whilst making a living as an active musician.
This article could be much bigger and would
still not pay proper tribute to Robert’s
contribution to our great organization. So I’ll
simply say on behalf of all who have served
with you, thank you for all that you’ve done.
And personally, let me just say that I’m
proud of our association and friendship.
Through a series of unexpected and
unavoidable events, this edition of the
MagaScene is the 1st being issued since
September 2012. Having said that, I assure
you that MAGA Inc did not cease activities
during this period and up to now. As a
THANK YOU ROBIN WORKMAN!
matter of fact as a result of having to deal
with the issues at hand, the Executive
I need to acknowledge here, the good work
Board’s workload actually intensified,.
that Robin Workman has done with Robert
Gavin on a regular basis with all the internet
In the interim period there have been 2
administration of records and of course, the
elections for the Executive Board which
MAGAscene and on-line Enotes. We have
saw several EB members leaving the Board now been a technology based body for a
for varying reasons. These are: SVEN
long time, currently being well represented
LIBAEK (NSW), ROBERT GAVIN, AMY
on the internet making the most of all the
BENNETT, ROBIN WORKMAN, PAUL
facilities that digital media offers. This
BAKER, BRAD ESBENSEN, JOE TRAVERS includes the sending of notices, billing,
and JOHN COKER.
monetary transactions, promotional
marketing, the newsletters and more. Almost
THANK YOU SVEN LIBAEK!
all of our communication is now via email
and our board meetings are carried out via
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the
Webex internet connection. A very
stepping down of our former President,
important and laborious job that Robin and
Sven Libaek. During his tenure he not only Robert undertook was to scan and digitize
presided over some major reshaping of our all of our historical records. Thank you for
organisation’s operating and progressive
your hard work and dedication!
restructure, but most importantly Sven
added a great amount of dignity to the
FILLING IN THE BLANKS
position. He never lost sense of the
importance and proud presence that
As a result of elections held at the 2012 AGM
MAGA Inc has carved in the music
and following Sven’s resignation, I was
industry over the past half century or so.
installed as President of MAGA Inc for the
On behalf of all of us, thank you Sven!
2013/2014 period. It was a great honour to
THANK YOU ROBERT GAVIN!
Robert’s tenure as The Secretary and Public
Officer of MAGA Inc, has been what I
consider to be the most progressive period
in our history! He took MAGA on a
journey from the “paper-plane” era into
the “paperless” era almost single handed.
Thereby turning MAGA into a pretty slick
organisation comparable to any corporate
outfit operating today. He streamlined the
process of managing our affairs by using
all the digital era tools available and
initiated many strategies that led to a better
public awareness of:
a) Who we are, b) What we stand for, c)
What we do. Thereby maintaining the high
level of professional respect that MAGA
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assume that position then, as it is now. That
Board is listed below.
NATIONAL EXEC for 2013/2014
Following our AGM in December 2012, the
elected National Executive for 2013/2014
was as follows: President: GEORGE BRUNO
(NSW) Vice President: GREG SCHULTZ
(WA) Secretary: ROBERT GAVIN (NSW),
Treasurer: JOE TRAVERS (NSW) Executive
Members: ROBIN WORKMAN (NSW),
JAMES HUMBERSTONE (NSW), PAUL
BAKER (NSW), JOHN COKER (NSW), IAN
BOATH (SA) and BRAD ESBENSEN
(VIC) Trustees: JULIE SIMONDS (NSW),
HENRY "Doc" BERTRAM (VIC) and PAUL
MILLARD (WA)
Issue #30
NATIONAL EXEC for 2015/2016
Following our AGM in December 2014, the
elected National Executive for 2015/2016 is
as follows: President: GEORGE BRUNO
(NSW) Vice President: GREG SCHULTZ
(WA) Secretary: ANNETTE GOLDEN
(NSW), Treasurer: ROSS MAIO
(NSW) Executive Members: JAMES
HUMBERSTONE (NSW), IAN BOATH
(SA), TIM MIDDLETON (WA), JESSICA
WELLS (NSW), ANDREW BATTERHAM
(VIC) Trustees: JULIE SIMONDS (NSW),
PAUL MILLARD (WA), HENRY ‘Doc’
BERTRAM (VIC)
Total: 9 members (minimum of 8 required).
