All artists from A – Z

Artist Roland Peelman AM - Director

“His encyclopaedic understanding of performing and visual arts and his theatrical instinct place him in constant demand as a musician of flair and imagination.” – Anthony Jeffrey, Many Faces of Inspiration. At the helm of the Festival since 2015 is Artistic Director Roland Peelman, an acclaimed musician of great versatility who has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative musical directors. Born in Belgium, Roland Peelman has been active in Australia over 30 years as a conductor, pianist, artistic director and mentor to composers, singers and musicians alike. For his commitment to the creative arts in Australia, he has received numerous accolades, including the NSW Award for “the most outstanding contribution to Australian Music by an individual’ in 2005. In 2006 he was named ‘musician of the year’ by the Sydney Morning Herald and he has since featured regularly as one of the most influential people in the Australian arts scene. Over a period of 25 years, he transformed The Song Company into one of Australia’s most outstanding and innovative ensembles. In addition, he instigated and directed an impressive list of new work, orchestral, vocal, and operatic. Roland worked with Opera Australia for seven years (1984-91) before becoming The Song Company’s Artistic Director (1990-2015). During this time, he was also the Music Director of Sydney Metropolitan Opera (1989-94) and the Hunter Orchestra in Newcastle (1990-97).

Artist Alma Moodie Quartet

The Alma Moodie Quartet features four of Australia’s finest string players in an exciting new collaboration. Led by acclaimed violinist Kristian Winther, violinist Anna da Silva Chen, violist Alexina Hawkins and cellist Thomas Marlin bring a fresh and fearless approach to the string quartet repertoire.

Named to honour internationally significant Australian violinist of the 1930s and '40s, the Alma Moodie Quartet is committed to invigorating the classics and exploring new works with their combined virtuosic talents.

Artist Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin has appeared with opera companies and orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia including the Bolshoi Opera, Gran Theatre Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, La Scala Milan, Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, the New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Moscow and Melbourne Chamber Orchestras, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and in recital at Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder, and the Port Fairy, Huntington, Coriole, Bendigo, Australian Chamber Music and Canberra International Music Festivals.

Recent engagements include Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Adelaide Festival); Jacquino, Fidelio (West Australian Symphony Orchestra); Nadir, The Pearlfishers (State Opera South Australia); Diary of one who disappeared (Sydney Chamber Opera); Hasse’s Artaxerxes title role, (Pinchgut Opera); Carmina Burana and “Nativity”( Richard Mills’ new oratorio) both for Adelaide Symphony; Mozart Requiem (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs); St Matthew Passion – Evangelist (Melbourne Bach Choir); Messiah (NZSO, QSO and MSO); The Rake’s Progress title role (Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra) and a national tour with the new Australian Vocal Ensemble, AVE, of which Andrew is a founding member.

Artist Alice Giles

Alice Giles has been celebrated as one of the world’s leading harp soloists. The Australian-born musician first attracted international notice when she won First Prize in the 8th Israel International Harp Contest at the age of 21. Since then she has performed extensively internationally both in recital and with orchestra. She presented her first solo recital at the age of 13 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, was awarded the coveted Churchill International Fellowship and an Australia Council Grant to study in the USA and made her New York debut recital at Merkin Hall in 1983.

Regarded by Luciano Berio as the foremost interpreter of his Sequenza II, she has taken part in tributes to Berio at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Salzburg Mozarteum, and at the 92nd Street Y in New York to honour his 70th birthday. She has given many premiere performances for her instrument, has commissioned a complete program of works for the electro-acoustic harp, and is Director of the Seven Harp Ensemble (SHE), which has commissioned many new works by Australian composers.

As a recipient of an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, she performed a solo concert at Mawson Station in 2011 commemorating the Centenary of the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

Concert highlights include solo recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, Merkin Hall NY, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon, and concertos with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Zürich, Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, English Symphony Orchestra, Mainzer Kammerorchester, Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hamburg Mozart Orchestra, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra and regularly with all the major Australian Symphony and Chamber orchestras.

Artist Australian Haydn Ensemble

In 2022 the Australian Haydn Ensemble (AHE) enters its 10th year as a recognised Australian period instrument ensemble of excellence. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Skye McIntosh, nationally and internationally-lauded musicians bring historically-inspired performances to life.

AHE has garnered a well-earned reputation for engaging audiences with imaginative programming, vibrant performances and enlightening workshops.This world-class ensemble performs at festivals, tours regularly throughout regional NSW, and presents its highly successful subscription series in Sydney, Canberra and other regional centres.

In 2022 the Ensemble will present five subscription concert tours, make its Adelaide Festival and Canberra International Music Festival debuts, perform at a number of other unique regional NSW festivals and release its second orchestral album on the ABC Classic label.

Artist Bowerbird Collective

The Bowerbird Collective creates new multimedia work that tells conservation stories, with the aim of strengthening emotional connections to the natural world. They tour extensively, with a focus on performing in regional areas, deliver exceptional educational outreach opportunities to school age children, and work with national and international conservation organisations to explore nature through the arts. They create outstanding concert experiences for audiences and artists across the world. They have produced over 180 events in Australia, the UK and North America. They strive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions for all our events. While connecting audiences with the finest musicians of their time, a core aim of their production, touring and management services are to give partner artists a sense of connection with people, place and the environment. In addition, they create soundscapes for major gallery exhibitions and apps, as well as compelling content for National Parks and eco-tourism partners, incorporating music, videography and nature recordings.

Artist Damian Barbeler

Damian is an award-winning composer, multimedia artist and Founder of the online “HiberNATION Festival of the Lo-fi”. His works have been performed and broadcast around the world. He is recognised for his playful artistic style and lush, emotional creations inspired by the Australian bush. He regularly collaborates with colleagues from diverse fields including film, architecture, media arts, dance and more, and incorporates visual, sculptural and light elements with his music. His work often emphasises tactile experiences of physical places and relationships. His work, with artist Tim Jetis Visiting Eucalyptus saw 6 months of travelling, photographing Eucalyptus trees result in a concert work, installation, book, film and website. Damian has twice received the ‘Recommended Work’ award at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers and was a finalist in the international Toru Takemitsu Composition Prize 2008. He was awarded the Ian Potter Emerging Composer Fellowship to compose seven works during 2006-2007, including commissions for recorder player Genevieve Lacey, and Southern Cross Soloists. In 2010 he received a PhD from the Sydney Conservatorium and in 2015 he was a finalist for “Best Instrumental Work” for the APRA/AMC Art Music Awards. From 2012 till 2016 he worked in the Torres Strait Islands on various community music projects for the Queensland Music Festival including Directing "Ailan Kores" a major festival music event which saw musicians and songs from 6 islands brought to together for a celebration of scared music in the Torres Strait. Barbeler current lectures in composition, digital music and performance practice at University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium and UNSW.

