Falling leaves and new roots : an exploration of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music's Chinese Music Ensemble

![CDATA[Chinese music, in its various forms and genres, has a performance history in Australia spanning nearly two centuries. Yet performances of Chinese music in Sydney are still mainly associated with Chinese cultural or community events, or multicultural celebrations, or there are occasional performances of Chinese musical instruments in non-Chinese musical contexts. Until 2016, opportunities for Sydney’s tertiary music students to participate in Chinese music-making have been limited to very occasional tuition of individual Chinese instruments, and the next generation of Sydney-based professional musicians and music educators has had little opportunity to practically engage with Chinese ensemble music. The establishment of the Chinese Music Ensemble at Sydney Conservatorium of Music in March 2016 thus opened a range of new possibilities for the next generation of tertiary-trained musicians. This paper examines the complexity of decision-making concerning the establishment and development of this new musical initiative, and how such decisions intersect with the experiences of students taking part in the ensemble.]]