After the 2019 bushfires, the landscape around Bianca Porcheddu’s home in Malua Bay, New South Wales, was stripped bare. Not knowing what else to do, the professional violinist picked up her instrument and played Bach amongst the blackened trees. Source: Catholic Voice.
“I took my violin outside and played to the burnt trees,” she said. “It was a way of praying that this would never happen again, that the birds would return, and that the land would heal.”
The moment captured Ms Porcheddu’s belief that music can console, connect and bring a community together. That lifelong commitment to music, including almost three decades with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, has now been recognised with a Community Service Recognition Award from the Governor-General.
“To be acknowledged by the Governor-General is incredibly touching,” Ms Porcheddu said. “It feels less like an individual honour and more like an affirmation of the value of the classical music ecosystem here in Australia, especially in the nation’s capital.”
Ms Porcheddu, who is also wellbeing coordinator at Merici College, Canberra, said the award highlights a sector currently facing funding pressures and uncertainty.
“I think this recognition sends a vital message to the community,” she said. “Arts, culture and history play a critical role in preserving our humanity.”
Ms Porcheddu has spent 29 years performing with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, serving at various times as concertmaster and principal violinist.
Her commitment to music began almost before she can remember. She was five when she first picked up a violin, encouraged by her identical twin sister, a flautist who would go on to perform with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
“We practised before school, coached each other, pushed through the challenges together,” Ms Porcheddu said. “There were always hurdles, but joy was what carried us. Joy is the compass.”
That joy has stayed with her through international study, overseas touring, and a promise she made when she received a Queen’s Trust Scholarship: to return to Australia and share her skills with her community.
Her inspiration is kept alive by curiosity, nature, and her Catholic faith.
“Music connects me to my faith. That stillness, that discipline – it keeps me grounded,” she said. “It’s what sustained me through my performing career while also working full-time as a teacher and wellbeing coordinator.”
FULL STORY
Violinist honoured for healing through music (By Veronika Cox, Catholic Voice)