Artist Dimity Shepherd

Dimity Shepherd is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She made her professional operatic debut for Opera Australia in 1998 singing the role of Rosina in the OZ OPERA production of The Barber of Seville, performances of which OPERA~OPERA wrote, “…as wondrously delicious a Rosina as I ever hope to encounter”. Her subsequent roles for Opera Australia have included Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Rebecca in the premiere seasons of Paul Grabowsky’s Love in The Age of Therapy. She has been regularly engaged by Victorian Opera, making her debut for the company as Orphee in Gluck’s Orphee & Eurydice and subsequently appeared for the company in the lead role of Alice in Through The Looking Glass, and as Arsamene in Handel’s Xerxes. Engagements by Victorian Opera since, have included the role of Nireno in Handel’s Julius Caesar, Lucy in Threepenny Opera in Melbourne and Sydney, Mercurius in JS Bach’s Der Streit Zwischen Pheobus und Pan, Jazz in the premiere of How To Kill Your Husband (And Other Handy Household Hints), the lead role of Clara Johnson in the world premiere of Midnight Son, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (2013 Green Room Award), the Second Secretary in Nixon In China, three principal roles in Sondheim’s Sunday In The Park With George, The Begger Woman in Sweeney Todd, Flora in La Traviata and roles in the premiere seasons of The Riders, Cunning Little Vixen and The Princess & The Pea. And of her most recent performances for Victorian Opera, during 2018, in the premiere season of Lorelei, for which she received a Greenroom Award nomination, The Age said, as a siren, as a singer, as a woman … Shepherd most accomplished. Her roles for Opera Queensland include Maddalena in Rigoletto, Stephano in Romeo & Juliet and Tisbe in La Cenerentola. Dimity Shepherd created the title role in Jonathan Mill’s The Ghost Wife in the world premiere seasons at the Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney festivals and at London’s BITE02 festival at the Barbican Centre, performances of which the Sydney Morning Herald said, “Dimity Shepherd in the title role, was evocative, illusory, extraordinary, while The Times said, Dimity Shepherd is brilliant in the role. She creates a heartbreaking, yet flawed figure and her vocal intensity underlines the music’s strange lyricism., and The Guardian wrote, Shepherd is absolutely compelling…the musical and dramatic core of the piece…” For leading Melbourne new-music company, Chamber Made Opera her engagements have included creating the lead role in Crossing Live and the role of Elizabeth in The Children’s Bach. Her roles for Melbourne Opera include Carmen, Smeaton in Anna Bolena and Emilia in Rossini’s Otello, in 2019, for which she received a Greenroom Award. Other operatic engagements have included a return to the Second Secretary in the Auckland Festival production of Nixon In China, and Anne in To Hell & Back for Gertrude Opera. Her concert appearances include Sculthorpe’s String Quartet No.13 Island Dreaming in the 2002 Sydney Festival, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade To Music as part of the opening events of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Messiah for the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society and for the Melbourne Symphony, and Charles Gaines’ Sound Text for the Melbourne International Festival and a solo recital in the program of the 2019 Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. 2020 originally included a return to the role of Carmen in Opera Australia‘s national touring production and to her role in Lorelei for Opera Queensland and appearances as the vocal soloist in the Melbourne season of the Australian Ballet‘s production of Anna Karenina.

Artist Eric Avery

Eric Avery is a Ngiyampaa, Yuin, Bandjalang and Gumbangirr artist. As part of his practice Eric plays the violin, dances and composes music. Working with his family’s custodial songs he seeks to revive and continue on an age-old legacy – continuing the tradition of singing in his tribe – utilising his talents to combine and create an experience of his peoples culture.

Artist Flora Carbo

Flora Carbo is a Melbourne based saxophonist who is quickly becoming one of the most exciting young artists in the Australian jazz scene. Having studied with Julien Wilson, Melissa Aldana, Jeff Clayton and Scott McConnachie, Flora has performed extensively in Melbourne and around Australia and at festivals including Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Melbourne International Women’s Jazz Festival and the Stonnington Jazz Festival. Recently completing a Bachelor of Music (Degree with Honours) at the University of Melbourne, she has worked with world renowned artists including pianists Barney McAll and Andrea Keller, as well composing and playing with The Rest Is Silence, AAALTO and the Flora Carbo Trio (who released their debut album ‘Erica’ in 2018). In May 2017 she won the prestigious James Morrison Scholarship at the Generations in Jazz Festival, in 2016 she was selected as one of the 10 finalists in the National Jazz Awards. Flora was nominated for the Freedman Jazz Fellowship in 2019 and 2018 and as a finalist for the Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2019 Australian Jazz Bell Awards. In 2018, Flora toured internationally with the ‘Company 2’ circus production ‘Scotch and Soda’ and participated in the 2019 Banff Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music in Banff, Canada. Flora’s sophomore recording ‘VOICE’ was released in April 2020.

Artist Hamish Gullick

Hamish Gullick is a double bassist born and raised in Sydney. Hamish had his first double bass lessons when he was 12 with late jazz great Ed Gaston. From 2013-16 he studied with a scholarship at the Sydney Conservatorium with Kees Boersma and later Alex Henery. In 2019 he commenced training with Damien Eckersley at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). During his studies, Hamish played in masterclasses for Dominic Seldis, (former Principal Double Bass, Royal Concertgebouw) Owen Lee, (Principle Double Bass, Cincinnati Symphony) and Hiroshi Ikematsu, (Former Principal New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony). A voracious appetite for new sounds has led Hamish’s regular listening ranging from the lopsided beats of J Dilla, to the new Appalachian sounds of Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer, in addition to a wide range of western art music, culminating in Hamish’s pursuit of unconventional repertoire and interpretation. Hamish premiered a number of solo and accompanied works for double bass by Australian composer Jim Coyle, and in April 2018 he was involved in the Australian premiere of Gemma Peacocke’s song cycle Waves and Lines with the Rubiks collective at the Metropolis Festival. He also premiered Stuart Greenbaum’s Sonata for double bass and piano Continental Drift at ANAM. Over the last few years, Hamish has worked with the Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras as well as the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Through his training at ANAM, he has also been fortunate to play chamber music alongside Gregory Ahss, Lisa Moore, Nick Deutsch and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Artist Jacob Abela

Australian keyboardist and composer Jacob Abela is a soloist and chamber musician specialising in the new music field. Jacob is Australia’s leading voice for the Ondes Martenot, a French keyboard instrument which predates the synthesiser. Jacob is a founding member and co-director of new music outfit Rubiks, who have enjoyed critical acclaim for their contribution to Melbourne’s contemporary music scene. Jacob also performs regularly with the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared with renowned ensembles such as Ensemble Offspring, Argonaut Ensemble (BIFEM), Speak Percussion, and Synergy Percussion. Festival credits include the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival (USA), Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Metropolis New Music Festival, ISCM World New Music Days, Sydney Festival, and Mathemusical Conversations (Singapore).

Artist Jason Noble

Jason Noble is one of Australia’s most versatile clarinettists – experimental to classical – a soloist and core member of Ensemble Offspring. Jason has performed at festivals locally and internationally, from Warsaw to London, Shanghai to Kabul, and all major cities across Australia. “His expertise and virtuosic playing give new insights into the versatility of the bass clarinet” (Sounds Like Sydney)

His album releases include THRUM (2020) – a collection of improvised ambient sounds created with Kim Cunio on piano – and Chi’s Cakewalk (2017), an album of new Australian works for clarinets. He has also made guest appearances on albums for Gurrumul, Sally Seltmann, ABC Classics, Gondwana Voices, Paul Mac, Halcyon, SICKO improvising orchestra, and the Tiwi women’s choir Ngarukuruwala. Recently he performed at the Adelaide Festival in Incredible Floridas, curated by Kim Williams, appearing as soloist with the Australian String Quartet.

