Triple Grammy Award-winning musician Tim Munro has been welcomed back to his alma mater to inspire the next cohort of budding musicians.
The Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumnus, flautist, writer, broadcaster and teacher is known for treating his audiences as equals, welcoming them into musical worlds with passion, intelligence and humour.
Recently coming from the University of Chicago's Grossman Ensemble and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Associate Professor Munro has performed around the world with Ensemble Signal, Imani Winds, Wu Man, Newspeak and Third Coast Percussion, as well as Ensemble Q, Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival and Tyalgum Festival in Australia.
He premiered more than 100 works while touring the United States and internationally, but said returning to Australia to work with home-grown has been immensely satisfying.
"We have some of the finest musicians here of anywhere, and an audience criss-crossing the country who is hungry for musical experiences," he said.
Inspired by immersive, multi-sensory experiences in other art forms, Associate Professor Munro seeks to captivate audiences in a similar way.
"I want to punch holes through the walls separating audience and performer - whether by involving the audience as part of the performance or allowing listeners the physical freedom to move around the performance space - I want to welcome them in, not just stand above them as the expert.
"Music has a way of getting past the clarity and logic that exists in words, pictures and actions to hit us directly in the heart.
"I love that music is understood completely differently by any two humans on earth."
On joining the Conservatorium's teaching team, Associate Professor Munro said he is excited to bring new, unique experiences to students and elevate less-heard voices to the Conservatorium stage.
"I'm eager share the things I've learned over the past two decades as a touring musician," he said.
"I've taught in over 40 US states but in the role of a visiting artist for a few days at a time, so I'm really looking forward to a sustained and meaningful role as a musical mentor in the lives of the next generation of Australian musicians at Griffith."
Catch Associate Professor Munro at the free community event The Healing Power of Music on Friday 26 May 2023 from 10am until 12:30pm.
The forum will bring together artists, academics and creatives to share through sound and discussion, ancient and contemporary perspectives on the role and purpose of music in our society, with a particular focus on musicians' mental health, and how we can promote a broader definition of music incorporating community wellbeing, educational reform and cultural innovation.
