About AMEB

AMEB History

In 1887, a programme of music examinations was initiated in Australia by the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne. Tasmania soon followed, with the University of Tasmania joining in 1911. The other states came on board in the ensuing years until, in 1918, the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) became a national organisation. Its purpose was to provide graded assessments of the achievements of music students across the country – something AMEB continues to delivery today.

Today, AMEB is a federated body with its Federal Office based in Melbourne, while each state’s exams are administered by their own offices. Signatories to the AMEB constitution comprise the Universities of Melbourne, Adelaide, Western Australia, the NSW Minister for Education, the Qld Minister for Education, Training and Employment, and the Tasmanian Minister for Education and Training (administered by the University of Tasmania). These and other education institutions use AMEB qualifications as a benchmark for selection of students into their courses.

AMEB Tasmania is administered by the School of Creative Arts and Media, University of Tasmania, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Training.

Meet the AMEB Tas Team

Tasmanian State Manager, Michelle Forbes

After training as an oboist in Adelaide and Sydney, Michelle was lured (pushed by serendipity) towards arts administration. She began by expanding her teaching roles into administrative responsibilities before managing the large ensembles programs at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. While there, Michelle discovered her love of stationery and excel spreadsheets and ignited her enthusiasm for the "other " side of the music industry.

After moving to Melbourne, Michelle worked predominantly in music, holding roles as Artist Liaison for Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Operations Manager at Melbourne's iconic Matt Irwin Photography, and Manager of Artistic Planning for Melbourne Youth Orchestras. Both parents being educators, Michelle is naturally drawn to nurturing others and supporting the development of tomorrow's musicians and leaders. It was this passion, in combination with the love of a good challenge, that brought Michelle to Hobart to take on the newly created General Manager role at Tasmanian Youth Orchestra.

Feeding her thirst for knowledge, Michelle has achieved a Professional Diploma in Project Management, completed a Mini MBA course, is undertaking a Diploma of Psychology, and attempts to recall a limited but expanding vocabulary across Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Michelle enjoys contributing to the larger arts ecology via professional development, and sharing her expertise through peer assessment processes for The Australia Council and Arts Tasmania. In her down time, she still enjoys keeping her oboe from getting dusty.

Michelle is delighted to be State Manager for AMEB (Tasmania) and is most excited to support local students, and the provision of quality arts education.

Exams Coordinator, Gabrielle Robin

Gabi grew up playing viola in the various ensembles of the Canberra Youth Orchestra and was a member of the CYO when it toured Europe in 1990, taking out three major awards at the International Festival of Youth and Music in Vienna. The following year she toured through North and South America with the Camerata of the Australian Youth Orchestra, one highlight of which was playing in Carnegie Hall as part of their hundredth anniversary celebrations.

Gabi continued lessons with Vincent Edwards and played in the Canberra Symphony Orchestra while completing an Honours degree in Anthropology at the Australian National University. After graduating, she moved to Hobart to study for a Graduate Diploma of Music with Professor Jan Sedivka. Taking up violin in her late twenties, Gabi now enjoys playing both instruments in various ensembles around Hobart, including the Pillinger String Quartet, Hobart Chamber Orchestra, Strings on Fire, and the Argyle Orchestra, to name a few.

Since having a family, Gabi has held administrative and customer service positions within both State and Commonwealth Governments, while fitting in weekend and night rehearsals and performances as much as possible. Gabi is absolutely delighted to have joined the AMEB team in Tasmania and is looking forward to supporting people along their musical paths.

Tasmanian Examiners

Our Experts

Our Examiners are highly respected teachers and artists and each of them have a unique history with AMEB.

Following endorsement from the Tasmanian State Committee, Trainee Examiners undertake a rigorous training process to ensure AMEB’s national standard of assessment and accreditation remains consistent throughout Australia. Finally, the Federal Board approves their appointment to become a fully-fledged AMEB Examiner.

Our examiners are experts in their fields and have deep knowledge across many genres and instrument specialties. They travel throughout the state to hear and see the variety of talented young and aspiring artists and performers undertaking their exams.

Meet our Examiners

Trainee Examiners

The training process for our Examiners is rigorous and takes approximately two years. Our Trainee Examiners shadow established Examiners to learn about conduct in exams, how to write supportive, encouraging, and accurate reports, and (most importantly) to calibrate their assessments at all levels.

This training process is a consistent approach across Australia. It ensures that all candidates are assessed fairly and appropriately for the level they're presenting, and that the integrity of AMEB's national accreditation is upheld.

If you have a Trainee Examiner in your exam, please don't be nervous - the assessment they make does not contribute to your report, but the experience they gain from hearing you is invaluable.

