Adriana Gardos has had such a long association with Musica Viva Australia that she still pronounces the name of the organisation in the way her Italian mother used to.
‘My mother used to go to Musica Viva concerts — so that was when we were introduced to it,’ Adriana says. ‘Musica is Italian for music, and my mother only spoke Italian to us when we were growing up. My father always had classical music going at home. He didn’t play an instrument but he was very keen. His favourites were probably Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.’
Adriana’s husband, Robert Gardos, started coming to Musica Viva concerts when he was at high school. Today, the couple are frequent concert-goers in Sydney and are generous donors to music education programs delivered by Musica Viva Australia In Schools.
Adriana and Robert are keen to spread the word about music education and the resources that are needed to ensure as many children as possible can take part. They want to encourage other donors, big and small, to get behind Musica Viva Australia’s Giving Day on Wednesday 18 November.
Music in schools is more than education. It gives children the opportunity to do things as a team, they learn discipline, learn to listen, to move to music. Children enjoy it, it gives them an amazing skill, and I think every child should be given that opportunity.
— Robert
Adriana says: ‘It’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. I like the fact that kids get enjoyment from it, and the knowledge of music is important to me. I think it has a ripple effect — you concentrate on education, and then the students go out and maybe become educators as well, and it spreads.’
Adriana and Robert have directed their support for music education to areas where children may not otherwise have access to it, including regional and remote parts of Australia and First Nations communities. This year they increased their already generous donation to Musica Viva Australia In Schools to help fund programs in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
‘We have seen how disadvantaged people are when they are far from the main areas,’ Robert says. ‘We have seen it in Indigenous communities, and we’ve seen it in other communities — we look at the facilities available in the big cities compared to how little those people have, in a country that should be able to provide much more equitably.’
They were introduced to Musica Viva Australia In Schools when they attended a school performance in Sydney by Wyniss — a group from the Torres Strait Islands that is hugely popular with young audiences.
