EDITOR'S NOTE: As a new resident to Australia and having recently joined the faculty at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, I am naturally quite eager to learn about music education in this region of the world. What common denominators exist between the United States and Australia, and which differing approaches are intr...

I remember well standing backstage in Kansas City in the 1970s after a recital of the French soprano Régine Crespin and hearing her admonish an over-eager admirer who gushed that her Carmen was the best since the immortal Calve. "Comparisons are odious," Crespin said with grandeur." I wish to be considered unique in all things." But to educato...