Ex-ONEFOUR Manager Ricky Simandjuntak & Camp Cope’s Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich Join MusicNSW

MusicNSW is expanding its support for its local music industry with new appointments to increase support for contemporary music across the state.

Among the new appointments is Ricky Simandjuntak, the former manager of ONEFOUR who’s also worked alongside Sampa The Great and The Kid LAROI. He resigned from managing the Western Sydney rap group in January.

Simandjuntak has joined the team as a senior member—MusicNSW’s new Program Manager—and will lead the development of the non-profit organisation’s programs and resources for artist development and industry pathways in NSW.

Simandjuntak isn’t the only figure in the music industry who joined MusicNSW. Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, known for her work as the bassist in Camp Cope and at Bad Apples alongside Adam Briggs, is MusicNSW’s first Western Sydney Coordinator.

Marking a series of firsts, MusicNSW has also welcomed its first Newcastle and Wollongong Coordinators. They are Maeve Grant of Gumnut Artists and Cody Munro Moore, known for work at Stranded Recording Studio, Dinosaur City Records, and Illawarra Folk Festival.

In a statement, MusicNSW Managing Director Joe Muller said of the critical expansion to include local music industry leaders:

“Growing from an existing team of Regional Coordinators, these new appointments will see MusicNSW further embed our statewide presence with boots on the ground in Newcastle, Wollongong and Western Sydney for the first time in our history,” Muller said.

Citing the impact of local-based coordinators on music communities, Muller added that he has “no doubt that the collective knowledge, passion and experience of our incoming team members will be invaluable as they work closely to support artist and industry development in a direct and nuanced way.”

Muller continued, “I am thrilled also to welcome Ricky Simandjuntak to the team as Program Manager. Ricky will lead these new team members and drive program delivery across our organisation. Ricky brings an immense wealth of experience from his work as an artist manager and brand strategist and will be a huge asset as we continue to strive towards a thriving contemporary music sector in NSW.”

Joe Muller was appointed the Managing Director of MusicNSW in November. Today’s announcement follows the appointment of new board members Rhoda Roberts AO, Mardi Caught, Beau Neilson, and Michael Hutchings, who joined the organisation earlier this month.