Northern Lyrebird is the definitive and long-overdue history of one of Australia’s finest music schools, painstakingly compiled from extensive written and oral memoirs, state archives, regional libraries, and promotional and media artefacts from concert programs and press cuttings to photographs and recordings.

The Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University began its journey through history as one of Queensland’s major cultural institutions in 1957. This book by one of its former directors, Peter Roennfeldt, elegantly and comprehensively weaves the intertwining narratives of people and events to produce a tapestry that captures the highlights, as well as the distinctive character of a diverse community of musicians spanning more than half a century.

Key events during the long campaign towards the establishment of the Conservatorium and its growth towards maturity under the guidance of its first six directors is chronicled in substantial detail. The body of the book focuses on various specialist areas of the institution and can be perused selectively, or at random, depending on the reader’s interest.

This telling of the story of “the Con” and its many supporters and partner organisations is an essential reference for all alumni as well as past, current and future musicians and music lovers, and a significant contribution to Australia’s cultural history.