New appointments indicated in RED. 201314 Members retiring: ROBERT GAVIN,
AMY BENNETT, JOHN COKER and
ROBIN WORKMAN.
SOME BACKGROUND
For a number of reasons 2013 was the most
inactive year that our guild has ever
endured. Accepting that the Board is made
up of “active” members who work in the
music industry as arrangers, orchestrators
or copyists, one can anticipate that on a
recurring basis some Board members
would need to give their own affairs
precedence over those of MAGA Inc.
However, it is with some disappointment
that when our Secretary got flooded with
his own work and was unable to keep up
all the great work he usually does, none of
us were able to step up to the position and
take over the reins. There is no excuse for
not having had regular monthly meetings
without the presence of our Secretary, for
that I apologize. This has now been
addressed by us and we have arrived at a
practical solution.
EXCITING NEW DIRECTION
Following the Board’s re-assessment of the
work-load that the role of The Secretary
position demands, we have redistributed
some of the duties, ensuing in a new
description to our titles and allocated roles
for others. Please see below:
Secretary (Company Secretary and senior
administrator) Treasurer (sharing some of
The Secretary’s duties) President (sharing
some of The Secretary’s duties) Vice
President Webmaster (effective
title) Publishing Editor (effective
title) Executive Members Trustees (4 with
the inclusion of R Gavin)
August 2015
Issue #30
(President’s Message)
Because of this technology, MAGA Inc has now reached a point where it’s time for not only Board members, but also you the
membership at large to take a more active role in shaping the direction of our great organisation. You can do this by sending us your
suggestion and any ideas that would improve our visibility worldwide. Most importantly, stay in touch and attend those very
important AGM’s!
Along with my fellow Board members, I look forward to continuing to be actively involved in shaping the direction of this great
historical association. My congratulation to the current Board!
Here are two worthwhile links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z295Jscm_8U&list=PLF509E0380DE8C1C8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRFKBrfMgA&list=PLF509E0380DE8C1C8&index=7
Yours sincerely, George Bruno President MAGA Inc Presiding since 2013
Gig Review – Virna Sanzone
At the Lane Cove Country Club with Bill Burton Band - 30/1/2015
At the Foundry 616 with her trio- 31/1/2015
I make it my business to support all great Australian talent and all projects that have that special
original angle about them. Going to the theatre or to a club to see a show (tribute or otherwise) or
concerts that employ local talent, brings me great joy. In the changing tides of artistic progress and
diminishing demands for the skill I share with many of you, I find myself involved in many other areas
of creativity that I could not be a part of before, in my busier wotking days.
The amazing surge of talent in recent years have brought forward many unique performers “with
something to say” and particularly in the contemporary Jazz field. One such artiste is the engaging Virna Sanzone. I was fortunate
to be able to catch her oerformances twice in the same weekend. The first of these being with the Billy Burton (of Chevron Silver
Spade fame etc) Jazz group, that delights audiences at the Lane Cove Country Club each Friday night from 7.00 PM to 10.00 PM.
Billy has a different guest artiste every week. The week in focus (31/1/15) he had Virna just jamming with the band. She had some
light arrangements that the band interpreted beautifully. They created a interesting “nightclub” atmosphere in an avenue that has
limited decorative splash. Virna simply mesmerized the audience.