Jason collaborates with living and emerging composers, and is an in-demand music educator and examiner. He has been invited to teach two winter academies at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, and maintains links with staff and students there.

Artist John Blay

John Blay, writer and naturalist, was born in Parramatta and since moving to the far south coast in 1970 has written extensively about south eastern Australia and its people in prose, drama and poetry. Art projects continue this focus on the region and its natural history. His epic bushwalking trilogy of the south east forests includes Back Country (2017), On Track (2015) and Wild Nature (2020). It traces the region's forests, peoples, natural history, and rediscovery of an important shared history pathway. Now heritage-listed - and thanks to the work of Blay, Aboriginal communities and local people - the Bundian Way is set to be one of the great Australian walks. His most recent publications look at the challenges of conserving the region's wild nature, landscapes and Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Artist Jonathan Biggins

Jonathan Biggins is an actor, writer and director, perhaps best known as one of the creators of the long-running political satire The Wharf Revue. His other writing credits include seven years as a columnist for Fairfax's Good Weekend Magazine and the books As it Were, The 700 Habits of Highly Ineffective People, The 700 Habits of Highly Ineffective Parents and iKevin. His plays and musicals include Australia Day, Talk, The Republic of Myopia, Living in the '70s, The State of the Tasmanian Economy, Three Men and a Baby Grand and his one-man show The Gospel According to Paul. He also co-wrote an adaptation of the libretto Orpheus in the Underworld for Opera Australia. Directing credits include Talk, Australia Day, Noises Off, Josephine Wants to Dance, Orpheus in the Underworld and Avenue Q, for which he won a Helpmann Award. Acting credits include Travesties, Essington Lewis: I am Work, The White Guard, Summer Rain, The Importance of Being Ernest, Ying Tong, The Venetian Twins and the film A Few Best Men. Jonathan was awarded an OAM for his services to theatre in 2021.

Artist Kaylie Melville

Melbourne-based percussionist Kaylie Melville is a soloist and chamber musician dedicated to new music performance. Noted for her “extraordinary ability to impart a sense of musicality to even the smallest gestures” (Partial Durations), Kaylie is an Artistic Associate with new music pioneers Speak Percussion, co-Artistic Director of the contemporary ensemble Rubiks Collective and frequently works with leading Australian ensembles and orchestras. In addition to performing, Kaylie's practice incorporates improvising, directing, curating and teaching. As a passionate advocate of new music Kaylie has performed in the world premieres of major Australian works, including Kate Neal's 'Semaphore' (Arts House 2015) and as the percussion soloist in Jack Symond's 'Double Purity' double concerto (BIFEM 2016). Her festival appearances include the Metropolis New Music Festival, Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Melbourne Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Salihara Festival (Indonesia), and the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention (US). Kaylie has also participated in a number of prestigious new music courses including the inaugural Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab (USA, 2017), Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music (Germany, 2016), Bang on a Can Summer Festival (USA, 2015) and So Percussion’s Summer Institute at Princeton University (USA, 2013). Kaylie’s awards include an Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant for study in the US, an Australia Council ArtStart Grant, the University of Melbourne’s Professional Pathways Scholarship, and the Australian National Academy of Music’s John and Rosemary MacLeod Traveling Fellowship. Kaylie was Speak Percussion's Young Artist in Residence in 2014, was selected as a finalist in the ANAM Concerto Competition in 2015, and was a finalist for the Freedman Classical Fellowship in 2016. In November 2016 she was featured in ABC Classic FM's '40 Under 40' as part of Australian Music Month.

Artist Kompactus Youth Choir

Kompactus is a youth chamber choir, aimed at developing the skills of talented singers between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Their diverse and versatile repertoire is drawn from many time periods and styles stretching as far back as the late medieval through to modern contemporary music.

Artist Louise Devenish

Dr Louise Devenish is a percussionist whose creative practice blends performance, collaboration and artistic research. As a soloist and with ensembles Decibel, The Sound Collectors Lab and Intercurrent, she develops new works exploring performance, notation and collaborative creativity, performing around Australasia, Europe, North America and UK. She has collaborated on solo and ensemble recordings released on HatArt, Listen/Hear, Immediata, Innova, Tall Poppies and room40, and her work has been recognised by numerous awards and grants including a Churchill Fellowship. Louise is Percussion Coordinator at Monash University, where she is undertaking an Australian Research Council Fellowship (DECRA) in artistic research, creating new works with artistic teams of collaborators working across music, visual arts, digital arts and spatial design.

Artist Luminescence Chamber Singers

Luminescence gives voice to human experiences of all kinds.

Luminescence Chamber Singers is a vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal country [Canberra, Australia], and the umbrella organisation for the Luminescence Children’s Choir. Performing music from all times and places, Luminescence champions the unbound expressive potential of our original instrument - the human voice. Both ensembles deliver artistic and educational programs that ignite the imagination of audiences, and give voice to human experiences of all kinds. Luminescence presents an annual concert programme in Canberra and surrounding regions, and performs at a wide range of festivals, events and collaborations. Recent highlights have included performances of David Lang’s Pulitzer prize winning work, ‘little match girl passion’, appearances for Canberra International Music Festival, Four Winds Festival (Bermagui), Musica Viva, Flowers of War, and numerous performances in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia for Patricia Piccinini’s ‘Every Heart Sings’ Skywhale project.

Artist Monique Lapins

Monique Lapins began her violin studies at the age of 6 with the Suzuki method. Her early teachers included Nicholas Milton and James Cuddeford and it was at the encouragement of the latter that she formed her first quartet at the age of 16. Monique won a full scholarship to the Australian National Academy of Music where her teachers and mentors included William Hennessy (former violinist with the Australian String Quartet), Howard Penny (a long-time member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe) and the academy’s artistic director Brett Dean. Monique furthered her studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Professor Qian Zhou and subsequently won a position in the Hyogo Performing Arts Centre Orchestra in Japan, where she was selected to perform as soloist alongside Olivier Charlier in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto at the "La Folle Journée au Japon" in Tokyo and at HPAC concert hall in Hyogo. Monique has twice been a finalist in the Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition and has participated in chamber music programmes and festivals in the UK, France, the Czech Republic, Holland, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. In recent years, she has received repeat invitations from cellist Stephen Isserlis to take part in the prestigious Open Chamber Music Programme in Prussia Cove in the UK and she has also participated in a residential Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University. A former Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Monique has toured extensively in collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra Collective, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed under the baton of Seiji Ozawa in the Okushiga Chamber Music Academy and under Philippe Herreweghe as part of the Orchestre de Champs Elysées Jeune Orchestre Atlantique programme. Monique’s chamber music performances include playing 1^st violin with the T’ang Quartet in a concert in Singapore and multiple performances in Asia with her partner, marimba player Naoto Segawa, in the contemporary music group Ensemble Gô. Monique joined the New Zealand String Quartet as 2^nd violinist in May 2016 and made her international debut with the ensemble at the 2016 Salisbury Festival in the UK. She currently plays an 1883 Gand, on loan from the Rin Collection in Singapore.

