By Tanya Faulkner
“Humbled, I think is the biggest word.”
Phillipa Edwards, teacher at Lyndale Secondary College, has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to music through brass bands.
She said she feels humbled and also overwhelmed at the recognition through the award.
“All of the stuff I’ve ever done is because I love music, cresting music and community, and connecting people.
“All my life I thought I would be planting seeds of trees for other people to stand in the shade of.”
Ms Edwards has had an impressive career to date in the music industry, with several significant achievements behind her.
She started her teaching career in 1994 as a trumpet specialist and band director for Eltham High School and has since taught at several schools, including the Victorian College of the Arts, before coming to Lyndale in 2018.
Ms Edwards also has ties to several brass bands, both as a member and musical director, holds a life membership with Footscray – Yarraville City Band, and remains connected to both Glenferrie Brass and the Hyde Street Youth Band since 2019.
Under the direction of Ms Edwards, the Hyde Street Youth Band recently became Australia’s top Junior Band, also winning the Open D Grade against adult bands, at the Australian National Band Championships in Newcastle over Easter weekend.
Alongside her personal achievements, some of her music students are also moving on to having successful careers both within and outside the music industry.
“Music provides a vehicle for them to grow and achieve.
“Some of them have gone on to be doctors, some are still musicians in bands, and some are teachers, but all of them still feed back into their communities, trying to pay things forward and being the change in the community,” she said.
But to Ms Edwards, some of the most rewarding recognitions have not been the awards.
“I was recently invited to a wedding by one of the girls I taught in school.
“Being invited to students’ weddings and family events; just the fact they consider me a real influence on them growing up, especially some of the ones that have come from different backgrounds.”
Ms Edwards is also co-founder of Skunkworks Productions, alongside her husband Jamie Lawson, and business partner Colin Harrison, which provides a community for musicians in the area wanting to develop their skills and connect with others.
Later this year they will be hosting their Schoolies Music Camp for Year 12 students looking at going into music, and are looking at developing a Tuba Library for more people to have access to different musical instruments without breaking the bank.
Jamie and Colin are also recipients of an OAM this year, which Ms Edwards says “takes the edge off”.
“Because Jamie, Colin and I are all together, I feel like the spotlight has been taken off me a little bit,” she said.
Ms. Edwards was just weeks ago recognised with the Janice Velma Davie OAM award, which recognises outstanding contributions by women to Australian brass bands, another honour she is most proud of.
Later this year, Ms Edwards is looking forward to joining the State Youth Brass Band on their tour to Europe and China, and continuing to develop and enjoy the career she has built for herself.