The next evening I caught Virna at the Foundry 616 in Ultimo, that night she was working with her own trio. It was a totally new
experience that I was confronted with. Virna and band had worked out some of the most sophisticated and superbly interesting
arrangements. She delivered some standards with a refreshingly new approach. Such a beautiful voice with seeemingly endless
range. She sang in English, Italian, Portugese, Spanish and Scooby-Do, she is probably the best at a technique which I don’t
personally relish. Here are some comments from the media:
“Sanzone has a voice like the caramel layer in a piece of caramel slice…so smooth, warm and pliable…and you’d definitely want a
second serve with another piece to take home. It’s rich and beautiful.” Lissa Christopher, SMH
Virna Sanzone, acknowledged as one of Australia’s most distinguished jazz and soul artists, is a singer whose strengths are her
own defined style and tone. Deeply soulful, yet with the ability to sail effortlessly through the most intricate jazz melodies, she is
renowned for her passionate delivery and remarkable improvisational approach.
Having worked consistently with many great artists both in Australia and overseas, Virna has been an integral part of projects that
have seen her move across a diverse range of genres, including most recently "The Italian Project", a collaboration with pianist Paul
Grabowsky which received rave reviews at the 2014 Stonnington Jazz Festival.
"a revelation...Virna Sanzone conveyed so much emotion in vocals that were powerful yet often caressing, the degree of care taken
giving the impression that the sounds were being nurtured as they emerged" - Roger Mitchell ausjazz.net
"...left the musicians breathless and the audience whooping with delight" The Age
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August 2015
Issue #30
A message from outgoing
Honorary Secretary Robert Gavin
11 September 2014
At this year's Annual General Meeting in early December, the results of our Biennial
Elections 2015-16 will be formally announced. Prior to this, nominations for the
Guild's National Executive (including the office-bearing positions of President, Vice
President, Secretary and Treasurer) and our three (3) Trustees will be called for.
As such, and after some lengthy personal consideration, I shall not be re-contesting the
position of Guild Secretary at these elections. In essence, I shall be resigning from my 13-year tenure in this
position and as a National Executive Member. In no way am I resigning my MAGA membership. I have been a
proud Guild member since I was 13 years old and will remain so.
But it is now time for me to pass the baton on....
Like all past and present Executive Members and Trustees of the Guild, I have had the fantastic opportunity of
helping to steer and administer MAGA's ideals. My specific tenure has been throughout the embryonic, yet
ever-changing, digital era in the Guild's near 64-year history. The challenges for representative organisations
like ours will be ever-present and always require regular generational change to maintain its relevance in the
work place and to its members.
It is never totally an easy ride, maintaining a professional music career alongside a time-consuming voluntary
one, as anyone who has served in similar positions will attest. But it has been immensely rewarding to meet
and hopefully pass on knowledge and advice to so many musicians who are trying to make their ways in this
crazy, yet thrilling, vocation.
To the Membership: thank you for your continued and loyal support of an organisation that is very dear to me.
And thanks for being a wonderful support and enduring inspiration to me, throughout my tenure as your
Secretary.
To all those with whom I have directly "served", I say a very sincere and special alphabetical "thank you" to
Paul Baker, Amy Bennett, Henry 'Doc' Bertram, Ian Boath, George Bruno, Peter Casey, John Coker, Mark Costa, Guy
Cundell, Les Dempsey, Brad Esbensen, Quentin 'Quincy' Grant, Eric Gross, James Humberstone, Sven Libaek, Peter
Mapleson, Paul McConkey, Paul Millard, Mick Morgan, Dawn Nettheim, Clive Pattie, Peggy Polias, Dale Ringland,
Geoffrey Rule, Greg Schultz, Julie Simonds, Alan Slater, Jack Thompson, Joe Travers, Mike Tseng, Karl Vyzard, Katie
Wardrobe and Robin Workman (if I've left anyone out, big apologies!). It's been a blast!
In concluding, I am reminded of another dreamer, Thomas Jefferson, nearly 200 years ago: "I like the dreams of
the future better than the history of the past."
And to my successor: "Have a great gig! Just remember that your
audience doesn't always clap at the right times..."
