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