While studying bassoon with Klaus Thunemann in Germany in 1981, Matthew was a prize winner at the International Music Competition in Geneva. He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Wuerttemburg Chamber Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Sydney Symphony which he joined in 2000.

Matthew has been a member of the world-renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe since 1986 and has worked under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Meta and Roger Norrington.

Matthew's recordings include concertos by Mozart, Vivaldi and Richard Strauss, as well as many chamber works. His 2009 recording of Bach and Telemann sonatas for Melba Records entitled "The Galant Bassoon" was shortlisted for an ARIA award and has received high praise internationally.

In 2011 Matthew will premiere a new bassoon concerto by the Perth based composer James Ledger.

Louise Hopkins made her debut at the Barbican Hall playing Witold Lutoslawski’s Cello Concerto with the composer conducting a performance of which The Times commented ‘players with such personality, agility and power are rare’. Louise has an international career which has taken her all over Europe and to the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. She has broadcast frequently for the BBC, RTE, Swiss Romande, New Zealand Radio and Radio France. She has collaborated with an array of artists such as the Takacs Quartet, Thomas Ades (with whom she recorded his piano quartet ‘CATCH’ for EMI), Emmanuel Pahud, Andras Keller, Anthony Marwood, Ferenz Rados, Denes Varjon, Aleksandar Madzar, Sasha Melnikov, Piers Lane, and Steven Kovacevich. She is Deputy Head of Strings at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a cello Professor at the Hochschule in Bern, Switzerland.

Michael Goldschlager studied in New York with , David Soyer and at London’s Royal Academy of Music. In N.Y., he played with some of the great ensembles, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, N.Y. City Opera, N. Y. City Ballet, and the Orchestra of St Luke's, of which he was a principal cellist.

He was principal cellist of the WASO for 6 years and is a regular guest principal with the Tasmanian and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He has also been a principal cellist of the ACO.

Perhaps best known as the cellist of the Macquarie Trio, Mr Goldschlager recently recorded the complete Unaccompanied Suites for cello by J.S. Bach for ABC Classics, slated for release this year. He has appeared twice on Margaret Throsby’s radio program, and was the subject of a feature article in Vogue Magazine.

This year marks Michael Goldschlager’s 6th appearance at the AFCM, having been part of the Festival’s inaugural year. He has been a coordinator of strings at the Australian National Academy of Music, and has held positions at several other tertiary institutions in Australia and in New York.

Indisputably one of the leading clarinettists of his generation, Michael Collins displays a dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship which has made him a sought-after soloist and chamber musician with ensembles worldwide. In the process he has formed close alliances with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Carlo Maria Giulini, Neeme Järvi, Tadaaki Otaka, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Leonard Slatkin. He is a recent recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in recognition of the pivotal role he has played in expanding the repertoire of his instrument; commissioning works by some of today’s most highly regarded composers, he has given world and local premieres of John Adams’s Gnarly Buttons, Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto, Brett Dean’s Ariel’s Music, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Ornamental Air, and Turnage’s Riffs and Refrains. In recent seasons he has won increasing regard as a conductor and in September 2010 assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia.

Michael Collins plays exclusively on Yamaha Clarinets.

Born in England and educated in Victoria after emigrating in 1971, Brian began music at age seven and received his first clarinet on his eighth birthday. He won a music scholarship in 1979 to attend the Ballarat Grammar School after which he studied clarinet at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide with David Shephard and Gregory Blackman. Following a year in the World Expo 88 Marching Band in Brisbane he furthered his studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Floyd Williams. He toured Queensland for the Queensland Arts Council with the trio “Los Trios Toucan” and played with the “Queensland Wind Soloists” before another year of intensive study was undertaken with Reinier Hogerheijde in Holland, where he performed in contemporary music festivals, with chamber ensembles and as a recitalist. On his return to Brisbane in 1993 he took up the position of 2nd clarinet with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and has been an active participant in chamber music throughout the state. Brian teaches at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, has taught at the University of Queensland and regularly works as a tutor with the Queensland Youth Orchestra and the Queensland Department of Education. In 1997 he performed at the Australasian Clarinet Conference held in Brisbane and has performed as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and The Queensland Orchestra in 2005. Currently Brian is Acting Associate Principal Clarinet with The Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Brian has performed with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Australian Pops Orchestra and for the musicals ‘Les Misérables’, ‘The King and I’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’. He has also recorded and performed with Elision Ensemble and Topology and performed with the Southern Cross Soloists.