Robert Gavin
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August 2015
Issue #30
Building the LEGO Movie soundtrack
Jessica Wells – Jigsaw Music
Between November 4-10, 2013, composer Mark Mothersbaugh
and his team from LA came to Sydney to record the soundtrack
for the LEGO Movie, at Trackdown Scoring Stage with an 88piece orchestra and 40-voice choir. There were 82 cues recorded
for the soundtrack and all the copying and printing was done
by Jigsaw Music.
The process of creating such a mammoth film score begins with
a lot of waiting. The copying and printing of a film score is at
the very END of the production line which begins with the
composer getting approvals for cues from the directors (there
were two directors on this film!) and sending them out for
orchestrating and THEN finally arriving in my in-tray,
hopefully in time to get the parts on the music stands for the
recording sessions! Two weeks before the sessions there were
finally some scores being orchestrated and passed to me for
copying, but I knew that we would probably be working right
up to the first session and through the week. It was that kind of
job.
Once the flow was established, we worked quickly to extract
the parts and create PDF booklets of whatever we had ready for
the first day of recording – which was around 37 cues. The pace
of copying was fast – the cues were all mostly small and it took
only around an hour to do each score extraction. The 82 cues in
fact only took 87 hours in copying time by the end of the job. It
helped that I had a team of five copyists working to keep up
with the demand.
The printing was a big job, which is why the PDF booklets are
paramount. Page turns must be incorporated carefully, where
there is an edit point or when the orchestra can stop and do a
retake. Luckily most cues didn’t go past 2 pages. The total
number of pages of parts printed came to whopping 6256.
Happily double-sided though for the first booklet! We printed
1832 pages of A3 scores too, some of which were conductors
scores which needed to be taped individually. The labour for
printing, binding and taping came
to around 73 hours in total.
During the first two days of
recording the whole orchestra in
the room (John Williams-style) it
became apparent to the crew that
we were moving through the
material at a fast pace and that they
had probably booked too many
sessions! This goes to show how fabulous our Sydney orchestral
musicians are. It was decided to drop some of the sessions,
which allowed me a little reprieve. Ricky Edwards our
orchestrator was working overnight to meet the demand of the
remaining 45 cues, and I also had to prepare booklets for the 40voice choir sessions on the last two days. And there were no
lyrics written into the scores yet!
A lot of film scoring sessions do multi-tracking where we split
the orchestra into sections and record them separately. In this
case we were going “old-school” and recording the whole
orchestra together, which is a more satisfying process in terms of
capturing a performance. In some cues we omitted the brass
where they played loudly, and recorded them in separate takes,
but actually that was minimal, we were able to get a good
balance overall.
As the sessions continued I sat in the control room, making sure
things were moving along smoothly, occasionally reprinting a
part or two while I typed in lyrics onto the choir scores from
handwritten notes made by orchestrator and conductor James T.
Sale. It may not be terribly audible within the soundtrack, but
most of the lyrics were rather funny and appropriate to the film
such as “Kra-gle Cor-pus” and when Emmett falls down the
hole in the earth – “Ahh, Fal-ling, fal-ling, fal-ling, fall…” and
when Cloud Cuckoo Land is destroyed – “Cuckoo Requiem
Aeternum…Maledictus Morte”. Most choir parts for film scores
just use random phonics that might sound like Latin – so it’s
always nice to put in some appropriate syllables just for fun!
(When I orchestrated “I Frankenstein” I went to town on REAL
Latin phrases for the choir – no-one really knows but me – but it
was satisfying to make what they were singing actually MEAN
something!).
The choir needed to sing over top of prepared “beds”, so a lot of
editing had to be done in the background to put together the
best takes of the orchestra in time for these sessions. When there
wasn’t time we had to use the MIDI demo to record over. The
first choir session was on a Saturday afternoon, and I needed to
race home in between sessions to print out some extra choir
booklets, as one printer was not fast enough to spit them out fast
enough! Also this was due to the fact that I had only finished
adding in the lyics that morning. Made it with minutes to start,
and all went well. The last Sunday evening choir session was
where we attempted a rendition of “Everything is Awesome”,
which did procure a few giggles from the classical singers!
