University of Adelaide - Impact of Giving 2022 - Flipbook - Page 14
Impact of Giving
Above: Loretta with her daughter and Mum at the Elder Hall donor thank you
celebration, Photo by Photo Jo. Right: Loretta’s Nana, Josephine Amato.
Honouring Nana
in Elder Hall
Classical violinist, passionate educator,
and Elder Conservatorium alum
Loretta De Palma has honoured her
Nana with a seat dedication through
the Take a Seat campaign.
“They lived a very humble, simple life,
but it was so full of beautiful music and
food – and that was our upbringing as
their grandchildren. We were so blessed.”
“I just loved every
bit of my time with
the University. I was
a very shy girl in
school, and being
studious wasn’t really
my thing. But when
I found this passion
for music… Well, I just
felt very lucky to have
found my niche.”
Loretta inherited her Nana’s talent and
passion for music and studied classical
violin at the Elder Conservatorium.
Since graduating, Loretta has worked
in music and performing arts education
“My Nana was born in Sicily in 1922
with this incredible gift of music. Any
instrument she touched, she could play.”
“She grew up in Sydney, singing at all
the Italian festivals and clubs – even
singing with Dame Joan Sutherland
– before she met my grandfather
and they settled in Grange.”
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around South Australia. When she came
across the Take a Seat campaign, she
knew it was the perfect opportunity to
preserve her Nana’s legacy and celebrate
their connection through music.
“I know she would just love this. It’s
such a beautiful way of preserving the
essence of her and what she shared
and gave to so many people.”
Donations through the Take a Seat
campaign supported the refurbishment
of the Elder Conservatorium, including
replacing the seating to be more
complimentary to the heritage structure of
the building. The engraved plaques were
placed on the backs of the new seats and
will remain in place for at least 10 years.
“I’d most definitely recommend this
to others, it feels like such a beautiful
celebration of my Nana’s life,” said Loretta.