Artists 23

ACMF – Albury Chamber Music Festival

Sally-Anne Russell – Artistic Director and Mezzo Soprano

Sally-Anne Russell is a multi-award-winning mezzo soprano and has performed on the concert platform and operatic stage in twenty five countries and discography in over 40 CD’s /DVD’s  on ABC Classics, CHANDOS, MOVE, Toccata UK, NAXOS and DECCA labels, including her solo aria disc “Enchanting” with The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Her awards include an ARIA for Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Sara Macliver, and nominations for Young Australian of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year, Green Room and Helpmann Awards.

She has over 80 operatic roles in her repertoire and enjoys working with all the major Opera Companies andSymphony Orchestras in Australia. International highlights include The Spoleto Festival in Italy, Washington National Opera (DC) and a ten-year association with Carmel Bach Festival In California.Projects in 2021 Include Hermia in Brittens A Midsummer Nights Dream for Adelaide Festival, Mahler Das Lied von der Erde for Canberra Festival and Handel’s Messiah with Melbourne Symphony. In 2022, Operas include Wagner’s Die Walküre – Melbourne Opera, Handel’s Alcina – National Opera in Canberra, Strauss’s Elektra – Victorian Opera, Dido and Aeneas in Sydney and concerts with Adelaide Baroque, Sydney Philharmonia , Auckland Philharmonic and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras.

Sally-Anne is also co-artistic director for Albury Chamber Music Festival, a member of the Kathaumixw Festival International Artistic Council in Canada and the Belvedere International Singing Competition in Vienna.

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Mario Dobernig – Artistic Director, Conductor & Percussionist

On a quest to make a difference, innovator Mario Dobernig is one of the most inspiring music makers of his generation. Mario is Artistic Director and Conductor in Chief for the Art of Sound Orchestra, the Victoria Chorale and co-artistic director of the Albury Chamber Music Festival.

He has conducted among others the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Kapfenberger Symphoniker, the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra’s YMS program, Orchestra Capella Calliope and at prestigious venues in Europe, the Middle East, China and Australia.

Discography includes online releases for ABC Classics and being a featured guest on various radio programs around the globe. He was awarded his PhD in 2014, holds Master degrees in Percussion, Conducting and Musicology as well as Bachelor Degrees in Percussion and Music Education. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

Mario has produced a number of highly successful festivals in multiple cities and countries (Australia, Austria, China, Germany, Italy) and also organizes unique cultural exchange tours for cultural groups between Australia and his other native Austria. Mario enjoys conversations in English, German, French and Italian, and has a keen interest in geopolitics.

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Sara Macliver – Soprano

Sara Macliver is one of Australia’s most popular and versatile artists, and is regarded as one of the leading exponents of Baroque repertoire. Sara is a regular performer with all the Australian symphony orchestras as well as the Perth, Melbourne and Sydney Festivals, Pinchgut Opera, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Musica Viva, and a number of international companies. Sara records for ABC Classics with more than 35 CDs and many awards to her credit. 

In recent years Sara has sung with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Opera, West Australian, Tasmanian, Queensland and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, the Australian String Quartet, St George’s Cathedral, the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra and in several programs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; she also sang with Sydney Philharmonia, Ten Days on the Island, the Peninsula Summer Festival, Brisbane Camerata, ANAM, Bangalow Festival, St George’s Cathedral and Collegium Musicum amongst many other projects.  Sara recorded a CD of Calvin Bowman songs which was released recently. 

In 2022/23 Sara sings with the West Australian, Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, ANAM, St George’s Cathedral, Melbourne Philharmonic and Genesis Baroque, amongst others.  Sara has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Western Australia in recognition of her services to singing, and teaches at the Conservatorium there.

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Konstantin Shamray – Piano

Described as an exhilarating performer with faultless technique and fearless command of the piano, Australian based pianist Konstantin Shamray enjoys performing on an international level with the world’s leading orchestras and concert presenters. 