Before moving, in 2000, to Kangaroo Valley, a couple of hours south of Sydney, Martin Wesley-Smith taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for the previous 26 years. He founded the Electronic Music Studio there, and the performance group watt, and was a pioneer of audio-visual composition using multiple computer-controlled projectors. Before that he'd been a student at the University of Adelaide (studying composition with, amongst others, Peter Tahourdin, Peter Maxwell Davies and Sandor Veress), and at the University of York in England. In 1994 and 1995 he taught at the University of Hong Kong. In 1998 he was admitted as a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for services "to music, as a composer, scriptwriter, children's songwriter, lecturer, presenter of multi-media concerts and a member of various Australia Council boards and committees". His children's songs - written for his own children - include the popular I'm Walking in the City. Many of his audio-visual works reveal political concerns, mostly to do with East Timor (e.g. Welcome to the Hotel Turismo) and West Papua (Papua Merdeka). A collection of his chamber works - Merry-Go-Round - is one of many CDs of his music released by Tall Poppies Records. He composes and arranges for, sings in and directs a Kangaroo Valley vocal group called The Thirsty Night Singers. Recent works include Seven Widows at the Gates of Sugamo, for seven female singing harpists, with words by his long-time collaborator Peter Wesley-Smith.

See www.shoalhaven.net.au/~mwsmith.

Kees Boersma joined the Sydney Symphony as Principal Bass in 1990. As well as his work within the orchestra he has featured as a soloist on a number of occasions. Performances have included the premiere of Colin Bright’s Double Bass Concerto and Mozart’s concert aria ‘Per Questa Bella Mano’ with Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Kees performs regularly with the Sydney Soloists and the Australia Ensemble and was for 10 years a member of the contemporary music group ELISION, premiering the works of Franco Donatoni, Richard Barrett, Lisa Lim and Brian Ferneyhough. Kees has had a long association with the Australian Youth Orchestra and their summer National Music Camps as a tutor. He has been a presenter at many double bass conferences and is a Lecturer of double bass at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. As well as his solo and chamber music performances at various festivals Kees has recently enjoyed exploring the rich double bass quartet repertory with ‘The Four Basses’.

Vernon Hill was Principal Flute in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for more than 10 years and has been guest principal with the London Symphony, BBC, Sydney Symphony and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has performed concertos with all of the major Australian orchestras and given solo recitals not only throughout Australia and New Zealand but also in London, Israel, Yugoslavia, and Greece. He has recorded for EMI, Festival, Peter Mann, Move and the ABC, in addition to various film soundtracks. He has recorded all of the Bach flute sonatas on 2 CD's and published his flute manual, "The Flute Players Book with demonstration CD", now in its third edition and sold throughout the world.

Hill was formerly Head of the Woodwind Department and Professor of Flute, and is now a Distinguished Artist at the Australian National University School of Music, formerly the Canberra School of Music.

Perth born horn player Peter Luff is a graduate of Adelaide University’s Elder Conservatorium of Music where he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in performance with first class honours. He currently holds the positions of Associate Principal Horn with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Senior Lecturer in Horn at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

As a professional horn player he has performed with many Orchestras and ensembles including, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, State Opera Orchestra of South Australia, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and the Queensland Wind Soloists. He is also a founding member and solo horn of the internationally acclaimed chamber ensemble the Southern Cross Soloists who have performed in America, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, New Zealand and broadcast and recorded extensively with ABC classic FM.

As a horn teacher Peter has tutored at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, University of Arkansas (USA), Korean National University, Shandong University (China), Macgregor Summer School (USQ), Rockhampton Winter Music school (CQU) and Education QLD’s Musically Outstanding Student’s Camp (MOST).

As a conductor Peter has directed the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Brass Ensemble, Bangalow Festival Orchestra, Macgregor Summer School Symphony Orchestra, University of Queensland Brass ensemble, Queensland Conservatorium Brass Ensemble, the Brisbane Excelsior Band, and in 2004 he graduated with a Masters degree in Conducting from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

In 2010 Peter was the host of the 42nd International Horn Symposium, held for the first time in Australia. It was at this Symposium that the Council of the International Horn Society (IHS) presented him with the prestigious “Punto Award” to recognise his major contribution at a national level to the art of horn playing. Peter also serves as a member of the IHS Advisory Council.