Artist New Zealand String Quartet

Celebrating its 35th season, the New Zealand String Quartet has established an international reputation for its insightful interpretations, compelling communication, and dynamic performing style. The Quartet is known for its imaginative programming and for its powerful connection with audiences of all kinds.

The group's extensive discography includes the complete quartets of Mendelssohn, Bartok, Berg, Brahms, Janacek and Lilburn on the Naxos label, works by Ravel, Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorak, Wolf, Tan Dun, Takemitsu, Gao Ping, and Zoltan Szekely as well as many NZ compositions.

The Quartet tours regularly in the UK, Europe and North America as well as to Mexico, Curaçao, Japan, Korea, and China, and made many visits to Australia, including the festivals in Townsville and Canberra.

As Quartet-in-Residence and teachers at the New Zealand School of Music Te Kōkī at Victoria University of Wellington since 1991, as well as running two intensive chamber music courses annually, the Quartet has had a profound effect on generations of New Zealand’s string players and composers.

Artist Orava String Quartet

The Orava Quartet has been hailed by Limelight magazine as “the most exciting young quartet on the block” and predicted by The Australian to become “one of Australia’s proudest cultural exports.” Earning a reputation and devoted following for their thrilling performances, the Quartet – brothers Daniel and Karol Kowalik (violin and cello), violinist David Dalseno and violist Thomas Chawner - bring their unique sound and breathtaking intensity to the classics of the string quartet canon.

Selected by Deutsche Grammophon for its historic, first Australian recording release in 2018, received with widespread critical acclaim, Orava Quartet has performed in North America - including Canada in 2019 for the Festival International Hautes-Laurentides and Music and Beyond Festival (Ottawa) - and Asia, the UAE and New Zealand, working closely with the world-renowned Takács Quartet in the USA and winning top prizes at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition.

Brisbane-based, Orava Quartet performs at venues and festivals around the country including Sydney Opera House’ Utzon Music Series, City Recital Hall Angel Place, Melbourne Recital Centre, Adelaide’s UKARIA, for VIVID Sydney with Sufjan Stevens, the New Zealand and BBC Proms festivals and Melbourne, Queensland, Canberra and Musica Viva Music Festivals. Praise for their live performances includes “gut-wrenching” (ArtsHub), “masterful" (Dominion Post) and "a beauty" (SMH). The Quartet proudly continue in their eighth year as Camerata’s 2022 Artist-in-Residence, performing at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Empire Theatres Toowoomba, Melbourne Recital Centre, for Musica Viva Tasmania, Brisbane Music Festival, Bangalow Music Festival, UKARIA (Adelaide), Riverside Theatres (Sydney) and Canberra International Music Festival.

Richard Piper

Richard Piper has had a long and distinguished career in Australian theatre, as actor, singer and composer. He has performed in forty productions for Melbourne Theatre Company, and made countless appearances for companies all over the country. He played Billy’s Dad in the original Australian production of Billy Elliott, and most recently, the mayor in Come From Away at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre.

Artist Ruben Palma

Australian-Salvadoran cellist Dr. Ruben Palma is a freelance musician and pedagogue living and working on Gadigal land. Ruben began to play the cello aged 6, and spent nine years studying with Lindy Reksten at the Canberra School of Music. Ruben later studied with Julian Smiles, Howard Penny (at the Australian National Academy of Music), and Nicolas Altstaedt (at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln), and also undertook masterclasses and lessons with Steven Isserlis, David Geringas, Alban Gergardt, Uzi Wiesel, Maria Kliegel, Gabriel Schwabe, Pieter Wispelwey, Daniel Yeadon, and Gary Hoffman.

Ruben was a state finalist in the 2008 Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards, a finalist and prizewinner in the 2014 Australian Cello Awards, the 2015 Australian Chamber Orchestra Emerging Artist, and partook in the 2017 Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship program. His solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast by Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, ABC Classic FM, 702 ABC Sydney, 3MBS, and FM 102.5 Sydney Fine Music. Ruben's cello was made in 2017 by Yanbing Chen.

Artist Sally Walker

Sally Walker is Lecturer in Classical Woodwind at the Australian National University, regular Guest Principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Principal Flautist with the Omega Ensemble. She performs on modern flutes and piccolo as well as historical flutes and recorders and has appeared in the London Proms, Salzburg, Lucerne, Tanglewood and Edinburgh Festivals.

She was Grand-finalist in the Leonardo de Lorenzo International Flute Competition (Italy), won 2nd Prize in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition (Germany) and was awarded scholarships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange for postgraduate study in Germany), Ian Potter Cultural Fund and the Queen's Trust.

She has toured and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, is a former Principal Flute of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, was a member of Kölner Kammerorchester and has performed as Guest Principal Flute with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, NDR Radio Philharmonie Hannover, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Manchester Camerata, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.

Sally devotes herself to both Early and Contemporary Music, having performed with Early Music ensembles such as Das Neue Orchester Köln, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum and the Leipziger Kammerorchester as well as Contemporary Music ensembles such as Halcyon. She is deeply committed to chamber music and has collaborated with colleagues across various art forms and styles, including Tamara Anna-Cislowska, Aiko Goto, David Greco, Steven Isserlis, Afro Moses, Ian Munro, Simon Tedeschi, Dénes Várjon, Shanghai and Acacia string quartets. She has recorded three CDs with Pianist Philip Mayers, was featured on Sally Whitwell’s Aria-nominated CD, “I was Flying”, Cyrus Meurant’s CD “Monday to Friday” and on recordings with Halycon, Australian Chamber Orchestra and other orchestras.

Stephanie Neeman

Dr. Stephanie Neeman is an active international performer and educator. She has taught masterclasses and performed in various venues throughout the world. Dr. Neeman has appeared as a soloist with the Jakarta Chamber Orchestra, Canberra Youth Orchestra, National Capital Orchestra (AUS) and has performed to critical acclaim across the United States, Asia, and Australia.

Artist Theo Carbo

Theo Carbo (b. 1999, Melbourne, Australia) is a guitarist, composer, electronic musician, producer and sound engineer. Growing up as an astute student of jazz, Theo’s proficiency as a guitarist has seen him working in groups of Australia’s most important improvising musicians including Barney Mcall, Andrea Keller, Sam Anning, Nadje Noordhuis, Joseph O’Connor and Paul Williamson. A keen philosopher of music and a student of composition at the Victorian College of the Arts, Theo has recently been developing a broader practise which involves elements of experimental composition, electronic processes, solo and ensemble improvisation and studio engineering. "Theo is a naturally gifted artist with a unique and refined take on things. His musical maturity is a great argument for the collective unconscious" - Barney Mcall

Artist Alexandra Oomens

Alexandra Oomens is a Harewood Artist with English National Opera, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music opera program, and an alumna of the Georg Solti Accademia.

In 2021 Alexandra made her debut at the London Coliseum as Josephine in HMS Pinafore. Other operatic roles include Daphne/Aurora, Gli Amor di Apollo e di Dafne, Pinchgut Opera, Barbarina, Le Nozze di Figaro, Opera North, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Clonter Opera. During her time at RAO, she sang Vixen Cunning Little Vixen, the title role in Semele, La Princess/La Chauve-Souris L’Enfant et les sortileges, Laurette Le Docteur Miracle, Tina Flight, Cupidon Orphée Aux Enfers, and Damigella L’Incoronazione di Poppea.