In 2008, Konstantin burst onto the concert scene when he won First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition. He is the first and only competitor to date in the 40 years of the competition to win both First and People’s Choice Prizes, in addition to six other prizes. Konstantin then went on to win First Prize at the 2011 Klavier Olympiade in Bad Kissingen, Germany, and, he was awarded the festival’s coveted Luitpold Prize for “outstanding musical achievements”.

Since then, Konstantin performs extensively throughout the world. In Australia recent and future season highlights include engagements with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (in a national tour) Queensland Symphony, West Australian Symphony and regularly with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra who he enjoys a special relationship with. He looks forward to opening the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 season and making his debut with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra later this season.

Konstantin has enjoyed highly successful consecutive season national tours with Musica Viva; in 2021 with players of ANAM directed by Sophie Rowell, and in 2022 with Avi Avital. Outside of Australia he has performed with the Russian National Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Orchestre National de Lyon, Prague Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic. 

Chamber music plays a strong role in Konstantin’s musical career and collaborations include tours with the Australian String Quartet, the Australian Piano Quartet, Kristof Barati, Andreas Brantelid, Richard Tognetti and Li Wei Qin.  Konstantin enjoyed his debut collaboration with the Southern Cross Soloists recently, and, he also enjoys regular appearances at the Adelaide Festival, International Piano Series in Adelaide, the Melbourne Recital Centre and Ukaria Cultural Centre.  Further afield, Konstantin has enjoyed critical acclaim at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the Bochum Festival in Germany, the Mariinsky International Piano Festival and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. Konstantin is Lecturer in Piano at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide. 

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Yi Wang – Violin

Yi was born in Sichuan, China and started learning violin at the age of five with his father, who is also a violinist. Yi studied at Beijing Central Conservatory before travelling to London to continue his post-graduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music with Yfrah Neaman. During his time in London, he was a multi prize winner in international violin competitions and obtained the prestigious “Concert recital diploma “.

Yi came to Australia in 1997 to join the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He was Principal First Violin with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from 2001 – 2007; he also performed with the TSO as Acting Concertmaster. In 2008, he moved to Melbourne to join Orchestra Victoria as Principal Violin, currently he’s the acting deputy concertmaster.

Yi has played with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the City of Granada Symphony Orchestra, the Welsh National Opera and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As soloist he has given recitals in London, Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne, Weimar, Hobart, Suffolk (UK) and Hangzhou (China). He is a founding member of the Melbourne-based Waratah String Quartet. Yi’s violin is made by the Italian master Riccardo Antoniazzi.

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Phillip Rhodes – Milliner

Phillip Rhodes is one of the last Australian milliners to receive traditional workroom training. After achieving a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Art History from Monash University in the early 1980s, Phillip immersed himself in the draconian world of millinery workrooms. Beavering behind the scenes in establishments in Australia and later in London, Phillip slowly learnt the exacting business of hat making that unfurled before him. 

Whilst in London, Phillip’s work with Europe’s largest Costumiers, Berman and Nathan, saw him undertake projects for Euro-Disney, Andrew Lloyd Webber and theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh. Other projects included the Oscar-winning costumes for Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V and hats for countless productions of Les Miserables around the world. A stint with English outfitter, Herbert Johnston, provided exposure to a celebrity clientele. Kylie Minogue, Joan Collins and Joanna Lumley have worn Phillip’s hats.

As a speaker on his specialised area of creativity, Phillip has addressed gallery openings, charity events and been interviewed on radio. His work has been exhibited at the V&A Museum and is also held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.  

Images of Phillip’s fashion hats have been featured in Australian Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire and as hero shots advertising Myer, David Jones and the Victorian Racing Club. His observations about society’s changing attitudes toward hat wearing have been printed as programme notes and quoted in fashion journals and commentaries.

Phillip has taught millinery extensively throughout the last decade, in addition to eight years as a lecturer in RMIT’s Bachelor of Design (Fashion). For twenty years, he has maintained faith with his artisan craft by producing original hat ranges for major stores and boutiques, as well as individual creations for his private clientele, from his Melbourne workrooms. 

