Category: Woodwind

Lily Bryant

Lily Bryant

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Australian Hometown(s): Canberra
Education: Queensland Conservatorium; Australian National Academy of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Flautist and writer Lily Bryant is one of Australia’s most exciting emerging performers. At the completion of her Bachelors of Music at Queensland Conservatorium under the guidance of renowned teacher Virginia Taylor, she was awarded the Conservatorium Medal, and accepted into the prestigious Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

In her final year at ANAM, she won first prize in both the Australian Youth Classical Music Competition and Leslie Barklamb Flute Scholarship, and auditioned successfully for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Academy.

While her studies were curtailed by the pandemic, since leaving ANAM Lily has established herself as a solo, chamber and orchestral performer, frequently appearing with ensembles across Australia. She has appeared as Guest Principal Flute with the Sydney, Adelaide, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, as well as performing casually for the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras.

This year, Lily is the 2023 Sydney Symphony Orchestra Flute Fellow. She also has a passion for chamber music, and has appeared with Arcadia Winds, Inventi Ensemble, Rubiks Collective and Crosswinds Ensemble, in addition to regular recital engagements with Musica Viva.

Lily is also an avid writer and arts journalist, and has been published by Limelight, Kill Your Darlings and CutCommon. 

Last updated 2023

Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum

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Australian Hometown(s): Sydney
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Olivia studied clarinet under the Sydney Symphony’s Associate Principal for Clarinet, Francesco Celata from 2015-2021. After completing her Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Olivia was the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s clarinet fellow in 2022. Since then, Olivia has performed as guest Principal Eb clarinet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, has performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra and is also a casual clarinettist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Olivia performed in the re-opening Gala of the Sydney Opera House concert hall as Principal Eb clarinet in Mahler’s Symphony No.2. Olivia is a founding member of the Sydney based Tarsus Chamber Collective. Olivia performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in 2017 with Alexander Briger and looks forward to returning to the stage with Alex in the Australian World Orchestra’s Mahler 9 program.

Last updated 2023

Ann Blackburn

Ann Blackburn

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Australian Hometown(s):
Education: Australian National University; Freiburg Hochschule für Musik

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Ann Blackburn currently plays Second Oboe with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australia, a position she has held since 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Australian National University, and a Diploma from the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik, where she studied with Heinz Holliger. 

Ann played Associate Principal Oboe with Orchestra Victoria from 2004-2006. She has worked extensively with the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonic, Opera Australia’s Oz Opera, and the Victorian Opera. She has also played with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals in New Zealand and Germany with her chamber group Trio Australasia.

Last updated 2023

Nicola Bell holding oboe

Nicola Bell

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Australian Hometown: Sydney
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music; Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon; Hochschule für Musik und Theater München

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Nicola Bell is a British-born oboist who recently returned to Sydney after nine years in Europe.
After graduating with first class honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Nicola continued her studies abroad in Sweden and France. She went on to complete her Master of Music in Munich with Professor François Leleux.

In Germany, she was invited to perform with orchestras such as the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Braunschweig Theatre Orchestra, WDR Funkhaus Orchestra, and the Württemberg Chamber Philharmonic Heidenheim. After developing a relationship with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra in Ingolstadt, Germany, she often travelled to perform in Georgia with the Georgian Sinfonietta and Georgian National Philharmonic, as well as appearing at the Telavi International Music Festival, Georgia in 2014. From 2015 Nicola held the position of Principal Oboe with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Neeme Järvi, followed by a contract as Alternating Principal Oboe with the Finnish National Opera. She enjoyed a varied and busy schedule appearing as guest principal oboe with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Norrköpping and Gävle Symphony Orchestras in Sweden and the Tampere Philharmonic and Finnish Radio Orchestras in Finland.

Locally, Nicola works regularly with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

Nicola is also an active chamber musician, with appearances at the Canberra International Music Festival, Hume Chamber Music Festival and Arts in the Valley Festival, and with ensembles such as the Sydney-based Omega Ensemble and Sydney Chamber Choir. She previously collaborated with the New Theatre Ensemble in Tallinn as part of the Tallinn Chamber Music Festival and the Estonian Concert Elite Series, as well as with the Munich Winds. She is currently part of the teaching faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Last updated 2022

Christopher Haycroft with bassoon

Christopher Haycroft

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Australian Hometown: Sunshine Coast
Education: Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University; Australian National Academy of Music; University of Melbourne

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY

Chris Haycroft is a bassoonist from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He undertook a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Brisbane, before relocating to Melbourne to attend the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2017 he was a part of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship program, before returning to Melbourne to obtain a Masters of Music from the University of Melbourne. Throughout the course of his studies and his continuing professional career, Chris has had the opportunity to perform with several Australian and international orchestras, including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, Chris continues to live and work in Melbourne, performing regularly with Orchestra Victoria and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Last updated 2023

Justin Beere holding clarinet

Justin Beere

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Australian Hometown(s): Melbourne
Education: Australian National Academy of Music; Queensland Conservatorium of Music; University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Clarinetist Justin Beere is a passionate and vibrant musician with an innate drive to perform and create.

Justin is the Associate Principal Clarinet of Orchestra Victoria and the founding Artistic Director of the Melbourne Chamber Players. Justin has enjoyed a varied career, guesting regularly with leading Symphony Orchestras and chamber music festivals across Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Justin has appeared on numerous live broadcasts for ABC and 3mbs radio, Radio New Zealand, Opera Europa, and ABC Classics.

As a chamber musician, Justin has worked with leading chamber ensembles, Orava Quartet, Flinders Quartet, Arcadia Winds, Hindemith Wind Quintet, and the Melbourne Ensemble. He is currently a member of the Tailors ensemble, Reeds, Bending (reed quintet), and the Glenfern Trio. Justin has also performed in the Port Fairy Music Festival, Peninsula Summer Music Festival, Bendigo Festival, Melbourne Festival, Music by the Springs, the Banff Summer Music Festival (Canada) and the Mackay Chamber Music Festival.

