Meet Jody Heald

Educated in Sydney at the NSW Conservatorium of Music High School, Jody was a student of the then Professor of Piano and Head of Keyboard, the internationally renowned pianist Gordon Watson AM.  Prior to moving to Tasmania in 1981, she lived on the Central Coast of NSW where she held a lectureship at Newcastle Conservatorium and maintained a large private practice in the Gosford area.
During her years in Tasmania, Jody has undertaken further studies with Beryl Sedivka and established herself as a successful teacher, solo performer, accompanist, and chamber player. Her previous frequent public performances have included ABC broadcasts and University Series concerts. She was for a number of years the pianist for the Hobart-based Piano Trio, Trio Notturno. During 1990, she was a mentor in the Artist-in-Schools Project, working with a wide range of young musicians in a variety of performance situations.
Her successful private practice in Hobart has produced a number of professional musicians who now work throughout Australia and overseas. She maintains a currency of industry knowledge through her keen interest in piano pedagogical practice and has for many years availed herself of the opportunity to observe master teachers at work in leading music schools across Australia, and abroad.
As a professional accompanist Jody has over many years provided co-artist support and coaching to all types of instrumentalists and vocalists. She was employed in that capacity in the Music Department of Elizabeth College Hobart, for 35 years before her retirement in 2014. During that time Jody was also employed as a casual accompanist by the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music.
She is in demand to present masterclasses and lecture-demonstrations both in Tasmania and elsewhere in Australia. Her work embraces performance practice in all instrumental areas and specific piano teaching repertoire and pedagogy.
Jody is a regular adjudicator of many competitions throughout the country and is employed by the Australian Music Examinations Board as a federal examiner for the ATMusA syllabus and state examiner in practical and theoretical subjects. In addition, she has contributed to the AMEB as a specialist consultant in piano and pedagogy syllabus matters.
Jody is a former federal Director on the AMEB Board, former member of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board, and former examiner for the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority. She has been the President of the Tasmanian Music Teachers’ Association Inc for more than 25 years and Chairman of the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference Association since 2005. She is currently a member of the AMEB Tasmanian State Committee, a board member of Musica Viva Tasmania and a national council member of Music Australia.
In 2006 Jody was awarded Life Membership of the Tasmanian Music Teachers’ Association Inc. In 2017 she was awarded the Order of Australia with the citation “For significant service to music education in Tasmania as a teacher, mentor and administrator, and to professional associations”.
In 2020 Jody received her PhD undertaken through Curtin University Perth WA. Her thesis, entitled Pedagogical relationships: A master-apprentice model in music teaching can be found on the Curtin University archive Espace.