In 2010, in an Australian first, Phillip created an entire suite of headwear and jewellery for Singapore Dance Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty. Phillip has previously held the position of Head Milliner with the Australian Ballet and is currently working with the Melbourne Theatre Company and Victorian Opera. He regularly judges Fashions-on-the-Field during the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the millinery section for Melbourne Royal.

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Calvin Bowman – Organ

Calvin Bowman studied organ with John O’Donnell, and piano with Donald Thornton at the University of Melbourne. Later, he studied harpsichord in Paris with Davitt Moroney, and then undertook doctoral studies at Yale University with the assistance of a Fulbright scholarship. 

In 2001, he re-opened the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ by presenting the world première performance of Voices by Philip Glass in the composer’s presence.

As a composer, he has been widely commissioned by organisations such as Symphony Australia, and numerous chamber ensembles such as the Flinders Quartet. He is a former Australia Council Fellow. In 2022, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra toured with his ‘Daylesford Music’ for string orchestra, and ‘Wilma and Friends’ gave the first performance of his ‘Night Music’ for piano quartet in October. 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 début discs of artsong entitled ‘Real and Right and True’ were released in 2018. He is currently Director of Music at St Andrew’s, Brighton.

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Michael Lampard – Baritone

Baritone and composer, Michael Lampard received a Master of Music degree from the University of Tasmania before relocating to Melbourne in 2013. An Opera Australia principal artist, he made his company debut in La Boheme at the Sydney Opera House in 2019 and has since toured nationally with Opera Australia in their productions of Carmen (2021) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2022/23). His performances have taken him to all corners of Australia, as well Asia, the USA, the UK, and Europe. An acclaimed concert artist, he has garnered attention particularly for his work in English and new Australian art song.

Operatic highlights include leading roles in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, and Bizet, with companies including Victorian Opera, Melbourne Opera, CitiOpera, and Australian International Touring Opera. In 2019 Michael was nominated for a Green Room Award for his performance as Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde for Melbourne Opera. His compositions have been performed widely across Australia by artists including Sally-Anne Russell, Lee Abrahmsen, Rhodri Clarke, the Quartz Quartet, Art of Sound Orchestra, and by Michael himself. Michael is heavily involved in charity work including being an advocate for Diabetes awareness and education.

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Jaso Sasaki – Violin

Dr Jaso Sasaki is not only a leading expert on the playing technique and performance practices of the Golden Age of Violin, his PhD subject, but also a versatile performer whose experience ranges from baroque music to Broadway musicals, a restorer of gramophones, vintage cars and racing bikes, and a chef and wine expert.

Already as a child he showed his multi-talent in Kuopio Temperance Society Music and Drawing Competition by winning simultaneously the first prize for music and the second prize for drawing.

In more recent years he has published the album Finnish Violin Classics and actively performs in Europe and Australia.

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Rosanne Hunt – Cello

Rosanne Hunt was born into a cello-loving family. She started cello with her mother, Marian Hunt, and later chose to study Medicine at the University of Melbourne. After two years she returned to music, learning from Christian Wojtowicz in Hobart, and at 21 she led the cellos of the Australian Youth Orchestra on their 1984 European Tour, staying on to study with Anner Bylsma in The Hague. After a detour into organic farming, she returned to Melbourne and established a rich freelance cello life. With the help of an Ian Potter Foundation grant, she has twice taken time out to hone her cello skills with renowned pedagogue Irene Sharp in San Francisco.

On modern cello she has worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony,
Orchestra Victoria, and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. As a contemporary music specialist, she was
the founding member of ELISION, and has also played with the Libra Ensemble, Chambermade Opera,
Aphids, and, currently, with Forest Collective. Among her extensive discography are recordings with
indigenous musicians Richard Frankland, Archie Roach and Gurrumul. On period cello, she has been principal cello of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian Classical and Romantic Orchestra, Accademia Arcadia and the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra, of which she is a founding member.

