2023 Artists
Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, Wilma studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Dorothy DeLay (violin) and Louis Krasner (chamber music). She was founding First Violinist of the Lydian Quartet, winners of the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music and multiple prizes at Evian, Banff and Portsmouth International String Quartet Competitions. She also worked regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and led the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and the Harvard Chamber Orchestra before returning to New Zealand as founding First Violinist of the New Zealand String Quartet.
In addition to being curator/violinist of Wilma & Friends, now entering its twelfth season, Wilma has returned to her string quartet roots as Second Violinist of the Flinders Quartet. She is also Musica Viva Australia’s Artistic Director of Competitions, overseeing the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and Strike A Chord, the Australian national chamber music competition for secondary school students. Enjoying active connections across the ditch, Wilma is Co-Artistic Director of the annual Martinborough Music Festival and is on the Board of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Sally-Anne Brown was the first of the legends to ignite the wick and guide him through the madness of the classical music world. Next came James Tennant, the fierce and fluffy, who never settled for good, rather pushed the boundaries beyond their limits. It was with him that Matthias graduated at the University of Waikato with his Bachelor degree at the age of seventeen. World renowned Pieter Wispelwey, the untameable, is the current culprit for feeding the fire, as Matthias continues his studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule für Musik in Düsseldorf.
Matthias can be found on stage throughout Europe, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and more, and is a seasoned performer as both a soloist and chamber musician, performing a large repertoire including several contemporary works commissioned for him. He is also a member of the Ares Trio, along with two absolute warriors, Andrea D’amato, Piano, and Carlotta Malquori, Violin.
After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1992, Zoë was awarded grants from the Australia Council and Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Trust as well as the major performance award of the Australian Music Foundation in London, which facilitated her studies at the Guildhall School of Music under David Takeno and subsequently at the Vienna Hochschule with Michael Schnitzler.
Zoë was appointed assistant leader of Australian Chamber Orchestra in 1993, touring the world extensively. A committed chamber musician, in 2005 Zoë co- founded the Freshwater Trio with whom she toured nationally and internationally. She has also performed as soloist with various chamber and symphony orchestras and is a regular guest concert master with MSO & QSO.
Zoë returned to the ACO in 2012 in a part time capacity, where she regularly led the ACO Collective, performed as soloist and was an integral component of their educational programme. More recently, Zoë was a guest leader of the Australian String Quartet in 2016, performing at Festivals in Victoria, WA and in Italy (Rome, Venice and Cremona).
In 2011 Zoë co -founded the innovative duo with pianist/composer Joe Chindamo. The duo has performed at all the major festivals in Australia and recorded 3 ARIA nominated CDs, (RE-IMAGININGS , DIDO’S LAMENT and their re-versioning of the THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, premiering the latter at Carnegie Hall in 2015. The duo made their debut Italian performance at the Spinacorona Festival in Naples, at the invitation of renowned pianist, Michele Campanella in 2018.
A passionate teacher and tutor, Zoë is on faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music, where, along with her duo partner Joe Chindamo, she will be also conducting a residency in late 2022.
“Everything Zoe Black touches turns to gold.” Francis Merson, musician and editor of limelight Magazine.
He has presented three performances of the complete Bach organ works in public; in 1995, in 2009 for the Melbourne International Festival, and in 2022 for MONA FOMA.
In 2001, he re-opened the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ by presenting the world premiere performance of Voices by Philip Glass in the composer’s presence.
Dr Bowman’s most popular song, Now Touch the Air Softly, was recorded by Emma Matthews with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon/ABC Classics. Recent performances of his songs have taken place at the Musikverein and the Elbphilharmonie.
Dr Bowman is an exclusive Decca/UMA artist. His debut discs of artsong entitled Real and Right and True were released in 2018.
He is currently Director of Music at St Andrew’s, Brighton.
She performs as a chamber musician, soloist, and extra player in the MSO and enjoys regular appearances at festivals such as the Stradbroke Island Chamber Music Festival and Music by the Springs. Since 2015 she has been Resident Viola Faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music.