George Golla is considered to be one of Australia’s leading jazz guitarists with his experience as a musician dating back to 1956, when he became a professional musician. Originally from Poland, George studied clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, bass and flute as a young man but gave these up to become one of the best jazz guitarists in Australia. George has spent over 30 years playing with one of the best clarinet and saxophone players in Australia, Don Burrows, and has toured and recorded with many national and international legends. George can boast many television and radio appearances where he has enthralled listeners with his smooth artistry as he - in the words of a guitarist watching one of his performances - makes the difficult look very easy. George is a jazz icon for many Australians.

Ben Jacks is one of Australia’s leading Horn Players. He was born in Hobart in 1975 and studied at the University of Western Australia under Heidi Kepper. Further studies have been completed with Dale Clevenger and Gail Williams in Chicago, Stefan Dohr in Berlin, Professor Erich Penzel in Cologne and Hector McDonald in Vienna.

Jacks has recently broken into the career of a recording artist with his debut CD “Rhapsodie” for the Melba label. Featuring Barry Tuckwell as conductor and Ben as solo artist, the album has received a high standard of reviews, and is well respected for its presentation of previously unrecorded materials.

Ben is in high demand as a teacher and currently works as Horn Lecturer to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has been invited as a guest tutor for the Australian Youth Orchestra program.

Damien Beaumont was raised on a dairy farm in the Adelaide Hills. He started his Bachelor of Science degree, but the lure of studying music saw him switch to study voice at the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

He went to England to further his studies, returning to Australia where he joined the ABC in 1999 and now presents the popular program Just Classics, weekdays from 11am on ABC Classic FM.

He presents many of the network’s direct broadcasts from the Sydney Opera House and other concert venues around Australia.

Damien is in demand as a Master of Ceremonies, guest speaker and performing narrator and has presented many concerts and events on ABC TV.

This year he hosted Sydney’s Opera in the Domain and Opera for Flood Relief.
For a number of years Damien has been coming to Townsville to broadcast and perform in many of the Festival’s concerts and talks.

David Nuttall is a Churchill Fellow and one of Australia’s finest oboists. Until 2005 he was Associate Professor at the Australian National University. David has been Associate Principal Oboist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has performed as soloist with most of Australia’s symphony orchestras and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, with whom he was Principal Oboist for some ten years. As a member of the Canberra Wind Soloists he has given concerts to great acclaim throughout the world. His many CDs recorded for ABC Classics and Tall Poppies are regularly broadcast on ABC Classic FM. The repertoire covers a wide variety of styles, his associate artists on the discs including Larry Sitsky, piano, Timothy Kain, guitar, the Canberra Wind Soloists, The Australia Ensemble and the Australian Youth Orchestra under the direction of Diego Masson. David is delighted to have joined the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as Principal Oboist in November 2006.

Timothy Constable is an award-winning percussionist, composer, electronica producer and singer. He is the artistic director of Synergy, comprising Australia’s premiere percussion group, and splinter group moth. He is a regular guest in the Sydney Symphony percussion section, and a member of new music groups Spectrum, Coda and Diode.

As a soloist Timothy has collaborated with Steven Schick (USA), Bob Becker (Canada), Rob Kloet (Netherlands), Emanuel Sejourné (France), Fritz Hauser (Switzerland), Nicholas Daniel (UK), and has appeared as guest with many new music groups including Kroumata Percussion Ensemble (Sweden) and The Australia Ensemble. Through activities with Synergy he has worked with the likes of the Sydney Dance Company, Omar Farouk Tekbilek (Turkey), Hossam Ramzy (Egypt), Ali N’diaye Rose (Senegal), Roger Woodward, Akira Isogawa (design), the Shanghai Song and Dance Company (premier dance ensemble in northern China), and Le Percussions Klaviers de Lion (France). He has performed throughout Australia, in New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, UK, Ireland, Senegal, USA, China, Nepal and South-East Asia.