In addition, she is the treasurer of the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra, and administers and raises funds for
the Hunt Family Memorial Fund (in memory of her parents and her sister) which helps send
disadvantaged young musicians to the Australian Youth Orchestra’s annual National Music Camp.

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John Bolton-Wood – Baritone

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Raymond Yong – Piano

Raymond Yong has performed extensively in Australia and abroad as a piano soloist and in chamber music with many of Australia’s foremost classical instrumentalists, singers and ensembles. He has been a guest piano concerto soloist with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Queensland Symphony, West Australian Symphony and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and performed in music and arts festivals around Australia.

Raymond was born in Malaysia, emigrating to Australia at the age of two. He received his initial musical training in Perth as a pupil of Mark Coughlan, before studying piano and conducting at the University of Melbourne under Stephen McIntyre and John Hopkins. A German government scholarship brought him to Hannover, where he undertook three years of intensive piano performance training under Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the University of Music and Theater in Hannover.

Now based in his home city of Perth, Raymond recently completed doctoral research investigating techniques for reducing pain, discomfort and risk of injury for pianists, applying this knowledge to the training of advanced level pianists. Raymond teaches at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and is a Music Fellow of St George’s College, University of Western Australia.

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Simon Oswell – Viola

Simon Oswell, trained in Australia (Jan Sedivka), and the United States (Donald McInnes). He gained national recognition performing the Hindemith Viola Concerto with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, in the ABC National Concerto competition, and went on to co-found the Petra String Quartet in Tasmania.  Simon 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 including the Carmel Bach Festival, Mozart Classical Orchestra and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and recorded for the motion picture industry, on over 800 film soundtracks.

Since returning to Australia Simon has appeared as Guest Principal Viola with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmanian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Principal for the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra (ARCO), Australian World Orchestra, and chamber music groups, Ensemble Liaison, Firebird Trio, Ensemble I, Wilma and Friends, Quartz, Trio Dali, Ironwood, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. 

A recent recording, on ABC Classics, of the Sydney based IRONWOOD ensemble, playing the Piano Quintets of Louise Farrenc and Camille Saint-Saens garnered critical acclaim. Other highlights have included performances in the UK at the Oxford May Chamber Music Festival, www.oxfordmaymusic.co.uk,  the North York Moors Festival, and performances with the Australian World Orchestra, with Zubin Mehta and Simon Rattle, in Sydney, Melbourne, Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi. 

Simon currently directs an annual chamber music school, in Clunes, Victoria, www.clunesmusic.com and plays on a Gaspare Lorenzini viola, made in Piacenza, Italy, in 1740.

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Jack Stephens – Bass & French Horn

Sydney-born conductor, bass and artistic director, Jack Stephens is the Director of Music at St Paul’s College, Sydney and the Artistic Director of Tarsus Chamber Collective. The Choir of St Paul’s College has been regarded for its “faultless performances” and “exquisite musical beauty” (CanberraCityNews 2023), and next year will tour as the resident choir of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral London, Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster.

Jack has been a soloist with the Choir of Christ Church St Laurence, Bach Akademie Australia, Victoria Chorale, and was an Associate Artist with the Song Company. He is currently studying for his doctorate looking at the staging of Bach’s Passions. Jack has worked extensively with David Hill, John Rutter, Barry Rose, Noël Tredinnick, and Thomas Ospital, and broadcast on the BBC and ABC.

Jack performs regularly as a soloist at the Albury Chamber Music Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, and the Four Winds Festival Bermagui. Recently Jack conducted Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas featuring Sally-Anne Russell, Andrew Goodwin and Celeste Lazarenko, and directed Purcell’s King Arthur with Peter Cousens. Jack regularly gives the pre-concert talks for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and is supported as a scholar of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

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Stephen Marino – Composer, Singer & Entertainer

Stephen Marino is a versatile musician with a breadth of experience traversing opera, oratorio and classical concert work, musical theatre and cabaret. Stephen is thrilled to be returning to the Albury Chamber Music Festival where he made his debut as a countertenor in Purcell’s Dido and Aneas and as the resident “Kate Bush expert”.