As well as the viola, Caroline also loves to play the violin, though generally with friends who don’t earn their living as performers. Her love of music-making with community musicians came from her father, a passionate amateur violinist, violist and cellist. Working with non-professional musicians, and reading chamber music with friends who love to play for fun brings another dimension to her musical life. Caroline has taught on many occasions at the Mount Buller Chamber Music Summer School, a residential camp for chamber music lovers from the community.
Early in her career she was violist in the Mistry Quartet and performed with many UK based chamber orchestras and ensembles.. She has acted as guest principal with the SSO, MSO and TSO, as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia, Glyndebourne on Tour, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Caroline moved to Australia form England in 1993 to be Principal Viola with the ACO. She was a full-time member for eight years and a part-time member for ten.
Her teachers at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Guildhall School of Music & Drama included Robert Masters, David Takeno & Hans Keller Caroline’s recent Master of Music Research degree (Griffith) explored creative collaboration through composition and performance.
won multiple prizes in chamber music, including an ARIA award for “Conversations with Ghosts,” a project with Paul Kelly, James Ledger and Genevieve Lacey. He has collaborated with renowned classical artists such as Johannes Moser, Nicolas Alstaedt and Anthony Marwood, and major international acts such as Adele, London Grammar, John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Andrea Bocelli.
Tom is currently Associate Principal Viola with Orchestra Victoria, has worked with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, as guest Associate Principal Viola with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie Köln and has twice been a member of the Melbourne Ring Orchestra for Wagner’s Ring Cycle. He also enjoys an active role in the Australian chamber music scene, having performed on multiple occasions at the Mackay and Hepburn Springs festivals as well as with the Flinders String Quartet and Melbourne Chamber Players.
In addition to his classical performing commitments Tom also plays in a band and is a keen audio engineer, in recent years launching a business offering recording and mixing services around Melbourne across a broad range of musical genres.
Laurence is regularly broadcast on ABC Classic and 3MBS FM, and has appeared as soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Australian Ballet, as well as in recital at the Melbourne Recital Centre and Sydney Opera House. His festival appearances include the Bendigo, Dunkeld, Brisbane Baroque, Music by the Springs and Melbourne Festivals and he was invited to perform alongside many of Australia’s greatest musicians at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s 10th Anniversary Gala concert. He records for Decca Classics and ABC Classic.
Laurence has a particular passion for chamber music and has performed with the Aurora Ensemble, Anthony Marwood, the Australian String Quartet and Kathryn Stott, while his regular duo partners include Suyeon Kang, Grace Clifford, Dale Barltrop, Sophie Rowell, and Tim Young. He is also a mentor and pianist for many of Australia’s promising young violinists, including Decca Artist Christian Li and Edward Walton, as well as appearing in recital with some of Australia and the world’s top musicians.
Aside from piano, Laurence has also play-directed multiple concerto projects from the keyboard, is an accomplished harpsichordist and was commissioned to write for Victorian Opera’s 2012 production of Cinderella during studies with Richard Gill.
Christopher is fortunate enough to play on a 1610 Giovanni Paolo Maggini viola – kindly on loan from an anonymous benefactor. He also owns a wonderful 1937 Arthur E. Smith which isn’t for sale, but you could borrow it if you promise to look after it.
Valve was appointed as the Principal Cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2006. He describes playing with a small, tightly-knit community of people as the natural habitat for someone with his musical personality. Tipi says the close relationship he formed with his ACO colleagues, old and new, was instant.
Tipi performs on modern and period instruments and describes the cello as flexible and adaptive, both in its role in an ensemble and as a soloist across all forms of music. Tipi reflects this versatility and enjoys a varied career as a musician, play-directing from the cello and appearing as a soloist with many of the major orchestras across his two home countries, Finland and Australia. He also has an active interest in new music, having commissioned and premiered concertos and other works written specifically for him.
Tipi plays a Brothers Amati cello from 1616, kindly on loan from the ACO Instrument Fund.
