Monash music turns 60: Alumni hit play on hits and memories
From Bollywood to Hollywood. From the ARIAS and APRAs to the Grammys. From classical, jazz and popular music to experimental and even video games. Graduates from Monash University’s Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance are making their mark around the world.
The school celebrates its 60th anniversary this year with a rich program of events that showcase its innovative, vibrant and diverse approach to music making. Highlights include the Thursday lunchtime concerts, The Big Day Out jazz festival, and performances by the Monash Academy Orchestra and Monash Art Ensemble. (You can see the program here.)
One of the highlights of the year-long celebration is a celebratory concert on 23 May featuring students and staff from Classical, Jazz & Improvisation, Popular Music and Composition and Music Technology.
We asked alumni about their experiences studying at Monash, how it shaped their subsequent career and what advice they would give current students.
Montana Sharp graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 2018. Currently on tour with Echoes of Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute act, she has been compared to Australian vocal legends Kate Miller-Heidke and Katie Noonan.
Montana says her time at Monash “truly felt like a safe and nurturing community that made studying the most fun years of my life”.
“It taught me the importance of community,” she says. “The media shows that to succeed in the music industry, you should be ruthless and self-serving - this is not the case in Australia; you will not be hired. Most of the jobs and opportunities will be through networking, collaborating, and probably working with the friends you are making right here right now.
“Monash not only taught me how to be a good musician, that part is a given. Forming a community taught me how to make connections and be a good person to work with, which is equally important for longevity in your career.’’
Raghav Sachar is a talented multi-instrumentalist who graduated with a Bachelor of Music 2003. Since then he’s become a star in Bollywood, writing the scores for more than 150 films including some of India’s biggest box-office hits. His clips on Instagram (where he has more than 3 million followers) are hugely popular attracting thousands of views and comments.
Raghav says his time at Monash was the "best three years" of his life: “Those three years played a pivotal role in shaping me as a musician and preparing me for my career in Bollywood," he says.
“The education, inspiration and mentorship I received from my professors and fellow musicians helped me carve out a unique space for myself in the industry.
“I am incredibly proud to be an alumnus of Monash University and deeply grateful for the exposure and opportunities the university provided me. I attribute much of my success, musical abilities and performance confidence to my time at Monash.
“One of my most cherished memories from Monash was traveling around the world, performing in places like Singapore, Malaysia, Seoul and Taiwan as a brand ambassador for Monash.''
He says aspiring musicians studying at the music school should try to stay focused and make the most of their time at Monash.
“Engage in as many musical activities as possible. Join quartets, quintets and trios to gain valuable performance experience. Fully immerse yourself in music, take every opportunity to perform and remain positive and determined toward your ultimate goal. The more you explore and challenge yourself, the more you will grow as a musician.’’
Classical guitarist brothers Ziggy and Miles Johnston (BMus 2016) were the first Australians and first guitar duo accepted into the Juilliard School school’s prestigious Artist Diploma program, where they also received the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant.
Their advice to current students is simple: be curious.
“Embrace what you don’t know, and stay open to new ideas and experiences. Try new things, fail at them, and keep persisting toward your ever-evolving goals. The saying that we learn through failure rings true for all musicians. Some of the greatest musical pioneers have defined their voices through experimentation, discovering their strengths and curiosities along the way.’’
Pru Montin graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 2009. She’s now a Los Angeles-based film composer. She has been featured as a "Composer to Watch" by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and awarded the coveted biannual APRA AMCOS Professional Development Award for Film and Television in 2019.
Pru, who says her most treasured memory is the Sonic Art Group and “all the fun ways we got to experiment with cutting edge technology and music’’, has one piece of advice for students: “Get involved with everything the school has to offer - be it in your interest or outside of it.’’
“If I studied anywhere else I’d be a completely different kind of musician.’’
Meena Shamaly (BMus 2014) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and performance poet whose music covers a wide range of styles and sensibilities and often intersects with his poetry. He is part of international production house EON Sounds, working on various film, TV, video game, and production library projects.
“I cherished the opportunities for my music to be brought to life on stage. The Monash Academy Orchestra performed one of my pieces in 2011, under the guidance of Jeffrey Crellin, then the principal oboist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. I also had multiple choral compositions performed, through the facilitation of Faye Dumont, then the custodian of Monash's Viva Voce choir.’’
