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NE WS AND E VENT S NE WS AND E VENT S

Janet Clarke Hall Oratory Competition... ...and Lucas Dell’s Winning Oration

Barrister and co-founder of the Damian with everyday advocacy that led us to name the competition
Powell Oratory Competition, Brian Kennedy after Dr Damian Powell – a man who stood at the College’s
lectern to deliver in a relatable and friendly manner, countless
(Resident Tutor 2016) reflects on the role of speeches helping the orderly everyday running of the College.)
oratory in today’s world. The so-called digital existence has not altered the need to create
and deliver careful arguments. Many are aghast at social media
With the kind permission of the College, my wife Laura platforms’ promotion of clickbait and echo chambers, with the
Hartmann1 and I founded the annual Oratory Competition. threats to civil society that have followed. As long as this technology
It is the only oratory competition currently run in any of the is to be used to misinform the masses, patient persuasion,
colleges affiliated with Melbourne University. Our goal is encouragement of critical thought and listening will remain crucial
to encourage all Janet Clarke Hall students to benefit from tools in deradicalisation. These are the crucial skills of the orator.
participation in the competition.
This year, His Honour Justice Attiwill kindly agreed to
The practice of oration continues to play a critical role in our adjudicate. It was a great pleasure to see His Honour (who is a
society today, giving individuals the opportunity to engage in highly regarded member of the judiciary and who was prior to
an artform with real benefits for those who practise it well. Good that a leading member of Victoria’s Commercial Bar) provide
orators are able to command ideas and words to evoke a deep personalised and very generous feedback to each participant.
response in their audience – the persuasion moving something The audience enjoyed an evening of thought-provoking (L-R) Back: Isobel Whitehead, Luka Venables, The Hon. Justice Richard Attiwill, Brian Kennedy, Anna Ryley, Keeley Zentgraf, Jiealla (Gigi) Guttie-Galpin
in the listener.2 Whilst the term ‘oration’ is seen as lofty, we orations on the thorny topic of ‘cancellation’. Front: Charles Whyte, Lucas Dell, Dante Duell
encourage participants to think about the everyday advocacy Why do we do hard things? Seriously, I wanna know! struggle, I assumed it was because I was being punished –
that is all around us – the delivery of the sports report at Formal 1 Laura Hartmann is General Counsel at Grampians Health, and is also Somewhere, in the timeline of evolution, we went from hunting because I was a bad person. Hard was punishment.
Hall, or the likelihood that confident public-speaking will be brilliant, beautiful and persuasive. a couple of gazelles in the savanna with the lads, to going ‘you
2 James A Winans, ‘Aims and Standards in Public Speaking Work’ (1923)
beneficial in many forms of employment. (It was this concern 12(4) The English Journal 223, 227. know what, let’s strap three guys to a rocket full of explosives I don’t believe that anymore, or if I’m honest, I’m not sure what
and blast them to the moon’. That is certifiably, undisputably, I believe. I guess I know now that struggle is necessary. And
crazy! Crazy hard that is. But these days, hard is going extinct – believe me, if someone discovers a way to become a better
Spring Concert one of his all-time favourite pieces. He also remarked on it’s getting cancelled. version of yourself without hardship, I’ll be the first to sign up.
the fact that Josh introduced us to some pieces by Spanish But struggle, failure, even pain – these are the moments that
composer and pianist, Mompou, whose works are not so Everywhere I look, everything looks like it’s becoming so easy. shape us, that give us purpose. That’s life in its rawest form.
often performed. I had not heard of Mompou (1893 –1987) Entertainment is as simple as pressing a button on Netflix, Wait! Okay, that’s too much philosophy for one speech. If I’m
and was pleased to enjoy his music. Having Josh explain a dating has been reduced to swiping left or right on an endless not careful I might start writing ‘to be or not to be’ on the
little about each piece enhanced the experience and made stream of pictures. windows of the Betty Wilmot at 2 am. The point is Robert
the afternoon a most enjoyable one. Even the hardest thing I’ve ever done – going from an obese to Nozick, the philosopher, asserts that no sane person would ever
Josh concluded the program with two more pieces by Chopin a healthy weight – looks like it’s becoming easier through new enter the pleasure machine, because it cancels what it means
– Nocturne in F Minor Op.55 No.1 and Scherzo No.2 in B flat medicine and technology. to be fundamentally human. To live real experiences, real
minor Op 31. As another member of the audience commented, But that’s a good thing, right? struggles, that’s what makes life rewarding. And that’s how it
‘the time just flew by listening to so much beautiful music’. stood for a long, long, long, time.
