The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Appointment to the Australia Council’s Major Performing Arts Board

The Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today announced the appointment of Mr Jonathan Mills to the Australia Council for the Arts’ Major Performing Arts Board.

“Mr Mills is a talented and experienced Australian composer and a highly successful Artistic Director. His three-year appointment will greatly enhance the expertise of the Major Performing Arts Board,” Senator Kemp said.

He is regularly commissioned by major festivals, orchestras and companies in Australia and increasingly in Europe and the UK. His recent works include; The Ghost Wife, a chamber opera based on a short story by Barbara Baynton, with libretto by Dorothy Porter, co-commissioned by the 1999 Melbourne, 2000 Adelaide and 2001 Sydney Festivals. It received its UK premiere at the Barbican Centre, London as part of BITE:02 in November 2002; and Sandakan Threnody for solo tenor, chorus and orchestra, which won the Prix Italia for 2005.

“Mr Mills is a celebrated Artistic Director,” Senator Kemp said.

“In past years he has been Artistic Director/Advisor of the Blue Mountains Festival, the Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival and the Melbourne Festival. He was Director of the Federation Festival at the 2001 Centenary of the Federation of Australia and of Melbourne’s Millennium Eve celebrations on 31 December 1999.”

Mr Mills’ interests and talents are broad and extend outside the arts sector. He holds degrees in Music and Architecture. He has also been an Adjunct Professor in Acoustic Design at Melbourne’s RMIT University and is a member of the Australian Heritage Council and the board of Art Exhibitions Australia.

At present he is Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University. From January 2006 he has been appointed as Vice-Chancellor’s (Professorial) Fellow at the University of Melbourne

The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s principal arts funding body. It encourages the creativity and development of Australian artists and aims to increase access to arts and cultural activities for all Australians.

MELBOURNE
17 October 2005
Media contact: Michael Christo, 03 9650 7274 or 0409 040276