Alexandra’s concert repertoire includes performances of Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen and Coffee Cantata BWV 211 at the Canberra International Music Festival, as well as Exsultate Jubilate (Mozart), and B Minor Mass (Bach), Die Donner Ode (Telemann), Easter Oratorio (Bach).

Artist Anchuli Felicia King

Anchuli Felicia King is a playwright and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans across dramaturgy; sound, video and projection design; and creative consultation.

Artist Anna McMichael

Anna McMichael is an Australian-born violinist who returned in 2010 to live in Australia after 17 years in Holland performing in many of the major European ensembles and orchestras.

She grew up in South Australia and studied violin with Marie Roberts, Beryl Kimber and William Hennessy. In 1990, Anna was awarded first prize in the string concerto final of the Australian Broadcasting Commission National Instrumental and Vocal Competition.

In Australia, Anna performed as a concerto soloist with the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She was awarded a Queen's Jubilee scholarship in 1993 to study with Vera Beths at the Royal Conservatorium, the Hague in The Netherlands where she graduated cum laude in 1995. Anna also followed lessons with Alexander Kerr and baroque violin with Elizabeth Wallfisch. As well as her performance studies, Anna has a Master’s Degree in Historical Musicology from King’s College, London and a Doctorate from Sydney Conservatorium.

Anna is coordinator of Strings at the Sir Zelman Cowan School of Music, Monash University.

Australian Dance Party

Australian Dance Party is a collective of contemporary dance artists creating joyous, bold and urgent site-specific dance work in Canberra and beyond. We harness the universality, power and playfulness of the human body to connect to the ordinary and extraordinary spaces around us, inspiring thinking, feeling and action in today’s world. Through a focus on creative practice, we are creating and presenting new work, developing and sustaining careers for dance artists in our region. And we have fun….it’s a Party!

Artist Ben Ward

Benjamin is a musician and composer based in Sydney, Australia. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Sydney Symphony double bass section. A career highlight was his collaboration with Jasmin Sheppard; a piece after the poems of celebrated Yankunytjatjara/Kokatha writer/poet Ali Cobby Eckermann. Recently, Benjamin has performed a solo recital, including his own compositions, at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery; played a solo set of double bass works at the Alice Springs Beanie Festival; and volunteered at the Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land for the Yothu Yindi Foundation.

Artist Chad Kelly

Chad enjoys a rich and diverse career as a keyboard specialist and director, spanning genres from historically-informed performance and chamber music, to opera and musical theatre.

Increasingly in demand in the world of opera and theatre, he is currently on the music staff at the Bayerische Staatsoper, having previously held posts at English National Opera and the Royal Academy of Music. He was a Musical Director for the Olivier Award-nominated West End production of Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance and Iestyn Davies, as well as the Off West End award-winning production of The Blank Canvas, for King’s Head Opera. He has also been a musical director at The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Theatre, The Duke of York’s Theatre, Leicester’s Curve, Göttingen Handel Festival, the London Handel Festival, Vienna’s Resonanzen Festival, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Equally adept in the world of contemporary music, recent highlights include working on the world-premiere of Thomas Adés' opera The Exterminating Angel at the Salzburg Festival, and the world-premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen at the Bayerische Staatsoper, as well as workshopping a number of new operas commissioned by the Royal Opera House. Chad’s own arrangements and compositions have been commissioned by performers such as Alison Balsom and Rachel Podger, groups such as the Academy of Ancient Music and the Bavarian State Orchestra, and recorded by Sony.

Chad is fast building a reputation as a formidable continuo player and as a director in the world of historically-informed performance. He has toured as a duo partner with performers such as Rachel Podger and Alison Balsom and built close working relationships with conductors such as Trevor Pinnock, Ivor Bolton and John Eliot Gardiner. He acts as principal continuo player for the groups Solomon’s Knot and Opera Settecento and guest directs groups such as the Academy of Ancient Music.

Emma Warburton

Emma is a recent Honours graduate of the ANU School of Music where she studied modern flute, piccolo and Baroque flute with Sally Walker under the Ken and Vera Fowler Honours Scholarship, the CASS Honours Scholarship, and was the recipient of the Friends Bernhard Neumann Memorial Prize. Emma is a member of the newly formed CSO Kingsland Collective, was Principal Flute with the ANU Orchestra and Canberra Youth Orchestra and has won positions with the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra National Academy 2021/2022. Emma has also enjoyed collaborating with and premiering works by rising Australian pianist and composer, Ronan Apcar: Thoughts Before Bed (2019), We Can’t Keep Australia Under the Doona (2020) and Cogs (2021). In addition to performance, Emma is also a trained BodyMinded Practitioner (Alexander Technique) and has won a position in the prestigious Australian Youth Orchestra Orchestral Management Program 2022.

Artist Edward Neeman

The Australian-American pianist Edward Neeman has performed across five continents. Critics have lauded him as a “true artist” with “an excellent technique” who “isn’t afraid to put a distinctive stamp on whatever he touches, without resorting to mannerism.” A top prizewinner of numerous international piano competitions, including first prize in the Joaquín Rodrigo Competition in Madrid, second prize in the Southern Highlands International Piano Competition, and third prize in the World International Piano Competition, Dr. Neeman has appeared as a soloist with the Prague Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the American West Symphony. Dr. Neeman’s debut album, Rachmaninoff & Sitsky, was released to wide acclaim in March 2016. Other recordings include a performance of the Concierto para piano by Joaquín Rodrigo with the Prague Philharmonic. Edward recently recorded Australian piano solo works for the ABC Classics in 2020. He performs regularly with his wife Stephanie Neeman as the Neeman Piano Duo, and has made numerous original arrangements for this ensemble. After completing his undergraduate studies in Australia with Larry Sitsky, Edward studied in the United States and was awarded his doctoral degree from the Julliard School. He is a member of the currently a piano faculty at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Artist Flinders Quartet

Flinders Quartet (FQ) is instantly recognisable as one of Australia’s most loved chamber music ensembles. They are a quartet for the 21st century and a highly respected force in Australian chamber music, entering their third decade with acknowledged musical skill and maturity.

Over twenty years, FQ has followed a unique path and continues to live up to its motto of “caring for tradition, daring to be different” through its busy schedule of activities.

2022 sees FQ presenting their annual subscription series in three Victorian venues; premiering nine new works by Australian composers, touring nationally for Musica Viva Australia; appearing at Adelaide Festival and Canberra International Festival of Music; completing a two-year Margaret Sutherland performance and recording project; continuing in their mentorship roles for John Noble’s Quartet Program and Musica Viva Australia’s Strike a Chord championship; and supporting emerging composers through the quartet’s seventh annual Composer Development Program.

RICHARD PIPER

Richard has spent almost his entire 43-year career on stage. Trained in London, he was soon performing on the West End in Grease and Elvis, and came to Australia in 1985 with cult cabaret band The Bouncing Czecks. MTC: The Lady in the Van, Twelfth Night, Born Yesterday, Double Indemnity, Ghosts, Music, Queen Lear, The Gift, Drowsy Chaperone, Rockabye, Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Give and Take, Dumb Show, The Daylight Atheist (Green Room Award), Betrayal, Man the Balloon, Life After George, Measure for Measure, Comedy of Errors. Malthouse: The Black Rider, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. STC: The Secret River, Gross und Klein, Great Expectations, Moby Dick. Bell Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The War of the Roses, Henry V, Henry IV. STCSA: Moby Dick, Marat Sade, Restoration. Musical Theatre: Come from Away, Oklahoma!, King Kong, Billy Elliot, Rocky Horror. TV: Wentworth, Underbelly. Films: Pirates of the Caribbean.