Mark Mothersbaugh drew on all his scores throughout the sessions!
My 7 year old daughter joined him one day and this was the result.
And everything WAS awesome, getting to the finish line of such
a huge film score. I’m looking forward to working on the next
LEGO movie J
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August 2015
Issue #30
Obituary – John (Jack) Grimsley
Thursday, 18 June 2015
One of the finest musicians in Australian Jazz, a talented
musical director and a great friend. John Grimsley was a
major presence as foundation member of the Musical Arranger's
Guild of Australia (MAGA Inc) in establishing excellence and an
"Industry Standard" for orchestrators in the formative years of
Australian television. We shall miss his quirky humor.
George Bruno, friend and President of MAGA Inc.
Jack was responsible for some of the most recognisable music in Australian television including the theme music for
popular game shows Wheel of Fortune and Sale of the Century. His music was also heard on Blankety Blanks, The
Price is Right and Benny Hill Down Under. He was the Musical Director at Network Ten (Channel 10) between 1966
and 1988.
Outside of television Jack was a session musician playing on many compilation albums and worked with songwriter
John Williamson on several of his albums.
GRIMSLEY, John Franklyn (Jack).
Passed away peacefully at 2.00 am
on June 8th, 2015.
Born in Melbourne on 18th October,
1925. Highly respected and much
loved retired Musical Director,
Arranger/Composer, Trombonist
and Pianist. Loving father to Bill,
Barbara, Rebecca and grandfather to
Rosie, Declan and Grace.
Aged 89 Years.
(L to R) Arthur Greenslade, Jack
Grimsley, Jack Thorpe’s son (name
unknown), Les Dempsey and
Tommy Tycho AM MBE.
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Jazz concert at the Sydney Uni. circa: late 50's.
(L to R) Les Dempsey (pno) Norm Wyatt. Jack Grimsley.
Peter Haslam. Cec Reagan.
August 2015
Issue #30
Obituary – William Motzing
William Edward "Bill" Motzing (August 19, 1937 – January 30, 2014) was an Americanborn composer, conductor and arranger, best known for the award-winning film and
television scores and gold and platinum pop album arrangements he wrote in Australia.
He was a jazz lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music over a period of 40 years.
Bill Motzing is survived by his children Bill and Carrie, daughter-in-law Martha and five
grandchildren. Bette Anne died in
William Edward Motzing Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on
August 19, 1937. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in
Rochester, New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He then
moved to New York City where he earned a master's degree from the
Manhattan School of Music in 1960. Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Motzing
played trombone in various orchestras-such as the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra and the Radio City Music Hall orchestra-and with
many prestigious jazz ensembles. From 1968 to 1971, he toured the
world with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, working as the band's
sound designer. After visiting Australia while touring with the band, in
1972 Mr. Motzing moved to Sydney to take a position at the New South
Wales State Conservatorium of Music, now the Sydney Conservatorium
of Music. In 2012, Mr. Motzing retired from his position at the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music and moved to New York.
Some of Bill’s credits as a composer include:
Newsfront (1978)
Young Einstein (1988) for which he won an AFI Award for best
original music score, and an APRA Music Award.
Brides of Christ (1991)
Mother and Son (7 episodes)
Some of Bill’s credits as an arranger and orchestrator include:
Sherbet, Howzat (1976)
Peter Allen, I Still Call Australia Home (1980)
Billy Field, Bad Habits (1981)
Vince Jones & Grace Knight – Come In Spinner (1990)
I was lucky enough to have met Bill when I was studying at AFTRS for a Masters Degree in Screen
Composition in 2004-2005, and watched him conduct the student orchestral sessions with such a relaxed
attitude that put us nervous students at ease. He approached me to take on some copying work for him which
I did with joy, as I loved to analyze his concise and beautifully constructed arrangements.
For Leo Sayer’s post-album concert for “Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow” I helped out with copying Bill’s
handwritten string arrangements and then watch him in his full glory conducting the strings on stage at the
State Theatre.