Stephen’s previous opera performances include chorus work with Melbourne Opera in Tristan and Isolde, The Flying Dutchman and Fidelio. Stephen was chorus master for National Touring Opera’s production of Pagliacci and debuted as Tenor Soloist in Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music with Preston Symphony.

Stephen is particularly active as a singer, accompanist and assistant chorus master on the Melbourne Choral circuit and has performed in many concerts primarily with Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Melbourne University Choral Society.

Stephen’s musical theatre experience includes principal roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Misérables, Fame and Annie with the Cairns Choral Society. He holds a bachelor of Music in classical voice from Monash University and recently completed his Masters of Teaching at the University of Melbourne.

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Luke Richardson – Double Bass

Luke Richardson is a Melbourne based double bass player. Classically trained but equally at home with improvisation he has performed in orchestras and chamber ensembles, with performance highlights including Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Opera, Geelong Symphony Orchestra and Royal Melbourne Philharmonic to name a few. Luke performs with a number of Melbourne’s finest songwriters including Luke Sinclair, Jimmy Saint and the Sinners, The Stetson Family and was a member of the award winning Raised By Eagles. In demand as an improviser and session musician, Luke has worked with a diverse range of artists including Sunwrae Ensemble, Oh Pep, James Kenyon and Duncan Phillips. With James Kenyon and Matt Dixon he wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the 2023 documentary This Man’s Worth. He has toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally to China, the UK and Europe and America. Performing under his own name, his solo project are improvised performances merging disparate influences into dynamic spacious soundscapes.

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Scott Marshall – Oboe

Originally from Sydney, Scott began his musical studies at the age of fourteen. After graduation from the Conservatorium High School, he continued at the Sydney Conservatorium to complete his Bachelor of Music, graduating with merit in 1992. In the same year Scott was awarded a Big Brother Scholarship coupled with an Australian Music Foundation in London Scholarship to further his studies in the United Kingdom.

Upon return from the UK Scott travelled to Los Angeles to study with one of Americas finest Oboists, Allan Vogel. It was during this time he had the opportunity to perform in the National Repertory Orchestra, in summer residence at the Breckenridge Music Festival. Scott has performed with the Adelaide, Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras as well as touring with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and The Brandenburg Orchestra.

Scott was an examiner of woodwind for the Australian Music Examinations Board for 14 years before moving to Wodonga in 2019. He is currently a Learning Support and Instrumental Music Teacher at Trinity Anglican College, Albury.

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Robert Schubert – Clarinet

Robert studied with Isobel Carter-Stockigt, Phillip Miechel, Canadian soloist James Campbell and Larry Combs, Principal Clarinet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As Principal Clarinet with Hiroyuki Iwaki’s Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, he recorded on Deutsche Grammophon, Victor and Sony.

Hehas released two CD’s of Julian Yu’s music, China Wind and Old and Yu were released in 2012 and 2018 respectively and he has appeared in many international music festivals including: Shanghai International Music Festival, Melbourne International Festival, the Affinis Festival in Japan and the Composers’ Week Festival in Ankara, Turkey. Robert has also appeared in broadcasts on the ABC and SBS.

He has performed with the Melbourne Symphony, Orchestra Victoria and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Robert held the position of lecturer in Woodwind (since 1996) and the Alexander Technique (since 2008) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and The Victorian College of the Arts until 2017.

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Claire Burrell-McDonald – Soprano

Claire Burrell-McDonald is a Sydney-based soprano who holds postgraduate degrees in Opera Performance and Music Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and in English Literature from the University of Sydney.

A regular artist with the choirs of St James, King Street and St Mary’s Cathedral, she has also sung with Cantillation, Sydney Antiphony, the Luminescence Chamber Singers, the Adelaide Chamber Singers, the
Concordia Ensemble and the Song Company LAB, and studied with Suzie LeBlanc through the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Canada.