DIMITY SHEPHERD

Dimity Shepherd is one of Australia’s favourite mezzos. A four time Green Room Award winner, her career spans the worlds of both traditional and contemporary opera. She has been sought after as a performer of new Australian works, most recently the acclaimed Lorelei. She appears regularly on the operatic and concert stages around Australia

Artist Gelareh Pour

Gelareh Pour is an Iranian born classically trained multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and music instructor, largely performing on the Kamancheh (Persian spiked fiddle). Currently based in Ballarat, Australia, Gelareh leads two experimental groups, Gelareh Pour’s Garden and ZÖJ, and regularly collaborates with artists from all walks of life. Gelareh’s music explores the duality of multiculturalism and true cross-cultural experimentation. Since her arrival in Australia she has produced six independent albums, composed music for various ABC Radio programs and has appeared in some of the most respected Australian and international music festivals and venues. She has become a finalist for Art 2020 Music Awards for Excellence in Experimental Music and nominated for industry voted Music Victoria Awards 2020 & 2021 for the Best Intercultural Music Act.

Artist Horomona Horo

Horomona Horo is a New Zealand Māori musician and composer. He is a practitioner of taonga pūoro, the collective term for the traditional musical instruments of the Māori, which include an array of flutes, trumpets and percussive instruments. He has represented New Zealand music in Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania including engagements with the Weimaraer Staatskapelle Orchestra, touring Italy with Canti Maori opera and performing as a guest artist at the Battle of Passchendaele 90th Commemorations in Belgium. In 2009 Horo was described as the "master of his generation" by Maori cultural magazine, Mana and has collaborated with New Zealand composers such as Gareth Farr for the Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir and Victoria Kelly for the NZTrio. In 2010 Horo collaborated with UK film and concert composer, Paul Lewis (composer) on the Legends of Rotorua project for chamber ensemble, story teller and taonga pūoro. The forty-five-minute composition tells two of the great legends of the Te Arawa people and was premiered at the Rotorua Festival of the Arts in February 2011. Horo is the Maori consultant to Choirs NZ and taonga puoro musician.

Artist James Ioelu

New Zealand bass-baritone James Ioelu was a member of the ensemble of artists collaborating for the English National Opera/Dutch National Opera/Metropolitan Opera co-production of Porgy & Bess; he appears in the production in London and Amsterdam. He returns to London for the ENO/Unicorn Theatre production in the title role (c) Dido and Aeneas.

Recent roles include his New Zealand appearance at Hamilton Festival in the principal role of King Potatau, the first Maori King, in the premiere of Janet Jennings’ new opera, Flowing Waters. The artist spent the summer at Garsington Opera as a member of the Alvarez Young Artists' Programme, and in the role of Second Armed Man Die Zauberflöte and Pistola (c) Falstaff and went on for the ailing principal with exceptional results.

Past engagements include the roles of Abimelech/The Old Hebrew in Grimeborn Opera’s production of Samson et Dalila, Colline in Iford Arts production of La Boheme, Innkeeper/Sergeant/Captain Manon Lescaut with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Giordano Bellincampi, and the role of Jonas Fogg/Judge Turpin (cover) Sweeny Todd for New Zealand Opera. He sang with the NZ Barok Orchestra as King Thoas Oreste and added the role of Montano Otello with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra alongside fellow New Zealander Simon O’Neill in the title role. The artist also appeared as Marchese d’Obigny/Barone Douphol (c) La Traviata (NZ Opera) conducted by Wyn Davies.

James Ioelu completed his training at London’s National Opera Studio (2015/16); earlier, Mr Ioelu spent two seasons at Manhattan School of Music in New York where he sang Trinity Moses Aufstieg Und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Mephistopheles Faust and Louis XVI The Ghosts of Versailles, winning a great deal of positive attention.

Back in New Zealand in 2014, the artist appeared in with the Auckland Opera Studio as Raimondo Lucia di Lammermoor for which he won outstanding reviews. He joined San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program and sang the title role in Don Pasquale with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra winning great accolades from the notorious San Francisco classical press.

Past highlights include the role of Bruno in the world premiere of Michael Williams’ original work The Juniper Passion, conducted by Marco Attura and directed by the librettist John G Davies, which premiered at Teatro Romano in Monte Casino before touring to other Italian cities for performances in the Sapienza Theatre at the University of Rome and at the Museum Theatre in Nemi.

Mr Ioelu’s other successes include the roles of Rodolfo La Sonnambula, Publio La Clemenza di Tito and Cesare Giulio Cesare as well as the role of Mother Seven Deadly Sins, all performed with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra. Concert appearances include Bass Solo/Adam (cover) in Haydn’s The Creation under the baton of Nicholas McGegan conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the Bass Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Auckland Choral Society.

James Ioelu is originally from New Zealand where he completed a BA in Music and Psychology at the University of Auckland: his competition successes include winning the New Zealand Aria Competition, the New Zealand Young Performer of the Year award as well as placing second in both the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Competition and the Sydney Eisteddford Aria Competition.

Artist Jeremy Sun

16-year-old Jeremy Sun began studying piano at the age of six. He was awarded his LMusA with distinction at the age of 12 and made his concerto debut at the age of 11 with the Queensland Youth Orchestra 2, having since then also performed with the Redlands Sinfonia and the Queensland Youth Symphony. Jeremy has won numerous international and national competitions including the Euregio Piano Award International Competition (Germany); the Santa Cecelia International Competition (Portugal); the Piano Talents International Competition (Italy); the National Young Instrumental section; Australia Strike a Chord National Chamber Music Competition and others in Austria, China and Melbourne. Most recently, Jeremy won $10,000 for one the two Theme & Variations Foundation Awards. Jeremy has also had masterclasses with renowned pianists and professors including Michel Béroff, Christopher Elton, Joanna MacGregor, Dmitri Alexeev, Piers Lane and Jayson Gillham. Jeremy is currently studying with Dr Anna Grinberg at the University of Queensland.

Johnny Huckle

Good things...nor more than that...precious things come in small packages. This is true of National treasure uncle Johnny Huckle. A small package with a big set of lungs and the heart of a prophet. When the diminutive Johnny takes to the stage, the power that erupts from his Spirit would make you think that he was a lion. His visionary lyrics call to Australia as it awakens from the slumber of denial of its past. Johnny is a proud Wiradjuri man who has walked first hand the road of suffering that has overtaken our sovereign first peoples. He wears a heart of understanding and forgiveness on his sleeve. This heart of release permeates his songs. Listen deeply to the words that inhabit his compositions. The Spirit will quicken the profound truths that are nestled within the melodies. "We must remember", says Johnny, "but we must not look back". This simple comment surpasses all the combined rhetoric currently in the National think tank. It is the mark of the prophetic poet to show us where we have come from, where we are now and light the way ahead. Johnny's lyrics call both adult and child to a place of hope without despair, without guile, without fear, without blame, without anger and above all without racism. They tumble from a mouth with a ready smile, a laugh and a joke. So you come just as you are to listen with the ear of your heart. Johnny will always leave you better than he found you. It is a complete privilege to know him. By Hazel Davies, Making Peas/ce Australia

Artist Kate Neal

Kate Neal is an artist with over 20 years’ experience as a composer, arranger, educator, and collaborator. In 2020/21 Neal premiered Sentiment Logistics with Sal Cooper, a TURA No Borders commission, as well as new works for Golden Gate Brass, Muses Trio and sound design for the RISING featured theatre work The Dispute. A new solo cello work Old Silences (with animation by Sal Cooper) also premiered in Brisbane and was to feature at the 2021 Art Music Awards.

