Hundreds sign petition to reinstate Con jobs

A cut to the arts has been met with a poem and a petition, both created by a mother of two students at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music.

Acting independently after being taken aback by recent redundancies at the Conservatorium, Leina Wang launched a petition titled “Save the heart of the Con: Restore community music leadership” at the weekend. 

By Monday afternoon, her call to reinstate five “beloved teachers” and resolve other problems had received more than 700 signatures, including the co-founder of the Con’s early childhood music programs and last year's Citizen of the Year.

“I am a concerned parent whose children have benefited enormously from the Conservatorium's community music programs over many years,” Leina said.

“Through programs such as ChiME (formerly the Early Childhood Music Education program), the Transition Program, school bands, and classes led by dedicated community music educators, my children have developed not only musical skills but also confidence, friendships, discipline, and a lifelong love of music.”

Educating generations of musicians

Founded in 1972, and based in the historic Gleniffer Brae homestead since the 1980s, the Con has been the launchpad for countless musicians. Former students range from rising star concert violinist Anna da Silva Chen and Richard Tognetti AO, the artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to training professional musicians, the Con is renowned for fostering a love of music across the ages and supporting community initiatives such as school bands, eisteddfods and January’s HONK! Oz Festival of Street Music.

“I am deeply concerned that many of these valuable programs are now being reduced or discontinued due to funding and management decisions,” Leina said.

“The impact extends far beyond my own family. These programs have supported thousands of children, families, schools, and community musicians across the Illawarra, and they form an important part of Wollongong's cultural identity."

To show the value of music education, Leina has penned a poem, titled "Since When Has the Con Changed?” In it, she writes:

“The heart of the Con has never been steel.
Not budgets. Not instruments. Not what we can feel.
Its heart is its people, its teachers, its care,
Its community spirit that everyone shares.
We are the heart of the Con.
The families. The children. The volunteers.
The generations who grew up here.”

Leina has also put up posters, handed out flyers and written to her daughter's public school and to politicians, including Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes and Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown. “I have also been invited to attend a school P&C meeting to discuss the situation and encourage community involvement,” she said.

Parents notified only days before Term 3

News of the Con changes dropped into parents’ inboxes on July 16, a few days before term 3 was due to start. “Five staff members have elected to take redundancy: Janet Andrews, David Rooney, Nigel Jones, Jack Mao and Anamaria Gomez,” the email from WollCon CEO Annette Brown read. 

“We thank them for their great contribution to the Conservatorium over the years, and we acknowledge that this will be a significant change for those of you in our community who have been touched by their work.”

Coming amid tough times in funding for many sectors of the arts, the WollCon email also announced that, to build a “sustainable future”, two new senior leadership roles had been assigned: Louise Luke is head of Schools and Community and John Spence is head of Instrumental Music.

Responding to questions from the Illawarra Flame the following day, Annette Brown said: “The changes we made were designed to reform the leadership level of the organisation, in order to ensure that we now have a structure and roles that support our strategy, secure our ongoing financial viability, and – very importantly – enhance our ability to deliver on future plans.” 

The CEO – who came to the job in October 2024, after a previous round of music teacher redundancies – had a message for parents: “We understand that change can be unsettling, particularly when it affects familiar faces within our community," she said. "Please be assured that our priority remains the experience and outcomes of our students and families.

"We are committed to maintaining continuity in our programs and to communicating openly as we move through this transition.”

Petition widely shared

Two weeks after the redundancy announcement, there is growing pushback and Leina’s petition has had 566 shares, 12 comments and 734 signatures. Malika Reese, who spent the weekend as MC at the South Coast Readers and Writers Festival, yesterday said she was among those planning to sign it.

2025’s Wollongong Citizen of the Year, Malika has enjoyed a 15-year association with WollCon, as a music teacher who has occasionally worked in the ChiME program and as a parent who’s watched her three children thrive in Con programs. Malika said the educators let go have “over 100 years collectively of music teaching experience” and will be much missed.

In particular, Malika said: “Janet Andrews, who has been doing the ChiME course for over 30 years and is so passionate, so dedicated, just so lovely. That passion really translates to the children and enriches their lives. But also David Rooney, who, with the Con Artists and his community bands, has encouraged people who thought they would never play an instrument to give it a go, and he's just given above and beyond of himself to give this love of music to others. 

“It seems absolutely tragic to not keep supporting them in order to save what – to save some money?

“I would love to see those teachers reinstated, and I would like to see the Con appreciate that community is far more important, and not run the Con like it's a business. That's the con.”

'Questions must be asked'

Now in her 90s, Vanessa Woodhill co-founded the Conservatorium’s Early Childhood Music (ChiME and Transition) programs. She also supports a review of the recent redundancies and has signed the petition.

"The loss of multiple full-time music educators from Wollongong Conservatorium raises serious and immediate concern, as their departure represents a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise that is often difficult to replace," Vanessa told the Illawarra Flame.

"To justify their redundancy, important questions must be asked. How have these musicians and educators fallen short of the Conservatorium and the community? Are there multiple complaints from students/families? Are enrolments in their courses declining rapidly (there will always be waves in demand)? Have they resisted guidance informed by current pedagogical research on program delivery? Have they failed performance reviews? If their redundancy is purely financially based, all stakeholders must be given the chance to come together and find a way forward that maintains the efficacy of the Conservatorium."

A professional oboist and recorder player, Vanessa spent 60 years working in music education, performance and regional arts administration, including as the inaugural director of the Goulburn Regional Conservatorium.

"As a former conservatorium director, I understand that organisations sometimes need to restructure. However, such processes require transparent engagement with teachers, students, parents, guardians, and the board to achieve a sustainable outcome.

"When highly qualified music educators are made redundant, it raises the question of where future leadership will come from and who will mentor young teachers beginning their careers as music educators. As a former founder of the Early Childhood Music Program (ChiME and Transition), I am particularly shocked by the loss of Janet Andrews, who has an incredible reputation among parents and educators.

"Yes, in the end the CEO and the Board are entrusted with making the final decisions, but these decisions must be informed, transparent, and reflect community needs."