Claire has performed widely as a soloist and ensemble member across Australia and internationally, including performances for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service on the Gallipoli peninsula, a series of early opera masterclasses in Italy with Dame Emma Kirkby, and multiple interstate and international tours with Sydney Chamber Choir.

Claire appears on recordings with Sydney Chamber Choir and Gondwana Chorale. In 2024 she looks forward to combining her active teaching studio with research into historical vocal technique as part of the “Shock of the old: Rediscovering the sounds of bel canto, 1700–1900” project team.

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Alex Siegers – Mezzo Soprano

A versatile vocalist and educator, Alex Siegers has amassed considerable experience performing jazz, sacred, classical and pop genres around Australia.

Alex is a member of the Choir of St. James’ King Street and the lead role in Da Vinci’s Apprentice for Musica Viva in Schools. She performs as a guest with The Song Company, The Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney Chamber Choir, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Luminescence Chamber Singers, and Cantillation.

Alex has also performed and recorded with Felix Riebl, Julia Jacklin, Alex The Astronaut, Bobby Fox, Gian Slater and as a jazz vocalist in her own right. Her debut album of Australian jazz is scheduled for release later this year.

As an educator, Alex is a Casual Academic at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, directs school ensembles, and works as a freelance conductor. In 2019, Alex was the inaugural Ars Musica Australis Scholarship Recipient for River City Voices Assistant Conductor program.

Alex holds Bachelor of Music and Arts with Honours, majoring in Jazz Performance, Asian Studies and Linguistics from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

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Liam Green – Tenor & Harpsichord

Liam Green is a keyboard player and singer currently completing a Bachelor of Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. While attending the Conservatorium High School, Liam studied the harpsichord under Dr. Neal Peres Da Costa and was exposed to a diversity of musical practices; in particular, his extensive studies in early music fostered an affinity for improvisation.

As a harpsichordist and keyboardist, Liam has performed with Bach Akademie Australia and enjoys regular work as an accompanist. Since commencing his tertiary studies, Liam has undertaken voice lessons with Koen Van Stade. 

He finds pleasure in ensemble singing and has sung with the Song Company on numerous occasions, is a choral scholar with the Choir of Christ Church St Laurence and St Paul’s College Chapel Choir and a founding member of the vocal ensemble False Relations. Liam strives to continue to refine his skills and expand his musical palette.

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Edward Higgs – Timpani

Having grown up in Bendigo, Edward Higgs studied percussion at the Victorian College of the Arts under Peter Neville, graduating with Honours. Throughout these formative years, Edward began to delve deeper into his great passion and affinity with timpani and the orchestra. In the following years, Edward spent considerable time honing his craft with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Principal Timpanist Matthew Goddard; and was rewarded with the position of Principal Timpanist of the Australian Youth Orchestra for their 2008/09 seasons. In 2009/10, Edward worked and studied in Sydney with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Sinfonia, under the guidance of SSO Principal Timpanist Rick Miller.

Throughout the European winters of 2010 and 2011, Edward travelled to Germany to study with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. During these tours, intensive lessons were undertaken from Berlin Philharmonic Principal Timpanists Rainer Seegers and Wieland Welzel, among other prominent teachers in Germany. Throughout his career, Edward has worked as a Guest Principal Timpanist and Percussionist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, as well as performing as a soloist with the Australian National Academy of Music and the Monash University Academy of Music Orchestra.

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Alexander Meagher – Percussion

Alex Meagher is a versatile percussionist with an eclectic taste in music, both within the classical repertoire and beyond. He is a keen collaborator who enjoys playing in large and small ensembles of a wide variety of styles, and is always eager to expand his knowledge and understanding.

A graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), Alex is particularly fond of multidisciplinary and theatrical performances. He enjoys surprising audiences with new, unique, striking, and rarely performed repertoire, especially when it presents opportunities to combine percussion and movement, embody characters and emphasise the physicality of the performer.