Bree van Reyk is a Sydney-based percussionist, drum-set player, and composer. She has performed and recorded extensively across Australia and overseas with artists such Synergy Percussion, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Holly Throsby, Darren Hanlon, Sarah Blasko, Toby Martin and CODA. She is a core member of Synergy Percussion and Ensemble Offspring, and has performed often with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Bree has written original music for percussion duo, trio, and ensemble as well as collaborating on many projects for film and television. In recent years Bree has worked with choreographer Shaun Parker as co-composer (with Nick Wales) for Love Installment (Sydney Dance Company - 2008) and Happy as Larry (2010), and was composer/performer for Bell Shakespeare’s King Lear in 2010. Bree was born in Townsville, and this is her second AFCM season.

London-based Australian pianist Piers Lane has a flourishing international career, which has taken him to more than forty countries. Highlights of the past few years have included a sold-out performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Alexander Verdernikov at London’s Royal Festival Hall, concerto performances at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, a three-recital series entitled Metamorphoses and other performances for the London Pianoforte series at Wigmore Hall and five concerts for the opening of the Recital Centre in Melbourne.

Five times soloist at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Piers Lane’s wide-ranging concerto repertoire exceeds eighty works and has led to engagements with many of the world’s great orchestras including the BBC and ABC orchestras; the Aarhus, American, Bournemouth and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestras; the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Kanazawa Ensemble, Orchestre National de France, City of London Sinfonia, and the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Warsaw Philharmonic orchestras among others. Leading conductors with whom he has worked include Andrey Boreyko, Sir Andrew Davis, Richard Hickox, Andrew Litton, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jerzy Maxymiuk, Maxim Shostakovich, Vassily Sinaisky, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Antoni Wit. His 2007 performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Pietari Inkinen received the Limelight Magazine Award for Best Orchestral Performance in Australia.

Festival appearances have included, among others, Aldeburgh, Bard, Bergen, Cheltenham, Como Autumn Music, Consonances, La Roque d’Anthéron, Newport, Prague Spring, Ruhr Klavierfestival, Schloss vor Husum and the Chopin festivals in Warsaw, Duszniki-Zdroj, Mallorca and Paris.

Piers is Artistic Director of the annual Myra Hess Day at the National Gallery in London. In 2009, he collaborated with actress Patricia Routledge on a theatre piece devised by Nigel Hess, exploring Dame Myra’s work throughout World War 11. This performance is being repeated at many festivals and theatres during the next couple of years.

Highlights of 2011 include three performances at the Wigmore Hall, tours throughout the UK, four concert trips to Australia, and to France, Germany, the USA, Korea, Portugal and New Zealand. In 2010, Piers Lane gave several performances of Chopin’s complete Nocturnes in London, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and in Canada. These will continue in 2011 in Sydney’s Angel Place Recital Hall and in Melbourne’s Recital Hall. On December 11th, He will perform the monumental Piano Concerto by Busoni at Carnegie Hall.

Piers Lane has written and presented over 100 programmes for BBC Radio 3, including the popular 54-part series, The Piano. In 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University in Australia. He was recently presented with the first medal from the Laza Kostic fund for promoting Serbian culture during difficult political times in the late 90s. In 1994, he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, where he has been a Professor since 1989. He is Piano Ambassador for the Australian National Academy of Music, Patron of the European Piano Teachers’ Association UK, the Old Granary Studio in Norfolk, the Tait Memorial Trust, the Youth Music Foundation of Australia and the Music Teachers’ Association and the Accompanists’ Guild in Queensland. He is a Trustee of the Hattori Foundation in London; Vice-President of Putney Music Club; Artistic Director of the Myra Hess Day held annually at the National Gallery in London and of various one-off festivals.

Since their London debut in 1962, the American identical twins, Richard and John Contiguglia, have introduced audiences throughout the world to their unusual repertoire of music for two pianists, particularly duos of Liszt, Bartók and Grainger. The Liszt Society of Budapest, in its first record competition, awarded their recording of the Beethoven/Liszt 9th Symphony its grand prix.

As 12-year-olds, they performed a group of two-piano compositions on a solo-piano recital of Percy Grainger in their home town of Auburn, New York, following which Grainger sent them many of his scores, touchingly inscribed “from their admiring colleague,” “in admiration of their splendid playing.”