Every time I visited Bill at his Elizabeth Street Paddington abode, he was so lovely and welcoming, and even
around Christmas time when I had my small children with me he gave my daughter a Christmas ornament to
make her smile.
Now every Christmas I hang that ornament on the tree and smile when I think of Bill.
Jessica Wells
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August 2015
Issue #30
Obituary – Tommy Tycho
Maestro Tommy Tycho
b. April 11 1928- d. April 4 2013.
Tommy Tycho, the ‘Maestro’, was born
in Budapest on 11 April 1928. Growing
up in a household surrounded ‘good
music’, Tommy first took piano lessons
when his older sister had commenced
learning, even though he couldn’t reach
the pedals. It was evident that he had a
gift for music and was soon labelled a
child prodigy. He performed the
fiendishly difficult ‘Rhapsody In Blue’ at
ten years of age. Tommy continued his
piano studies with acclaimed pianist
Egon Petri and was soon enrolled in the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music. He also
studied composition with Leon Weiner.
After the war Tommy took to play in
dance bands and at the Pengo
(Hungarian for dollar) Club entertaining
the American troops, who were thrilled
to hear American music while overseas.
Soon after, Tommy travelled with a
dance band to Iran and soon became the
Shah’s personal pianist. Here, he met
Eve and they were soon married.
Wanting to settle down he applied to
immigrate to Australia and his
application was accepted.
Australia
Tommy arrived in Australia in April
1951. Not being able to work as a
musician due to the strict policies of the
Musicians Union of Australia. Tommy
dearly wanted to be Australia and after a
visit to the minister for Immigration was
awarded his citizenship and admission
to the Musicians Union.
Tommy then auditioned for the ABC.
Soon he was given a spot on the
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program, “Handful of Keys” as a solo
pianist, playing a selection of light
classical music and popular tunes. He
soon teamed up with the pianist, Glen
Marks and they performed similar
repertoire in a duet format. Following this
Tommy then became a pianist and
arranger for the Jay Wilbur Strings
ensemble. His success at the ABC saw
them offering him his own ensemble, the
Thomas Tycho Players, a smaller chamber
group that performed light music and
light classical repertoire. This was 1956
and television was about to start in
Australia. At this time Tommy had been
asking the ABC for a higher rate of pay
for his arrangements and performing and
a report from Werner Baer indicated that
if we don’t respect Tommy’s wishes he
will be lured by television’, which he was.
By 1956 he was also working on a radio
show as the backing band, ‘Laugh Til’
You Cry’ on 2UW and they released two
self titled ’45 records, which have a west
coast jazz group sound to them
(consisting of piano, bass, guitar drums).
Television
He first appeared as the pianist on the
opening night of ATN7 and by 1958 was
the station music director, a post he held
for fifteen years until 1972. During his
many years on television he was at the
forefront of musical entertainment. With
Julian Lee he was the arranger,
orchestrator and conductor for the first
televised musical comedy, Pardon Miss
Westcott, Revue 61’, and Revue 62
(arranging with Julian Lee). Tommy also
composed music for the series ANZAC,
You Can’t See Around Corners, and wrote
hundreds of songs for the satirical
comedy The Mavis Bramston Show. He
grew his music group from a quartet to a
full symphony orchestra capable of
playing anything (jazz, popular, classical,
you name it). Alongside this he had the
best musicians in town in his orchestra.
He soon left television when the orchestra
had decreased in size and sought
opportunities elsewhere. 2CH radio had
just switched to the ‘Good Music’ format,
an easy listening station and Tycho
capitalised on this and performed and
recorded a series of concerts at the newly
opened Sydney Opera house, entitled
‘Tommy Tycho’s Night with…’, including
evenings of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin,
Rodgers and Hammerstein and Hart
etc. By this stage he had firmly
cemented his reputation as Australia’s
leading arranger, pianist, conductor and
music director. He would later go on to
arrange and orchestrate Advanced
Australia Fair which is still used a all
major sporting and cultural events
today. He then went on to make regular
appearances on television he recorded
several albums with Anthony Warlow
and composed two film soundtracks for
Yahoo Serious. Tommy has composed
and arranged over 2000 charts since his
arrival in Australia and appeared on
dozens and dozens of LP records,
cassettes, and CDs. Tommy’s
arrangements are known for their ‘in
jokes’ in which he would often included
quotations of classical music.
