PhD Candidate
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Bradley Voltz began his musical training on the piano accordion at the age of seven and won the Australian Open Age Classical Accordion Championship at age fourteen. He holds a Graduate Diploma of Music (Performance), Bachelor of Music (Piano), Graduate Certificate in Music Technology, LMus.A. (Piano), Master of Music Studies (Orchestral Conducting) from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and a Graduate Diploma in Further Education and Training from the University of Southern Queensland. In 1988 he was awarded the prestigious Hugh Neville Smith Scholarship for overseas study. Bradley has performed as a freelance pianist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Youth Choir and for various Queensland Performing Arts Centre productions. He has conducted four seasons for the Ignations Theatre Society and has appeared as both conductor and soloist for the University of Queensland Musical Society and the St Lucia Orchestra. Bradley was the Instrumental Coordinator at St Laurence's College from 1991 to 1997, Director of Music at Cannon Hill Anglican College from 1998 to 2003, and in 2004 was appointed Head of Music at St Joseph’s Nudgee College. Bradley has been conductor of the Third Queensland Youth Orchestra since 1998. He has been a sessional lecturer for the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is a member of the Board of Examiners of the Australian Music Examinations Board. Research: The Modern Piano Accordion: Digital technologies and Performance Contexts This practice-led doctoral research project is focused on the performance and analysis of repertoire from the “Golden Age of the Accordion” (1900-1950), using a modern digital instrument. The advent of digital technologies over the past decade has resulted in the most significant technical changes to the instrument itself since the 1920s, and parallels similar developments in other instruments, particularly drums and percussion in terms of tone generation. These changes potentially give rise to new opportunities for performance, and prompt accordionists to consider ways in which playing techniques may be adapted so that the authenticity of the acoustic instrument, on which the digital instrument is modeled, is retained. This research project will address the following key questions: To what degree do digital reedless accordions serve as replacements for acoustic instruments? How is music arranged and written for the accordion in order to maximize its potential as a solo and ensemble instrument? What is the potential of digital instruments beyond reproducing acoustic accordion reed sounds?
Supervisors: Dr Anne-Marie Forbes and Dr Glen Hodges