Hard things take time and money and energy, and all the
As mentioned previously, Josh was resident at JCH for resources that we can now invest into doing the things we (10-second pause)
ten years and expressed his deep appreciation for the actually care about. That was ten seconds. Did it feel long? Uber Eats, Instagram
scholarships he received from JCH, enabling him to live in a Reels, TikTok, YouTube, Tinder – it’s all rotting your attention
The sun was streaming through the windows of the Dining community close to the university and one that has a Kawai No! We’ve hit a tipping point where, in trying to make life easier, span and your brain. We have become victims of a culture of
we’re cancelling out the very things that give life its depth.
Hall when Dr Joshua Hooke (2012) alumnus and ten-year grand piano. Born in Carlton but growing up in Wonthaggi, instant gratification.
resident of JCH, played the first notes of Mozart’s Fantasie Josh commenced music lessons at age four. The fact that There is a concept in philosophy called the pleasure machine. Why climb that mountain, or talk to that cute girl or learn how
in C Minor K457, a beautiful piece to open the 2024 Spring his mother was the music teacher at his local primary And before you all groan, don’t worry this is not going to be to speak Italian, when an endless stream of perfectly calculated
Concert program. This was followed by Paisajes (Landscapes) school played an important part in his early introduction to your grandfather’s philosophy lecture – I’ll keep it interesting, and addictive entertainment is just one scroll away? Pfft, I
composed by Federico Mompou and included three parts: i. music. Other people influential in leading him to a career so stick with me. mean look at you – getting antsy as you try to endure even this
La Fuente y la campana (The fountain and the bells); ii. El Lago in music were Vaune Lewis during secondary school, also short five-minute speech. And look, look, I’m not your mum,
(the Lake); iii. Carros de Galicia (Galician carts). at Wonthaggi, and Ian Holtham and Mark McGee at the The pleasure machine is a thought experiment. If you could
University of Melbourne. attach yourself to this machine, with electrical wires and drugs you know it’s bad for you, and we all know that we don’t really
To conclude the first part of the program, Josh played Sergei pumping into and out of your brain, you would experience care – I certainly didn’t bust out the quill and scroll to write this
Rachmaninoff’s Preludes Op.32 No.5, Op.32 No.12 and then Josh’s career now includes solo performances with Musica endless pleasure and bliss, wouldn’t you? Sounds enticing, speech.
Op.23 No.2. As Josh later commented, Rachmaninoff was one Viva as well as in London, Vienna, Lisbon and Bergen ‘ the doesn’t it. Let me be clear, you would experience the happiest But you do have to accept that staring at your phone for five,
of the first composers of piano music with whom he became artist’s village’ in the Netherlands. In 2024, Josh produced moments of your life, and being in the machine, you wouldn’t six or sixteen hours a day is in some small part cancelling
obsessed. For the concert, he enjoyed revisiting this particular a CD that featured Beethoven and Schubert and he is now know the difference – it would feel real, but it wouldn’t be real. your human experience. We have replaced hard with mind-
piece, as well as learning new pieces along the way. enjoying being back in Australia, while also looking forward It’s a Faustian bargain, you lose your independence and your
to doing more recording. We were privileged to have Josh humanity, but you gain ‘happiness’. What is happiness? numbingly easy. And I guess the question we have to ask is: are
Frederic Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie set the scene for the as the Spring Concert musician and can be grateful for the we okay with that?
second half of the program and, learning this piece, Joshua people and the scholarships that have assisted him in his You know, as a little Christian boy, I don’t think I got how Because this life is real, and your phone is one pleasure machine
explained that it allowed him to explore new ideas and musical journey. religion works. I used to think that you just sort of put your you can unplug from. Look – I don’t know if there’s more to this
delve a little more deeply into the repertoire of one of the hands together and ask God to cancel out whatever problem world after I die, but if there’s one thing I know, it is that I really,
composers most famous for piano compositions. Professor Genevieve Leach you were having that day. I wanted to be skinny, or to have really hope there are Instagram Reels in heaven.
Stephen McIntyre, in the audience, commented that it is Acting Deputy Principal (Feb - Sep 2022) friends or to pass my grade 4 spelling test, or whatever the hell
– and when I didn’t get those things and had to endure the Thanks, everyone!
16 L u ce Number 23 2024 Janet Clar ke Hall 17