In 1977 he was awarded an MBE. He
was also awarded an AM in 1987 and in
2007 was awarded an Honorary Doctor
of Music from the University of Sydney,
something he calls his greatest
achievement. Tommy is survived by his
daughter Vicky and his wife Eve.
-Samuel Cottell
Samuel Cottell is a pianist and arranger
who is currently undertaking a PhD at
Sydney Conservatorium on the music and
arrangements of Tommy Tycho.
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August 2015
Issue #30
The Music Arrangers Guild of Australia (MAGA)
Its Role in Jazz Education’s Formative Years
Western Australia
The early eighties were exciting times for music in Perth,
especially jazz music. By this time University and
Conservatorium Jazz programmes in the Eastern States
were firmly established, however until 1982 there was
nothing established in the tertiary education sector for
music other than classical music in Western Australia.
Rex Hobcroft’s and Harry Bluck’s efforts at establishing
a Conservatorium of Music had recently come to fruition
and David O’Neil, the inaugural Music Director of the
nearly formed Conservatorium had different and
exciting ideas and in 1982 he was actively exploring the
idea of broadening the music offerings available to
young musicians here in Perth.
At this time it was worth noting that there was a
significant jazz and contemporary music scene
established in Perth with work available to musicians in
television, recording, and live performance. The Musical
Arrangers Guild of Western Australia had been firmly
established and composers and arrangers were active
and work was available for good musicians, arrangers
and composers.
In 1982 I was employed by the Conservatorium to
develop an Associate Diploma in Jazz Studies course
structure with the possible introduction in 1983.
Incidentally I was paid for two hours a week for one
semester (14 weeks) to put this together, not exactly a
well paid gig given the actual work involved, but thanks
to the help of other local musicians, composers and
arrangers keen to see something happen in WA, we
managed to get it done.
Donec
ininterdum
Local musicians including Uwe Stengal, Raymond
Fournier, Greg Schultz, Wally Hadley, Will Upson,
Harry Bluck, Bruce Johnston, and Peter Bandy taught
the courses. We were also very lucky to have
American Bob Alberti a highlyPellentesque:
respected Hollywood
Arranger/orchestrator in town as 'icing on the cake'.
The course ran for 12 weeks.
Unfortunately I was so busy setting up the Academy
Jazz Associate Diploma Course that I wasn’t able to
participate in the courses and I even missed the Bob
Alberti session, but it needs to be recorded and
recognised that this MAGA course certainly cemented
the future of jazz education in Western Australia. Jazz
Arranging and Composition then became an integral
subject in all future course offerings at the
Conservatorium. In later years many noted arrangers
and composers visited the Conservatorium including
Jim McNeil (Thad Jones, Mel Lewis Big Band) Paris
Rutherford (UCLA) , Toshyko Akioshi. and many many
others. Arranging and composition teaching staff
included Greame Lyall, Wayne Senior (NZ) and most
recent an Academy graduate Dr. Mace Francis.
- Patrick Crichton July 2015.
One of the first things I did when I arrived in Perth from
Sydney in 1979 was to join the WA chapter of MAGA
and I served on their committee from time to time and it
was with the help of MAGA that I was able coordinate a
course in elementary arranging and composition in June
of 1982 at the Conservatorium. These were the first
course offerings ever in the jazz genre in a tertiary
institution here in Western Australia. This turned out to
be a watershed moment for the development of jazz
education in Western Australia as it was booked out
nearly as soon as it was announced. This phenomenal
success tipped the scales in favour of instituting the jazz
courses the following year.
