Reflecting on my first year as project lead
The Music Education: Right from the Start project team (from left): Dr Anita Collins, Emily Albert, Judith Bowtell, and Alicia Neil
Judith Bowtell shares the insights, lessons, and key milestones from her inaugural year as Senior Manager – Advocacy & Strategy for Music Education: Right from the Start
It began in late 2024, when I saw that Alberts | The Tony Foundation were seeking a new Project Lead for their Music Education: Right from the Start initiative. The role immediately intrigued me, offering the chance to bring together my policy and advocacy experience on something new. By early January 2025, I had joined the team and hit the ground running.
You can learn a great deal about an organisation’s values from how it welcomes new people. From the first cup of tea with Emily Albert, head of the initiative, I felt genuinely included at Alberts. My induction was thoughtful and generous, with time spent with the executive team, including a conversation with CEO David Albert on my first day – even while he was on leave. It set the tone for the year ahead – for a role shaped by relationships far beyond my first day.
Our final expert Advisory Working Group meeting of the year, 9 December.
The early weeks were full: briefings, handovers, and immersion in priorities, beginning with completing the review of the strategic plan. In hindsight, this was the ideal place to start. The work led by Emily and my predecessor, Eric Sidoti – alongside the members of our expert Advisory, Advocacy and Knowledge Base working groups – provided clarity and direction that shaped the rest of the year. I was grateful for Eric’s support during this period, and for being introduced to the broad and diverse group of advisers and collaborators who collectively “own” this initiative – all advocating for every child to access quality music education, not just the privileged few.
Right from the interview process, I was struck by the fact that so many children are missing out on music education in primary schools, mostly due to a critical lack of training and support for our primary teachers over the last 20 years. This is despite my friends and family expressing how important music is for their children, and themselves.
My brother is a classic example: we gave him bass guitar lessons for his 60th birthday this year, celebrating his lifelong passion for music. Like many of us GenX kids, this passion started with ABC Education’s Let’s Sing! in primary school, with music giving him a safe space for expression and building friendships.
These stories are what makes our work worthwhile.
Judith (left) with Bernie Heard, manager of the AYO’s Music in Me program and member of our Knowledge Base Working Group, and Emily Albert, Head of Music Education: Right from the Start, at the Music in Me Summit in Sydney, July.
Through robust conversations and healthy debate, I came to appreciate the many voices that inform our work – those who challenge assumptions, raise emerging issues, and propose new ways forward. Effective policy work relies on building consensus, and doing so in a way that ensures people feel respected and heard requires time and care. When done well, it fosters shared purpose and drives collective momentum.
Throughout 2025, opportunities for change emerged, particularly in NSW following the 2024 Joint Select Committee Inquiry into Arts and Music Education and Training. This was a steep learning curve, but I was well supported by our advisers, especially Dr Anita Collins – whose expertise in music education and brain development was invaluable. By April, my confidence had grown just as the pace accelerated. We submitted our Federal Election Ask, released the ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey on Music Education report for NSW, and welcomed the NSW Government’s commitment to a 10-year Music Education Plan following the Parliamentary Inquiry. In Victoria, a Ministerial Roundtable hosted by The Hon Ben Carroll and The Hon Colin Brooks led to the establishment of a working group to strengthen music education policy, on which we now sit.
NSW Arts Minister The Hon. John Graham (second right), with Music Education: Right from the Start project team—Alicia Neil, Judith Bowtell, Dr Anita Collins, ACER’s Dr Rebecca Taylor, and head Emily Albert — at the launch of the ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey for NSW, alongside students from Sydney’s Homebush West Primary School, May.
I was privileged to represent Music Education: Right from the Start at events across the country, including the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) Conference in Brisbane. Along the way, I met with Ministers, advisers, education department officials, union representatives, academics, researchers, specialist and generalist teachers – an extraordinary ecosystem united by commitment and generosity.
With the year approaching its close, my focus has turned to preparing for the anticipated review of the National Cultural Policy. We’ve hosted multiple national stakeholder briefings to unite sectors and ensure we can make the most of this opportunity to secure federal support for improvements in the education system, including stronger federal–state collaboration.
Judith presenting at the ASME Conference in Brisbane, September.
This is where I will leave my story for 2025 – my first as a part of the Alberts team and driving the Music Education initiative. But it hasn’t been all work and no play, with highlights including celebrating Alberts 140th year in business in November (culminating in us rocking out at AC/DC’s final Sydney show on their PWR/Up tour!); the annual Alberts Christmas sail on the James Craig tall ship; and, as a fun team project – completing a huge Lego dinosaur together in the foyer of our office building on Gadigal land in Sydney.
Looking ahead to 2026, I’m excited to create new opportunities to collaborate and advocate for equitable access to quality, sequential, and ongoing music education for all children. I end the year knowing I belong to a wonderful supportive team, that our work matters, and that music education is incredibly important for developing thriving children and human beings.
December in Australia has been shadowed by the tragedy of the Bondi attack. Amid such tragedy, our individual projects may feel small - but it's my hope our work for positive change can foster healing and nurture a commitment to a fairer, better future for all.