In 2019 Neal premiered The Commuter Variations commissioned by the Melbourne Recital Centre (10^th Anniversary), performed by Lisa Moore with animation by Sal Cooper. In 2018 Neal premiered While You Sleep, a 60min ground-breaking work for string quartet and visual media, presented by Arts House, Melbourne. In 2016 she composed Permission to Speak a vocal work in collaboration with theatre maker Tamara Saulwick. Produced and presented by Chamber Made, Permission to Speak achieved critical acclaim, and also showcased at APAM 2018.

In 2017 Neal premiered Never Tilt Your Chair at PICA (Perth Institute of Contemporary Art) with the Sound Collectors, a work for over 200 pieces of cutlery. This involved substantial instrument design and construction. Neal also composed five short bagatelles, Eurus for Arcadia Winds in the Musica Viva Schools program as well as a new work for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, August 2017. In 2015 Neal presented her concert length work Semaphore, which won Instrumental Work of the Year as well as Performance of the Year at the APRA Art music awards, showcased at APAM (Brisbane) and pitched at Classical:Next (Rotterdam). This work showed exceptional courage in documenting ANZAC signalman, and found new ways in integrating and notating physical movement and gesture for both musicians and dancers.

In 2015 Neal was the recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship, allowing her to compose six substantial works over two years. In 2013 Neal returned from the US to take a one-year position as Composer in Residence for the Four Winds Festival. From 2009-2013 Neal was a Graduate Fellow at Princeton University in the USA, and from 2007-2009 she was based in the UK. Neal received a NUFFIC scholarship in 1999 and studied with Louis Andriessen and Martijn Padding at the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Neal currently (2020/21) is a lecturer in Interactive Composition at the VCA, University of Melbourne.

Neal holds a BMus (VCA, Melbourne); BMus/MMus (RC, The Hague); PGDip (non western music, SC, Amsterdam); PGDip (RNCM, Manchester); PhD Graduate Fellow, Princeton University.

“Adrenalin-filled musical adventure a winner” - The Age

“Ravishing piano glissandi and arpeggiated strings” - The Australian

“Complex, rousing stuff, performed with precision” - Australian Arts Review

“Explosion of scintillating colour and intoxicating movement” - Herald Sun

Artist Kim Cunio

Kim Cunio: Sacred, post drone, maxi-minimalist, early music composer nut; has had his music played around the world, including performances at the Whitehouse, United Nations, and festivals in many countries.

A/Prof Kim Cunio, Head of the School of Music at the Australian National University (ANU), is an activist composer interested in old and new musics and the role of intercultural music in making sense of our larger world. A scholar, composer and performer, Kim embodies the skills of the artist, showing that writing and making art are part of the same paradigm of deep artistic exploration.

A descendant of Mizrachi Jews from Shanghai, Kim is a recipient of the ABC Golden Manuscript Award for his work on traditional music. His compositions have been played internationally with performances at the Whitehouse, United Nations, and festivals in a number of countries. His list of commissioning organisations includes the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Foundation for Universal Sacred Music (USA), and many others. A number of Kim’s projects and tours have been funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Commonwealth Government. Kim is currently working on a series of albums with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet; a project setting the sounds of space with the British Antarctic Survey and artist engineer Diana Scarborough; and a project on enforced feticide in India with writer and gender scholar Manish Sharma.

Under Kim, the ANU School of Music is entering a new renaissance, again valued by the university and the community of Canberra due to the work of its academic staff and the fearlessness of its students.

Artist Kristian Winther

Born in Canberra in 1984, Kristian Winther studied violin with Josette Esquedin-Morgan, and conducting with John Curro, with whom he also made his concerto debut, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in 2000. As soloist he has appeared with the Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmanian symphony orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonic, and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. Kristian has also been Guest Assistant Concertmaster of the Adelaide and Western Australian symphony orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. From 2007–2008 Kristian was violinist with the Tinalley String Quartet, winning the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition. This was followed by critically acclaimed tours of the USA and Europe. Kristian is also a composer and premiered his work for string quartet …etude at the Sydney Opera House in 2008 with the Tinalley String Quartet. In 2009 Kristian gave the Australian premieres of Brett Dean's violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing and of Andriessen's string quartet Facing Death. 2009 also saw him conducting Gubaidulina's Seven Words for the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October and the Australian premiere of Andriessen's De Stijl during the Canberra International Music Festival. In 2010 Kristian will appear as leader of ACO2, and as soloist, conductor and leader of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.

Artist Lucas Krupinski

London-based Polish pianist Lucas Krupinski was born in Warsaw in 1992. He studied at the Zenon Brzewski School of Music and the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where he graduated with distinction under the supervision of Professor Alicja Paleta-Bugaj and Dr Konrad Skolarski. He continued his studies with Professor Arie Vardi at Hannover University (2017-2018) and with Professor Dmitri Alexeev at the Royal College of Music in London (2018-2019). In 2016, he was awarded top prize at the 7th San Marino International Piano Competition, along with all of its contest prizes - the Audience Award, the Music Critics’ Award and the Orchestra Award. Lucas was a finalist at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano in 2017, and also won international competitions in Hannover (2015), Aachen (2016) and Goerlitz (2020). In 2018, Lucas gave his debut recital at Carnegie Hall and has since received invitations to play with the Chicago Philharmonic and the Buffalo Philharmonic. In the same year, he toured with the Santander Orchestra and more recently he has performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, La Verdi in Milano and Merkin Hall in New York. Lucas’ debut album Espressione from 2017 was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2018.

Artist Matthew Doyle

Matthew Doyle was born and raised in Sydney; he is a Descendant of the Muruwari People from Northwest NSW. Studied at NAISDA College 1985-88 and then became a founding member of AIDT the Company. Matthew is a Dancer, Musician, Songman, Didgeridoo player, Cultural Consultant and Educator with over 35 years’ experience in the Performing Arts across all genres. He has toured extensively in Australia and Abroad performing in many Countries as both a soloist and a Collaborator. He has Performed in Major events such as 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as well as the Sydney 2000 Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the ABC Millennium Broadcast on top of the Sydney Opera House. He Opened the Indigenous Gallery Musee Du Quay Branly in Paris, World Expo Japan, I am Eora Sydney Festival Production, World Youth Day and welcomed the Pope and has Members of the Royal Family to Sydney. Matthew also opened the New Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, With Djakapura Munyarryun and William Barton. He has recorded several CDs of his own music and has co composed and has been Cultural Consultant for Bangarra Dance Theatre on 2 Productions. Has also worked with Grandmaster Shakuhachi Player Riley Lee, James Morrison, Colin Offord, TAIKOZ, Legs on the Wall, Sydney and Queensland Symphony Orchestras and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Matthew Doyle currently works with Jannawi Dance Clan, The Gamay Dancers and appeared on the Voice this year with Jessica Mauboy. Matthew has also been working in the Indigenous Arts in Education for the last 20 years and is a panel member of the Indigenous Advisory Panel for the City of Sydney Council.