Interested in becoming an examiner? Please get in touch to have a chat about about what’s expected and the training process. Applications are accepted year-round but will be reviewed at two points annually. If you would like to find out more and/or submit an application, please download the position description below. It is a condition of employment that all AMEB Examiners hold and maintain a valid Working With Vulnerable People check.

Examiner Position Description (PDF 203.3 KB)

Appointments of Rockschool and PAA Examiners are managed by the AMEB Federal office. If you're interested in these roles, please have a look at their careers webpage here.

Tasmanian State Committee

The Tasmanian State Committee has been established to provide advice to AMEB Tasmania in relation to broad-based aspects of music education within the community. The Committee presents an important forum for identifying state-wide issues and opportunities, and a platform for sharing viewpoints from the sector. The Committee provides advice to the State Manager about effective delivery and development of AMEB within Tasmania, ultimately with the intention of cultivating a strong and thriving music education community. Where relevant, the Committee is responsible for identifying matters to be brought to the attention of AMEB Federal Board. The Committee has no delegated decision-making power on behalf of AMEB. Recognising that the Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania, is the premiere tertiary music institution in Tasmania, and AMEB (TAS) is the most utilised music syllabus and examination system in Tasmania, the two organisations work together to make music education more accessible and to improve and develop music education in Tasmania.

Meet the Tasmanian State Committee

Prof Andrew Legg, PhD(Tas), BMus(Tas), TTC, TSC Chair.
Nara Dennis, BMus(Perf)(Adel), AMusA.
Amanda Hodder, MMus(VCA), BMus(Tas).
Dr Jody Heald, PhD(Curtin), BMus(Tas), GradDipMus(Tas), TMusA, LMusA, AMusA, MIMT.
David Malone, BCom(UNSW), BMus(CSM), MMus(Tas), MTEM(Melb).
Tracey Patten, BMus(Perf)Hons, GradCertMus, GradDipEd.
Margaret Reid, BA(MusEd)(Tas), TTC.
Dr Melissa Rogers, PhD(UNSW), MA(Avondale), BA/BTeach(Avondale), LMusA, AMusA, AComp ASMC.
Karen Smithies, MMus (UTAS), BMus (SydCon), LMusA, AMusA.

Interested in contributing?

Find out more about joining the TSC

And the rest of the Tassie Team

The team expands on exam days to include casual exam supervisors and, for some exams, Federal examiners and instrument specialist advisers.

Our team of Exam Supervisors include our State Manager, Exams Coordinator, and our fabulous casual team to help you on your exam day:

Hobart - Sylvie Carolin-Unkovich, Susannah Clark, Saxon Hornett-Devers, Ingrid (Inki) Rahlen, Kirsty Whittaker.
Launceston - Racheal Leigh, Marg Reynolds.
Devonport - Natalie Beard.
Burnie - Caroline Smith.

The Federal office works closely with our office to provide additional support and resources - you may even speak with one of them if we're already on a call. Keep reading to find out more about the Federal team.

Together, AMEB Tasmania is here to help with exam registrations, syllabus queries, and more.

Federal Team

AMEB Federal Office

The Federal office operates out of Melbourne, under the leadership of CEO, Bernard Depasquale. The Federal team is responsible for AMEB syllabus review, SCORE (our online platform) development, online theory exams, and general strategy, marketing, finance and operations of AMEB publications and national programs. Working closely with AMEB Tasmania, these amazing people provide plenty of support to our own exams and even pick up the phone when we're busy looking after you.

AMEB Federal Board

Overall direction of AMEB activities is the responsibility of a Federal Board, whose membership consists of representatives from the signatories to the AMEB constitution. Those signatories are the educational institutions of the Universities of Melbourne, Adelaide and Western Australia; the Minister for Education, New South Wales; the Minister for Education, Training and Employment, Queensland; and the Minister for Education and Training, Tasmania, through the University of Tasmania.

Head to the Federal website to read more the team

Teacher register

A quality arts education starts with quality arts educators and we love our talented Tassie teachers!

If you're looking for a teacher to help you with your next exam (or are just keen to take up a new hobby), these are the locals who have registered with us as teachers of AMEB Syllabuses.

The fit between learner and educator is unique in every case, and no single teacher is perfect for every personality and stage of development. For this reason, AMEB is unable to offer endorsements of individuals or studios but we hope that you'll find this a useful starting point. You may also find our supporters to be helpful resources - the Tasmanian Music Teachers' Association and the Australian Strings Association also publish lists of teachers across Tasmania.

Teachers please note: there is no fee involved but we offer no associated membership perks, other than the potential of reaching more prospective students, of course! It will be your responsibility to keep your details up to date. To minimise our admin commitment, we will simply remove information if we are made aware of it being incorrect.

We hope you find your perfect fit!

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