Passionate about new Australian music, Justin commissioned many new works by Australian composers and has performed with award-winning new music ensembles Syzygy, Arcko Symphonic Project, Opus House and was a founding member of the Rubiks Collective. Memorable premieres include works by Deborah Cheetham, Nigel Sabin, Paul Dean, Brett Dean, Sam Smith, and Matthew Laing. Justin is also the director of the Continuo Commissioning Circle, a Victoria-based initiative to support the creation of new chamber music and the musicians who bring them to life.

As an Alumnus and Fellow of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), his teachers have included David Thomas, Paul Dean, Stephen Kenyon, and Floyd Williams. He has also performed in masterclasses with clarinetists Andrew Marriner, Michael Collins, Paul Meyer and Dimitri Ashkenazy, Thorsten Johanns, James Campbell, and Frank Celata to name a few. On full scholarship, Justin undertook study in the Professional Performance Program at ANAM, a Master of Music Research degree at the Queensland Conservatorium and several post-graduate degrees on an orchestral woodwind scholarship at the University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music. He was also the winner of the Nelle Ashdown Memorial Award in 2011 and Robert and Elizabeth Albert Scholarship in 2019.

Justin is active as a music educator with extensive experience teaching in schools across Queensland and Victoria. He is currently the casual lecturer of chamber music at the Melbourne Conservatorium Young Artists Academy and has also conducted masterclasses for the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Melbourne and Tasmanian Youth Orchestras.

Last updated 2023

Alexandre Oguey holding instrument

Alexandre Oguey

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Australian Hometown(s): Sydney
Education: Zurich Conservatorium

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Originally from Switzerland, Alexandre Oguey has been Principal Cor Anglais in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 1997. Since living in Australia, he often gets called “Mr Doherty”, and is not too bothered by this; Diana Doherty and he have been happily married for 32 years . . . they also are the proud parents of two beautiful adult children and a cheeky Sheepadoodle puppy!

When he’s not washing the dishes, he likes playing chamber music, was a founding member of the New Sydney Wind Quintet for 9 years and loves his “Cor Plus Four” ensemble (Cor anglais, violin, viola, cello and double bass). He has also performed regularly in Australia with the Australia Ensemble and throughout Europe with the prize-winning Wildwind quintet and other Swiss-based chamber Ensembles.

Before moving to Australia, he was Associate Principal Oboe in the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from 1990 to 1997. Alexandre was lecturer in oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for 17 years, and is now dedicating more time to his passion of arranging. His arrangements are published by Trevco Music and Hofmeister. His album “Pastoral Fables” with pianist Neal Peres Da Costa of romantic repertoire that he arranged for the cor anglais is available on ABC Classics. Alexandre is a Marigaux artist.

Last updated 2022

Philip Arkinstall

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Australian Hometown(s): Sydney & Melbourne
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Philip has been the associate principal clarinet of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2008. He was Principal of the Malaysian Philaharmonic in KL for 11 years prior to  that, and has appeared as guest principal  with every Australian orchestra except Adelaide. Philip has worked with the ACO, the Camerata Bern and the MCO amongst others and is a founding member of the Plexus Trio with Monica Curro and Stefan Cassomenos. He is also a founder of the  Melbourne Ensemble septet which is currently artist in residence at the MSO.

Philip has appeared as soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian and Tasmanian, Corpus Medicorum and Zelman symphony orchestras and also with the Malaysian and Royal Melbourne philharmonics in repertoire ranging from Mozart to Heinze. He was the young performer of the year for 2MBSFM in 1996 and for the ABC in 1997.

Philip teaches at Melbourne University and has been a guest teacher at ANAM, Monash, ANU and NMC.  He studied with Peter Jenkin at the Sydney Con, Valentin Sacharov in Strasbourg and earlier with Stephen Kenyon and  Bernard Wattelet. 

Last updated 2021

Francesco (Frank) Celata

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Australian Hometown(s): Melbourne & Sydney
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music; Victorian College of the Arts

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Mr Frank Celata is Associate Principal Clarinet with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and an AWO Board Member. Mr Celata graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts 1987, prior to that he studied, and is now a lecturer, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

He is a founding member of the chamber ensemble the Sydney Soloists and is a member of the New Sydney Wind Quintet. In 2013 he accepted the position of Lecturer in Orchestral and Chamber Music at the Conservatorium of Music in Hobart.

On several occasions between 2003 and 2009 he appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra as guest Principal Clarinet, performing on international tours and recordings. More recently he appeared as guest Principal Clarinet with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London touring internationally and recording with them. Frank plays Principal Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra, comprising 110 of Australia’s leading musicians drawn from 47 orchestras around the world.

Last updated 2023

Paul Champion

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Australian Hometown(s): Sydney & Melbourne
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Paul has been Principal Clarinet of  Orchestra Victoria since 2004. During this time he has appeared as a soloist with OV in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations and Weber’s Concertino.

He has been Guest Principal Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra (2015 tour of India), Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Paul is a currently Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and teaches in his private studio.

Paul was born in Sydney and studied with Mark Walton, Head of Woodwind at the Sydney Conservatorium. After leaving school Paul studied Commerce at the University of New South Wales and began learning from Frank Celata, Associate Principal of the Sydney Symphony. In 1997 he gained his Licentiate of Music (LMus) Diploma through the AMEB, a year later the Fellowship of Music (FMus) Diploma, and during this time recorded a CD of Australian clarinet music.

He is also co-founder and CEO of education platform Online Virtuoso.

Last updated 2023