Alex has performed with Astra Chamber Music Society, Speak Percussion, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as a soloist with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Festival, Victorian Opera, the Australian tour of “Synthony”, psychedelic band Walls & Waves, and in the Gothic Eco-Opera “COMMUNE” led by electronic music duo The Omega Point. He trains in Abadá Capoeira and is currently one of Speak Percussion’s 2023 Bespoke Artists.

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Michael Evans-Barker – Percussion

Michael Evans-Barker is a musician with over 30 years experience performing and teaching on the full range of percussion instruments.

Apart from his classical work with the Art of Sound Orchestra, Michael performs regularly in the Melbourne jazz scene.

His recording with the Nadav Rayman Trio was nominated for the 2021 Australian Music Prize. Michael has composed music for the Australian Shakespeare Theatre Company, and recorded and toured with Australian music icon Steve Kilbey and All India Radio.

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Marcus Govan – Percussion

Currently completing a bachelor of performance at Melbourne university, Marcus is a percussionist from Ballarat who has performed with various orchestras including the Geelong symphony orchestra, Melbourne Youth Orchestra, the Art of Sound Orchestra, Synthony 2 and 3, among many others.

He also loves performing in musicals, playing Jeckyl and Hyde, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins and others.

His ultimate goal is to create and perform music that moves people, emotionally and physically.

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Billy Stewart – Cornet, Bugle & Trumpet

A year 9 student at Scots School Albury, Billy’s musical talent has been nurtured under the guidance of long-time teacher Gregory Lewis of the Murray Conservatorium.

Locally Billy is a member of Wodonga Brass and regularly performs with Albury City Band, the Murray Conservatorium Orchestra and would be recognised by many locals as the bugler for Albury’s ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day services. He has also performed in pit bands for recent local theatre productions of The Wizard of Oz (2022) and Chicago (2023).

Billy is touring Tasmania in September as a member of the Victoria Youth State Brass Band and performed with the Hyde Street Youth Band at the 2023 National Band Championships in March.

In 2023 Billy commenced competing as a soloist, placing second in the National Band Championships under 19 and winning the under 15 “Champion of Champions” at the Victorian Brass Championships after placing first in two sections.

An active member of the local music community, Billy is supported by the St Mathews Music Association and Scots School Albury.

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Claudia Rubinstein – Artist in Residence

Claudia Rubinstein is an extraordinary storyteller.

Fuelled by a vivid imagination, her work is a joyous celebration which touches the child within. Jewellery polymer pieces, musical animations of her paintings and jellyfish lamps lead you into her magical world.

Pass through the portal of her website to join the elephant ride, or visit prawns in tuxedos, in Venice, underwater.

Come along and lose yourself in a wondrous journey as you rediscover a child’s world of play.

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Lux Alba – Chamber Choir

Lux Alba Founded by its director Rebekah Beall, the choir debuted in December 2017. Typically, the repertoire performed by the choir is sacred a cappella music.

The name ‘Lux Alba’ when translated means ‘white light’ and was inspired by a quote from Arvo Part, ‘I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours.

Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener’. We were drawn together because of our love for music and feel blessed for every opportunity we can share this passion with you, our prism.

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Murray Concert Choir – Chorus

The Murray Conservatorium Choir is a versatile, diverse, inclusive choir committed to working collaboratively to learn, grow and achieve a high standard of performance across a broad and challenging repertoire, for the enjoyment of our members and appreciation of the communities of our region

This choir has a long history and deep connections with the Albury-Wodonga community.  It has been sharing the joy of choral music in the Albury-Wodonga region for decades. The choir first began life in 1982, under the baton of well-known and much-loved local teacher, musician and composer, John Ross. In 2022, the choir changed its name to “The Murray Concert Choir”, to reflect the choir’s status as an independent community choir.  

The choir welcomes new singers.

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ACMF 23 – featuring Australian Composers:

• Julian Yu
• Lawrence Whiffen
• Stephen Marino
• Jodie O’Regan
• Noel Fidge
• Michael Lampard
• Calvin Bowman
• Martin Wesley Smith

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