Tertiary music education is commonly understood as preparing students for a career as a performer. This, however, fails to address fundamental shifts in the ways most of us now typically encounter, and think about, music in our lives; and does not acknowledge the diminishing funding base that supports traditional modes of teaching. It is time to rethink both how, and why, we teach music on campus. In addressing the issues, Peter Tregear draws upon his experience after he was appointed in 2012 to lead the government-initiated takeover of the revered Canberra School of Music by the Australian National University, a time of intense controversy.