He says one of the first pieces of advice he received from a lecturer changed his compositional approach.
“Russell Goodwin told me to not be afraid to experiment with the unfamiliar in my compositions, and to embrace failure in my process. This changed the way I would engage with new techniques and styles, appreciating and learning from what I once thought were the most unlikely sources.’’
Meena also loved how his lecturers encouraged him to pursue opportunities in pursuit of his aspirations.
“I scored my first ever video game because some game design students emailed the faculty looking for a composer, and I was allowed to submit this project as my assessment,” he says.
“My honours project was supervised by Associate Professor Thomas Reiner, whose support for my deep dive into the score to Assassin's Creed 2 was incredible and genuine, even though it was the furthest thing from his areas of interest.
“Over a decade later, I am a fulltime artist and broadcaster specialising in video game music. I was co-nominated for the first ever award for video game music at the APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards, along with my creative partner, wife, and fellow Monash alumnus, Natalie Jeffreys.
“And to top it off, I've been lecturing and teaching video game music at tertiary institutions and universities, including the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music in Monash - the very thing I had longed for, in the very place I sought it. Full circle.’’
Shanie Klas graduated in 2012 and took her percussion skills to the US where she studied at Northwestern University.
She says: “Studying at Monash University gave me access to an incredible network of musicians that led to great work opportunities, life-long friends and people whom I continue to learn from today.’’
Dr Ahmad Sarmast completed a PhD at Monash in 2005. He is the founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, which has found a home in exile in Portugal, and founder of the Afghan Youth Orchestra.
He says his PhD was incredibly important when he returned to Afghanistan. “This gave me credibility as Monash is a very prestigious university and it helped me engage with authorities with a solid background.
“It helped me set up the school’s vision and develop its programs. It was an enormous tool in helping me identify the challenges of music education and properly understand its long-lasting impact and results.’’
Saxophonist Stephen Byth graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 2015. Based in New York, he won the 2024 National Jazz Awards (AUS), a 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award (USA) and the 2021 Australian Jazz “BELL” Award for Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year.
“My time at Monash allowed me to forge important relationships with peers and faculty at the school, many of which I still work with and am in contact with to this day, 10 years after graduating,” he says.
“These relationships are the beginnings of your community in your musical world and the older I get, the more I am made to realise that community is everything when it comes to being a musician.
“My time at Monash also exposed me to music and put me in musical situations that I otherwise might have never seen myself in, which was an important step in opening my mind to new possibilities in music, as well as realising my potential as a musician and artist.
“The Monash in Prato, Italy, trip that I took was definitely one of my most memorable experiences at Monash. It was the first time I'd ever left Australia. Getting to spend that trip with my peers as well as recording with Enrico Rava and Paul Grabowsky was an experience I'll never forget. I was shaking in my boots to say the least!’’
Stephen’s advice to aspiring musicians is simple: “be ready.”
“Try to maintain a growth mindset. Be studious, work hard on your craft, stay humble and open, make the most of the opportunities available to you at Monash, but at the same time don't wait until you've "paid your dues" to start creating and performing. Start now!
“Let your studies feed your artistry and vice-versa. This relationship between you as a student of the music and you as an artist within it will prove vital long after you leave Monash, so start working on it from the get-go.''
Stephen’s ethos to question ‘why’ and ‘how’ reflects the education that he received at Monash, where students are encouraged to critically engage with musical, cultural and social dimensions of their studies.
“Also, think long and deeply about why you play music. What drew you to music in the first place? What value does music hold in your life? What impact do you want your music to have on others?
“Write detailed answers to these questions and refine these answers as often as you can. These reflections, which are entirely your own, will be your mission statement that you can come back to whenever you go through periods of self-doubt and uncertainty as a musician.’’
Simon Mavin (BMus 2004), is a member of jazz-soul combo Hiatus Kaiyote which creates a unique musical fusion that defies classification. Formed in 2011, the Grammy-nominated quartet have toured the globe, taking their act to an audience that is as eclectic as their music.
He says Monash was a special to be “working on your craft and growing together’’ with other musicians.
“The main thing it helped with was to create a community that I could grow with outside of uni,” he says.
But “have an idea of what you would like to do when you finish the course. It’s a great time to learn how to practise properly, life gets crazy after uni!’’
Find out more about Monash Music's 60th anniversary celebrations here.