University of Sydney awarded Australia-India grant for landmark music partnership

 Musicians from Sydney Conservatorium of Music with musicians from India’s Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts at the 2024 Australia-India Youth Dialogue: l-r, Lu Liu (Sydney Con), Vladimir Gorbach (Sydney Con), Bindu Subramaniam (CEO of SaPa), Ambi Subramaniam (CCO of SaPa), Pirashanna Thevarajah (Sydney Con), and SaPa Academy students Aditya Ravidas and Sakethram Phani Vedala. Photo: Tim Dwyer/University of Sydney. 

July 10: The University of Sydney has been awarded a 2026 Maitri Grant to support a landmark music partnership between Australia and India, creating new opportunities for students, educators and communities in both countries.

The $180,000 grant was awarded to the University's Conservatorium of Music announced on Thursday as part of a broader package of Australia-India initiatives unveiled by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  
 
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott said the partnership would help strengthen the University's connection with communities across Sydney.

“One of the most exciting aspects of this partnership is its potential to connect the University’s expertise in music and education with communities across Sydney,” said Professor Scott. 

“By building relationships with Indian-Australian musicians and communities, we’re extending the cultural footprint of the Conservatorium beyond Macquarie Street and creating new opportunities for learning, performance and community engagement activities with Indian-Australian communities in Parramatta and across Western Sydney.” 

India-Australia partnership 
 
The Sydney Conservatorium project is one of 41 initiatives funded through the 2026 Maitri Grants Program, which supports projects that strengthen cultural, educational and research links between Australia and India.

The partnership reflects the growing importance of education, research and cultural exchange in the Australia-India relationship, creating new opportunities for students, educators and communities in both countries.

Minister for Education Jason Clare said education was one of the most important bridges between Australia and India. 
 
He said of the Maitri Grants and the wider university projects around Australia: "This is bringing a world-class Australian education closer to home for more young Indians and creating new opportunities for our researchers to work together."

Student experience

A key focus of the project is enriching the student experience.  
 
Through the three-year partnership, Sydney Conservatorium of Music students will have opportunities to travel to India to learn alongside musicians, educators and students at Bengaluru's Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa), a leading centre for music education, performance and intercultural learning in India.  
 
The project will also bring Indian musicians and educators to Sydney, creating new opportunities for students to engage with Indian musical traditions through workshops, performances and creative collaborations at the Conservatorium’s Macquarie Street campus and future teaching facilities in Parramatta.  

Students in Sydney will also learn from artists and educators from Sydney's Indian diaspora community through workshops, performances and collaborations bringing Indian musical traditions to the heart of Conservatorium life. The partnership is expected to support community engagement activities for many years to come, extending the Conservatorium’s cultural engagement into communities with deep and enduring connections to Indian music and culture.  

“This project represents a wonderful opportunity to rethink what a conservatorium can be,” said Dr Alex Chilvers, one of the four grant recipients from Sydney Conservatorium of Music. “Australia’s musical culture is enriched by extraordinary traditions that have travelled here with migrant communities, yet those traditions are not always reflected in the core of higher music education. 

“We’re looking forward to learning alongside our colleagues at SaPa and working closely with Indian-Australian musicians to explore new ways of teaching, creating and understanding music. We hope this is the beginning of a long-term relationship that benefits students, educators and communities in both countries.”

Sydney Conservatorium grant recipients, left to right: Dr Anthony Chmiel, Dr Lu Liu,  Dr Alex Chilvers and Ms Kirsty McCahon. Photo: Grace Sui/University of Sydney

 The project, A Partnership for Indian-Australian Music, Diaspora Empowerment, and Cultural Exchange, is led by Sydney Conservatorium academics Dr Alex Chilvers, Dr Lu Liu, Dr Anthony Chmiel and Ms Kirsty McCahon (International Partnerships and Events).  
 
The project will support staff exchanges, curriculum development and new approaches to teaching music across cultures. Through the collaboration, educators will develop new curriculum resources, teaching assets and learning materials designed for conservatorium and music programs in both countries, creating a lasting educational legacy for students in Australia and India. 
 
Professor Anna Reid, Dean and Head of School at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, said the project builds on the Conservatorium’s commitment to international collaboration and intercultural learning. 
 
“This partnership will open up extraordinary opportunities for our students to learn directly from musicians, educators and communities in both Australia and India,” Professor Reid said. “Music has always been a powerful way to build understanding across cultures, and we’re excited to create new opportunities for students to play together, learn from one another and engage deeply with Indian musical traditions. The experiences and relationships that grow from this partnership will enrich our Conservatorium community for years to come.” 

Bindu Subramaniam, co-founder and CEO of the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts, welcomed the partnership. 

“Our partnership with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music has the potential to bring knowledge and understanding of Indian music into mainstream higher education in Australia. It will create opportunities for students, artists and educators in both countries to learn from one another and deepen cultural understanding through music.” 

Left to right: Dr Lu Liu (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), Associate Professor Vladimir Gorbach (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), Bindu Subramaniam (CEO of SaPa), Ambi Subramaniam (CCO of SaPa), with musicians from SaPa Academy at Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2024. Photo: Tim Dwyer 

SaPa, headquartered in Bengaluru, India, teaches music to students of all ages and works with over 40,000 children annually as part of its in-schools program. The organisation is recognised for its innovative approach to integrating Indian and Western music traditions and fostering intercultural understanding through music education. 
 
The Maitri Grants Program - Sanskrit for “friendship” - supports projects strengthening the Australia-India relationship through cultural, educational, research and business collaboration. The program is administered by the Australian Government’s Centre for Australia-India Relations.