Orange Regional Conservatorium director Donna Riles shared the Future Directions 2022-2026 document with the music community this week and the ORC is now looking ahead to the first sod being turned for the construction of its $20 million new home behind the Orange Civic Centre.

That has been scheduled for mid 2022 when plans are finalised by Brewster Hjorth Architects and Mrs Riles is optimistic the ORC will move from its Hill Street base to its state-of-the-art new home by the end of 2023.

With that in mind, the ORC set about mapping its own growth aspirations for the next five years.

"The board of the Conservatorium realised the need to have a vision for the organisation with the gifting of this beautiful building," Mrs Riles said on Tuesday, explaining the thinking behind the Future Directions document.

"(The need for) a strategic vision was identified by the board so they went about the process of consulting all the stakeholders involved with the Con."

Former Orange High School Principal and deputy mayor Dr Pam Ryan played a major role in synthesising the comments and thoughts of contributors, who weren't necessarily tied to Orange's musical community but had at some point been involved with the ORC.

"Whether you're a school principal, Orange City Councillor... students, or a member of staff - anyone that was connected to the Con was drawn in and Pam listened to all the ideas they had," Mrs Riles said.

"Things like where do you want the con to be in five years' time, how do you see the impact the conservatorium will have on the community in this purpose built new building.

"But it's not just about the new building but about the organisation itself. An organisation of people who are passionate about community music."

According to the Future Directions document, in the next five years to the ORC will 'transform from a well-respected regional conservatorium to a leading Australian regional conservatorium offering our community access to world class musical experiences and becoming increasingly visible, inclusive, accessible, relevant and valued.'

The document also marks out the ORC expansion, inclusion and innovation goals.

The consultation process started in 2019 with Mrs Riles saying it went reasonably quickly considering the challenges of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Funding for the ORC building is a 50-50 partnership between the Orange City Council and the Australian Government, Mrs Riles saying council's backing illustrated it understood the ORC value to the community.

"We had over 1400 people enrolled for lessons," she said. "We produce 50 events each year and we reach out to over 12,000 audience members in a year.

"Council has realised that value."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

SEND US A LETTER TO THE EDITOR USING THE FORM BELOW