Richard and John have performed with major orchestras in Europe and in America in such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Graduates of Yale College and the Yale Graduate School of Music, they subsequently studied in London with the great British pianist, Dame Myra Hess.

Danny Driver first attracted public attention in the UK by winning the Royal Over-Seas League Competition Keyboard Award and the title of BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year. Since then he has performed at many of the UK’s most prestigious concert venues, including the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre and Bridgewater Hall. Recent international engagements have taken him to the Houston International Piano Festival (USA), Chichester Festival (UK), Husum Piano Festival (Germany), and to Hong Kong’s City Hall for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto.

Danny Driver is a Hyperion recording artist. His double-disc of York Bowen’s six Piano Sonatas was nominated for a 2010 Gramophone Award, and his selection of C P E Bach’s Keyboard Sonatas was selected by National Public Radio (USA) as one of the Top Ten Classical CDs of 2010. Future releases are to include the piano music of Benjamin Dale.

Australian pianist Daniel de Borah divides his time between Australia and the UK where he is in great demand as a recitalist and concerto soloist. Born in Melbourne in 1981, Daniel studied at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, the St. Petersburg State Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music, London. He was 3rd Prize winner at the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition and in 2005 was selected for representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust, London. Daniel has given recitals at major venues and festivals throughout the UK and appeared as soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican and Cadogan Hall.

In Australia, Daniel has performed with the Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Daniel's chamber music partners include flautist Michael Cox, cellist Li-wei, oboist Thomas Indermühle and tenor Andrew Goodwin.

‘I was immediately impressed by his pianism, his musicianship and his ability to draw the listener into his musical world.’ Stephen Hough December 2004

Phillipa Candy is a graduate of the Canberra School of Music and has Masters Degrees in performance from Hobart and Philadelphia. She has also studied with celebrated accompanist Geoffrey Parsons and was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda Society for musical excellence in 1992.

She is a professional accompanist, private piano teacher, repetiteur, coach and conductor. Her musical activities are diverse, including touring for Musica Viva with the group Austral Skies, and in Nellie Melba: Queen of Song. She has been a guest musical director and conductor for Canberra City Opera, and the conductor of Canberra's Harmonie German Choir. She and soprano Louise Page have worked together since 1992, presenting varied and innovative recitals and they have produced many CDs together, as well as performing for the ABC FM's Sunday Live broadcasts.

Phillipa is a member of the ANU School of Music Vocal Department.

Saxophonist Amy Dickson began lessons at the age of six and made her concerto debut ten years later. Recognized widely for her remarkable and distinctive tone and exceptional musicality, she has performed in Europe, Africa and Australasia, in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House. She has also performed as a soloist with many orchestras throughout the world including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

Jason Redman is Principal Trombonist of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and is also currently chair of the Artistic Committee which is responsible for overseeing artistic planning and administration. He has appointed to the QSO in August 1990, and has appeared as a soloist with QSO and TQO numerous times. He completed his B. Mus at Griffith University in 1991. Jason is also a Churchill Fellow, studying with leading US trombonists in the USA in 1996.

Nelson, NZ born Sarah Wilson gained a B.Mus at Auckland University before travelling to study on the UK , where she gained a Masters with distinction in performance at Trinity College of Music, London,. Tutors were Mark David, Ian Balmain, Robert Farley and Iaan Wilson.

Whilst in London Sarah freelanced with the Royal Opera House Orchestra, English National Ballet, London Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, Scottish Opera, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Queens Hall Orchestra.

Sarah was appointed Associate Principal trumpet with the Christchurch Symphony in 2004 and acted as Principal trumpet in 2008 and 2009, then being appointed as Associate Principal trumpet of the Auckland Philharmonia in mid 2009. Sarah is currently Principal Trumpet of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and has also worked with the New Zealand Symphony and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

Whilst in New Zealand Sarah taught trumpet at Auckland and Canterbury universities, and undertook coaching at the New Zealand School of Music and adjudicated at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Chamber Music Competition.

