Our Patron

A life devoted to music

Charmian Gadd OAM
Patron, Central Coast Conservatorium of Music

Brush Road, Ourimbah

Central Coast Conservatorium’s patron, violinist Charmian Gadd, is a true product of the Central Coast, born in Ourimbah in 1942.

Kevin Miller practices on Brush Road

Her parents were the first settlers of a property on Brush Road. Life was tough: the government of the time insisted they clear five acres of the richly timbered land, and chainsaws had not yet been invented!

Music ran through the extended family and its circle of friends. Musicians returning from the war (discharged with their rifles and uniforms still in hand) would come up from Sydney to spend their weekends playing string quartets and shooting rabbits, of which there was a plague. This was Charmian’s background, and while today’s students may find it hard to comprehend, it was completely normal to Charmian.

‘The girl from Ourimbah’

Soon, Charmian became known as ‘the girl from Ourimbah’, having already won prizes at the major Eisteddfods in Sydney. When she was eight years old, Charmian won the sixteen-year-old section of the Sydney Eisteddfod, and her mother realized she had to get her to a proper teacher.

Years spent at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, including attending the Conservatorium High School, culminated in Charmian winning the ABC Concerto and Vocal Competition in 1962.  Overseas study at Indiana University followed, and later that decade, a Wigmore Hall debut prompted The Times of London to declare that

“if ever a woman was born to play concertos, it is Australian violinist Charmian Gadd.”

Her European career was established, and a period of living in London (and all that came with it) followed.

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Charmian became a concerto soloist with managers in London, Holland, and Norway, performing across the UK, Holland, Scandinavia, and the USA. At the same time, she was a member of the Bath Festival Orchestra alongside Yehudi Menuhin, a member of St Martin’s in the Field under Neville Marriner, and recorded for the BBC. Visits back to Australia saw her perform with every professional symphony orchestra in Australia and New Zealand.

Charmian Gadd

In 1969, Charmian settled in the USA for a decade as an associate professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. There, in 1970, she married Richard Goldner, who was her former teacher and (in 1945) the founder of Musica Viva Australia. Together, they built a highly successful string department. In 1979, they moved to Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, settling into a beautiful forested part of the world whose proximity to Vancouver brought her into contact with a remarkable string of young prodigies.

Charmian became the go-to teacher for brilliant children, and the decade in Washington State proved to be a blissful period.

With Mikhail Voskresensky the night of the fall of communism, Balmain Church

Her piano trio, formed with two Hungarian musicians based in San Francisco, cellist Laszlo Varga and pianist Istvan Nadas, laid solid foundations for the next chapter of her career.

A return to Australia in 1986 for family reasons led to the formation of the Macquarie Trio with Kathryn Selby and Michael Goldschlager.

Recital in Malta with Phillip Shovk (piano)

From there, her teaching career in Canberra led to a place at the Canberra School of Music, which Charmian describes as “a truly remarkable institution”, from 1986. This was followed by a stint at the Sydney Conservatorium from 1991, before she finally retired to the Central Coast.

Charmian reflects on receiving the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to music in Australia as “a deeply gratifying experience,” and she continues to work tirelessly to establish the Central Coast as a centre of culture and creativity.

Charmian has been a patron of the Central Coast Conservatorium for more than a decade.  We are humbled and grateful that she has been, and continues to be, such a great advocate for music in our region and at the Conservatorium.

Our IMPACT

Music education, powered by community

Support from individuals, businesses and government allows us to deliver world class music education and open doors for students who might otherwise miss out.

40+

900+

Students learning music each term

12+

14+

Schools in our programs educating over 400 students as part of curriculum

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

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OUR SPONSORS

Thank you to our valued partners

Interested in joining our sponsor family? Get in touch.  We’d love to hear from you.

OUR DONORS

People making music happen

We are deeply grateful to the individuals who give their time, financial support and advocacy to the Conservatorium. Their ongoing commitment is at the heart of everything we do.

COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

Part of a bigger musical family

Our community affiliations give students and teachers the opportunity to connect, share and grow alongside peers across the Central Coast arts community.