Artist Naoto Segawa

Born in Japan, Naoto Segawa picked up marimba as his instrument and embarked on his undying pursuit of discovering new marimba repertoires. He is dedicated to bring the marimba into chamber music scene, and his passion led him to found Ensemble Go which aims to bridge sound worlds of the traditional and the contemporary.

Naoto actively seeks to perform the works of up-and-coming composers, premiering many new compositions, including pieces by Joshua Pangilinan, David Taylor, Tsu-Chin Hsu, Kongmeng Liew and Simon Eastwood.

He has won numerous awards in competitions including the 14th KOBE International Music Competition, 6th Romania International Music Competition and JILA Music Competition and has appeared in various chamber music programmes and festivals including Adam Chamber Music Festival, Hong Kong new music academy and Asian Composer’s League Festival. Upcoming projects include a national tour throughout New Zealand presented by Chamber Music New Zealand, featuring a new work written by Linda Dallimore.

Artist Niki Johnson

Niki Johnson is a percussionist and composer-performer whose musical practice incorporates contemporary classical repertoire, improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and performance art. She is a 2021 nominee of the Classical Freedman Fellowship, and currently undertaking a Master of Research at Monash University, developing her sculptural percussion practice. Niki is a member of the experimental and animalistic duo Throat Pleats with co-director Solomon Frank, and she collaborates with sculptors, theatre professionals, and experimental musicians to create new artworks existing in the liminal spaces of art mediums. She is a 2019-2022 Speak Percussion Bespoke Artist, and has performed with chamber ensembles such as Ensemble Offspring and Synergy Percussion. Niki has recorded percussion for Fox Studios, the ABC, and 301 Studios, and performed in multiple festivals including the 2020 Sydney Festival and the 2019 Canberra International Music Festival.

Artist Oriana Chorale

The Oriana Chorale is a group of professional and amateur musicians dedicated to quality performance of diverse choral repertoire. Together with Music Director Dan Walker, the choir is working on innovative and exciting projects, building on the strength, variety, and inspiration that flows from collaboration with a plethora of local and Indigenous composers, poets, and artists.

Ronan Apcar

Ronan Apcar is a young Australian pianist, composer, and musician who is quickly garnering a reputation of versatility, edge, and tenacity. His love for music across many styles – jazz to the avant-garde, classical to contemporary music – translates into his open-minded, exciting, and unique work as a musician. Though always striving to be a well-rounded musician, Ronan is best known for his work with contemporary classical and modern art music – particularly by Australian composers – and has a passion for challenging and breaking the stereotype of “the piano recital.” Beginning as a self-taught pianist, Ronan went on to study piano performance and composition at the Sydney Conservatorium High School and the ANU School of Music, where he graduated as dux. He has gone on to perform as a soloist in both concert halls and unusual, intimate venues, and as a collaborator with renowned musicians and ensembles across Sydney, Canberra, and regional NSW. Ronan has appeared as a soloist with the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, the ANU Orchestra, and later this year with the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra. He has also appeared in festivals, including the 13th International Music Festival in Moscow and the 2021 Canberra International Music Festival where he was the Young Artist. In 2021, he released his debut album, Dulcie Holland Crescent – a collection of forgotten, unrecorded, and unpublished pieces by the great Australian composer Dulcie Holland. Both Ronan’s album and his live concert performances are regularly broadcasted on the Fine Music network and ABC Classic, where Dulcie Holland Crescent was made one of the ABC’s feature albums.

Rubiks Collective

Rubiks is one of Melbourne’s most dynamic contemporary art music ensembles, bringing together Australia’s most exciting and versatile young performers. Since debuting in 2015, the ensemble has been hailed as “a formidable contribution to Australia’s growing community of contemporary music makers” (Partial Durations) and commended for “incredibly personal, strangely spiritual and ultimately deeply touching” performances (Limelight Magazine). With a particular interest in storytelling and cross-art collaboration, Rubiks has quickly established a reputation for excellence, delighting audiences with their unique programming and dazzling virtuosity.

Artist Solomon Frank

Solomon Frank (he/him) is a queer performer. composer, clarinettist and educator living and working on Cammeraygal land, whose inter-disciplinary practice straddles cross-species musical collaboration, vacuum cleaners and time travel. Solomon receives emails from the future including music and musical instructions written by future humans and entities for Frank to perform and carry out in the present. These fictional concepts provide a frame for listening, a way of situating art music and making audiences aware of their cultured ears. Solomon's improvisational practice expands upon the clarinet, replacing parts of the clarinet with other objects, homemade aluminium and plastic reeds, hoses, vacuum cleaners, watering cans and water. His academic research explores canine-human musical collaboration as a mechanism to question the human uniqueness of music. Education forms an integral part of Solomon's practice and he relishes instilling lateral ways of thinking in young minds. Solomon's works and those received from the future have been performed by Ensemble Offspring, Sydney's Symphony Orchestra Fellows, Kirkos Ensemble (Ireland), double bassist, Will Hansen, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, E-MexEnsemble (Germany), and his own group, Ensemble Onsombl.

Artist Sydney Chamber Choir

Sydney Chamber Choir is passionate about choral music and its unique ability to celebrate and reflect upon the stories of our past, present and future.

The Choir reaches back to explore the masterpieces of the Baroque, Renaissance and beyond, while also championing the music of our own time and place, regularly commissioning works by established and emerging Australian composers. In 2021, the Choir premiered new works by Brenda Gifford, Paul Stanhope and Joe Twist.

Formed in 1975, the Choir has been led by Nicholas Routley, Paul Stanhope and the late Richard Gill AO. Current Artistic Director, Sam Allchurch, took up his appointment in 2019. The Choir has also been fortunate to work with guest conductors such as Carl Crossin, Roland Peelman, Liz Scott and Brett Weymark.

The Choir collaborates with leading Australian instrumentalists, ensembles and singers, including the Australian Haydn Ensemble, Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, Andrew Goodwin, Slava Grigoryan, Synergy Percussion, Sydney Symphony Fellows, Joseph Tawadros and The Muffat Collective. More unconventional partnerships have included concerts with The Idea of North, the Hilltop Hoods and the Sydney Mardi Gras Community Choir.

Sydney Chamber Choir appeared at the Sydney Festival in 2021 and has toured widely in eastern Australia. The Choir has also sung in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the UK, and in 2009 was a prizewinner in the Tolosa International Choral Competition in Spain.

The Choir’s performances are broadcast across the country on ABC Classic, and CD recordings are available on the ABC Classics and Tall Poppies labels.

2022 FESTIVAL See what shows your favourite artists will be performing in.

Over ten days, join us for an intercontinental explosion of music from new works to timeless classics, a boundless collection of thought-provoking acts, featuring a stunning line up of Australian and international artists.

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