Simon Oswell trained in Australia and the United States. He gained awards in the National Concerto competition and co-founded the Petra String Quartet. He has performed and recorded as a soloist and chamber musician in Australia, Europe and South East Asia and subsequently in the United States in the LA based chamber music groups, the Capitol Ensemble and Pacific Serenades. In California he occupied several Principal Viola positions and recorded for the motion picture industry. Since returning to Australia Simon has appeared with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Liaison and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

Rivka Golani is recognized as one of the great virtuoso violists of modern times. Her contributions to the advancement of viola technique have already given her a place in the history of the instrument and have been a source of inspiration not only to other players but also many composers who have been motivated by her mastery to write specially for the viola. More than 200 pieces have been written for her including over 60 concertos to date. Ms. Golani's awesome technique, riveting stage presence, and superbly sensitive musicianship have made her a favourite with music-lovers and critics alike.

Leading orchestras with which Rivka Golani has performed as soloist include the Boston Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony and many others. Her on-stage charisma unfailingly adds excitement to her appearances, and her reputation as a teacher draws students from all over the world to her master classes.

What do the critics think of Rivka Golani? James North of Fanfare Magazine best summarized her stature in the music world in suggesting she is " . . . carving out a place of her own that no other performer on the instrument can reach." And here is what the Financial Times in Britain had to say recently after one of her performances: Rivka Golani is ". . . at the head of today's supreme viola virtuosi - white-hot in delivery, kaleidoscopic in tone colours, electrifying in rhythmic attack." The Boston Herald is if anything more effusive: ". . . riveting, intensely physical stage presence . . . hurtling momentum, constant risk-taking, complete technical assurance."

In addition to being named an ambassador of Canadian music by the Canadian Music Centre for commissioning and performing works by Canadian composers, Ms Golani was recently awarded the Medal Pro Artibus by the board of Artisjus in Budapest for her representation of works by Hungarian composers worldwide, and is a member of the Club of Budapest.

Several of Golani’s many CD recordings have achieved landmark status, among them the Elgar Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic, the Bartok Concerto with the Budapest Symphony, Martinu’s Rhapsody Concerto with the Bern Symphony, Chaconne by U.S. Pulitzer prize-winner Michael Colgrass with the Toronto Symphony, and a 3-CD set of solo works by Johann Sebastian Bach. A CD entitled “Dancing in the Light”, featuring Rivka Golani performing a new work written for her and percussionist Beverley Johnston for viola, percussion and orchestra, “Pyricchean Dances”, on CBC Records. Recent releases include a CD of virtuoso encores, “Viola Encores” (HCD 32645) in 2009 by Hungaroton with American pianist Michele Levin.

Rivka Golani is also a painter of distinction, and has worked closely with composers as a visual artist in presenting multi-media performances of works for viola and orchestra. Exhibitions of her paintings have been held in Britain, Germany, Austria, Israel and North America. Ms Golani is a citizen of Israel, Canada and Britain, where she currently resides.

In 2002 Jack Liebeck made his acclaimed London recital debut to a sold-out Wigmore Hall. He has appeared at many major festivals including Harrogate, Reims, and Spoleto.

In 2009 Jack signed an exclusive contract with SONY Classical, and his newest disc of the complete Brahms Sonatas was released in July 2010 to huge critical acclaim. He was named 2010 Classical BRITS “Young British Performer of the Year”.

Recent performances include the Sibelius Concerto, Chausson’s Poème and Saint-Saens’ Introduction and rondo capriccioso with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and two chamber concerts with Brett Dean at the Wigmore Hall. Forthcoming highlights include the Dvorak Concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Bruch Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jack is Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music and also Artistic Director of Oxford May Music Festival. He plays the ‘Ex-Wilhelmj’ J.B. Guadagnini dated 1785.

Victoria Sayles was a Music Scholar at Bryanston School (1999-2003) and a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music (2003-2007) under Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky.

She is a member of the London Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra (2007-09). Victoria has appeared as Leader of the Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham, Trondheim Symphony (Norway) and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras.

Victoria, as a keen chamber musician has lead the Fibonacci Sequence and has collaborated with Louise Hopkins, Guy Johnston, Jack Liebeck, Mark Van der Weil, Jamie Walton, Alexander Zemtsov and many others. Victoria recently returned from the Thai-Burmese Border with the Iuventus String Quartet playing to Burmese refugees in the refugee camps.