9
August 2015
Issue #30
MAGA Patrons
MAGA is pleased to announce our new patrons:
Sean O’Boyle AM
Awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 2015, New York/Bethlehem based Australian
composer, conductor & master orchestrator, Sean O’Boyle, has written and arranged for
recordings and concerts with many leading Australian and international orchestras. Sean
has composed, arranged, conducted, directed and collaborated with many artists and
organizations. He has written, arranged and produced music for more than 100 CDs
recorded in collaboration with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He has twice
received the coveted ABC Golden Manuscript Award for his work as a composer and his
projects have received numerous ARIA nominations & awards. He was recently
shortlisted for the Advance Australia Global Awards. In 2014 Sean was appointed Chief
Arranger & Composer in Residence of the Queensland Pops Orchestra.
John Foreman
In 1992, John joined Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. John tickled Bert's GMA
ivories for more than 12 years, working with everyone from Chris Isaak to Reba McEntire,
from Joe Williams to James Galway and from Shirley Bassey to Olivia Newton John.
John became Musical Director of Australian Idol in 2003, where he helped to unearth
performers such as Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll and Jessica Mauboy.
John is musical director and producer for Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight® and
the TV Week Logie Awards
John's compositions have been performed all over the world. John wrote The Flame,
which was performed by YTT's Tina Arena and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the
Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony. His compositions have also been performed
by artists such as Vanessa Amorosi and Paulini. He wrote Melbourne Girl for the BBC's
telecast of the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and Light
The Way for the Asian Games in Doha, which was performed by Jose Carreras.
Chong Lim
Chong Lim is one of Australia's most experienced musicians. Chong is a musical director,
producer, composer, arranger, keyboardist and sound programmer for internationally
renowned performers. He is currently working as Musical Director for Dancing with the
Stars (Australia). Chong has worked with the best of the best in the music industry,
including Delta Goodrem, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Tina Arena, Christine
Anu and more. He was involved in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and was musical director and composer for the Closing
Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
10
1
2
August 2015
Issue #30
Staying safe in cyberspace
Many arrangers, orchestrators and
copyists are now able to market
themselves on the internet and accept
jobs from all over the world. If our
dollar is low then it’s attractive to
overseas clients to save $$ and also the
10% GST which is not payable for
“exports”.
If you are approached via your website
or email from someone you do not
know, make sure you do your research
to make sure they are who they say they
are!
Unfortunately a hoaxer in the UK
managed to secure work from over 50
music industry professionals and not
pay them a cent. Some work was
undertaken for real jobs like a television
series in France needing orchestration
JOKE CORNER
work, but many jobs were FAKE ones,
with no real use for the work
undertaken except to give a power trip
to the deranged perpetrator.
Luckily after a lot of lobbying, the
police were able to be convinced to
bring a case against this man, Jack
Moore, and he was put in jail.
You can read an article about this
incident here:
http://www.sibeliusblog.com/news/c
atch-me-if-you-can/
Lesson learned: TAKE A DEPOSIT for
any work you are asked to undertake
for someone you don’t know. It can be
a small token amount, but NO
scammer would pay you this upfront!
National Executive 2015
President: George Bruno - georgeb@magainc.org.au
Vice President: Greg Schultz
Secretary: Annette Golden
Treasurer: Ross Maio
CONTACT US
GPO Box 1647
Sydney, NSW, 2001, Australia
Web Master & Executive Member: Tim Middleton (WA)
Publisher & Executive Member: Jessica Wells (NSW)
Executive Member: James Humberstone (NSW)
TEL: 1300 132 610
Email: admin@magainc.org.au
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MAGAInc
and Twitter:
Executive Member: Andrew Batterham (VIC)
Executive Member: Ian Boath (S.A.)
Executive Member: Matt Amy (VIC)
Executive Member: Kieran Hurley (W.A.)
@MAGAInc
Trustees: Henry “Doc” Bertram, Julie Simonds