Upcoming in 2010/11 include appearances at the Oxford May Music Festival, North York Moors Festival and as Leader of Trondheim Symphony (Norway), Bournemouth Symphony and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras. Upcoming Concerto performances include Beethoven, Glazunov, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns concertos. Victoria also regularly tours the UK playing recitals with her duo partner and award-winning pianist Martin Cousin.

Victoria plays a 1776 “Thir” violin.

Violinist Philippe Graffin has established an indisputable reputation for his interpretations of the French and English repertoire. He has rediscovered original settings of Chausson's Poème and Ravel's Tzigane and has championed the concerto of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor which he has recorded and performed at the BBC Proms. A number of composers have written works for him including Vytautas Barkauskas, Philippe Hersant, David Matthews, Yves Prin and Rodion Shchedrin.

As concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as The Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Saarbrücken Philharmonie, the Residentie Orkest, Gothenburg Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra di Padova et del Veneto and St Petersburg Philharmonic.

Graffin’s discography which includes an early recording with Lord Menuhin and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra includes many world premieres and rarities.

Philippe is a highly sought after chamber musician and is founder and artistic director of the "Consonances" chamber music festival of St Nazaire, France.

He plays a Domenico Busano violin, made in Venice, 1730.

“In a world of over-rated and over-stated singers, Sharny Russell is a gem. Listening to her is an exquisite experience.” - That’s how Eric Myers, National Jazzchord Magazine, views Sharny Russell. She is a unique artist who is equally at home on vocals and piano and writes and arranges all her own material, as well as giving fresh life to old favourites. Sharny released A Good Thing on Hold on ABC & won the 2004 APRA Jazz Award. Sharny played regularly at Sydney's Soup Plus and Basement, working with James Morrison and other notable artists. She has supported many international jazz artists and has been a featured performer with her own band at many Australian Jazz Festivals. She has sung for Georgie Fame, played requests for legendary bassist Ray Brown, and been congratulated for her world class musicianship by saxophonist James Moody.

Soprano Louise Page is one of Australia’s most highly regarded singers and has performed throughout Europe and Australia, including at the Vienna State Opera as a member of the young artist program. She is the winner of the inaugural Mietta's Song Recital Competition, the vocal grand final of the ABC Young Performer of the Year Award, the Robert Stolz/Apex scholarship to Vienna, and the Belgian Radio and Television Opera en Bel Canto City of Ghent Prize. Now based in Canberra, she divides her time between teaching at the Australian National University School of Music and performing. She appears regularly in opera, operetta, oratorio, cabaret, recital and broadcasts in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and regional areas. In 2007 she received a Canberra Critics Circle Award for music and was named the Canberra Times Artist of the Year.

Lisa Gasteen first became known in the lyric spinto repertoire and rose to worldwide prominence after becoming the first and only Australian to win the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. She has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. She has sung at most of the major opera houses and has performed at Vienna Staatsoper, the Bastille in Paris and was a regular guest artist at the Metropolitan Opera New York and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Her repertoire includes the principal female leads in such operas as Aida, La Forza del Destino, Un Ballo in Maschera, Don Carlo, Othello, Don Giovanni,Tosca, Andrea Chenier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Electra, Salome, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Lohengrin, Tannhauser, Die Fliegender Hollander, Tristan und Isolde and Der Ring des Niebelungen.

Some of the conductors she has worked with include Simone Young, Antonio Pappano, Lorin Maazel, Kiril Petrenko, Semyon Bichkov, Bertrand de Billy, Sir Bernard Haitink, Sir Charles Mackerras, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sebastian Weigle, Donald Runnicles, Franz Welser Moest, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Christof von Dohnanyi and Valerie Giergiev.

Lisa is greatly admired in the industry not only for her poignant voice and exemplary diction but also for her integrity as an artist and colleague, and the emotion she imbues in the characters she portrays.

Lisa Gasteen is now living and working in Brisbane as a teacher and mentor of Australian singers. She is a Professor of Opera at Queensland Conservatorium and is using her wealth of experience as a busy opera performer both on and off stage to help aspiring singers on their way.

Dene Olding (Violin) - Proudly sponsored by Abi Group
Dimity Hall (Violin) - Proudly sponsored by Townsville Urology
Irina Morozova (Viola) - Proudly sponsored by Betty Byrne Henderson
Julian Smiles (Cello) - Proudly sponsored by Mr Andrew Johnston & Ms Fiona Irving

Launched in 1995, the Goldner String Quartet is named after Richard Goldner, founder of the original Musica Viva Australia. The players are all well known to Australian and international audiences through solo performances and recordings and their concurrent membership of the Australia Ensemble (resident at UNSW). All members have occupied principal positions in organisations such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra.

In 1997 the Goldner String Quartet made its debut at the Wigmore Hall in London. Unanimous audience and critical acclaim has ensured the Goldner Quartet’s regular return invitations to London and many prestigious UK and European festivals. In 2001 the Quartet made its American debut with concerts at the prestigious 92nd St Y in New York, and in Washington DC. Closer to home, the Goldner Quartet has performed in Korea, Singapore and Brunei and has undertaken several extensive tours of New Zealand.

The Quartet regularly appears at major music festivals around Australia in addition to national tours for Musica Viva. In 2011 they will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Music in the Hunter festival, where they appear annually. The quartet members have been a mainstay of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville since 1993. In 2000, the Goldner Quartet performed a major retrospective of 20th-century string quartets at the Adelaide Festival and in 2004 performed its first complete Beethoven Cycle in Sydney for Musica Viva. The Quartet also has a commitment to teaching the next generation of string quartets, and has an ongoing association with the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Chamber Music programmes. Several new works have been commissioned for the Goldner Quartet, from many of Australia’s leading composers.

In 2009, the Quartet featured in the festival of concerts to celebrate the inaugural season of the new Melbourne Recital Centre. Highlights of 2010 included festivals in Jeju (South Korea), Coriole Festival (SA), Aurora Festival (NSW), AFCM (Townsville), and Huntington Estate (Mudgee) and performances throughout a South Pacific Cruise.

The Goldner Quartet’s LIVE recordings of the complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle, released on ABC Classics won the 2009 Limelight Award for Best Classical Recording.

The Quartet has several recent recordings for Hyperion; each disc highlights string quartets and piano quintets of a different composer (Bloch, Bridge, Dvorak and Elgar to date) with pianist Piers Lane. These recordings have received universal rave reviews including Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine and BBC Music Magazine, as well as finalist for the BBC Music Magazine’s Chamber Music Award in 2009. Also released are the complete quartets of Szymanowski and Stravinsky on Naxos, and on the Tall Poppies label, Volumes 1-3 of the string quartets of Peter Sculthorpe. The complete quartets of Carl Vine have been recorded for future release on ABC Classics.

Johannes Fritzsch is currently the Chief Conductor of The Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester and Grazer Oper, Austria. He recently held the position of Chief Conductor of Staatsoper Nürnberg.

Born in Meissen, Germany his higher education was received at the Carl Maria von Weber Music Academy in Dresden, majoring in conducting and piano.

Fritzsch has led many orchestras in Germany and internationally including: Hamburger Sinfoniker, Düsseldorfer Sinfoniker, Philharmonie Essen, Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim, Staatskapelle Schwerin, Berliner Sinfonie Orchester, Staatskapelle Dresden, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Staatsorchester Halle, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Strassbourg, the Orchestra National de Montpellier, the Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, the Tasmanian, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras.

Opera Companies with which he has worked include: Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, Opernhaus Köln, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Opera Bastille Paris, Grazer Oper, the Royal Opera Stockholm, Malmö Operan and Opera Australia in Sydney and Melbourne.

Queensland Symphony Orchestra is Queensland’s only professional symphony orchestra and largest performing arts company employing 88 full-time musicians. Since 1947, Queensland Symphony Orchestra has played a vital role in Queensland’s cultural community, giving over 100 live performances across 47 weeks each year to more than 100,000 people. Its mission is to ‘touch the hearts and minds of all Queenslanders through music’.

Queensland Symphony Orchestra predominately perform in Brisbane, however are also dedicated to music enthusiasts in coastal and regional areas. The Orchestra undertakes an annual regional tour delivering a free community engagement program, and conducts an extensive state-wide education program that connects with 30,000 students, from pre-school to university level.

In addition to its own program, Queensland Symphony Orchestra performs for major arts festivals, performs live broadcasts and recordings, and supports State and national opera and ballet companies.