2022 UK | Australian World Orchestra

Miles Mullin-Chivers

Posted on 19 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

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

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Miles’ musical education began at age 4, with cello lessons from Takao Mizushima. He then was accepted into the Rising Stars program, and began his studies Under Susan Blake, and then Julian Smiles. Continuing under the guidance of Julian Smiles, Miles received his Bachelor of Music Performance with First Class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the age of 19.

Throughout his musical education, Miles has had the opportunity to learn from many accomplished musicians, including Fred Sherry, Tamas Varga, Timothy Walden, Hannu Kiiski, Howard Penny, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Umberto Clerici, and Kasia Hans.

Miles has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at the Canberra International Music Festival, the Four Winds Festival, for Musica Viva, and Live At Yours, collaborating with many of Australia’s leading musicians. He has also appeared as soloist with the Western Sydney Philharmonic.

In 2019, Miles was awarded the 1st prize at the Gisborne International Music Competition.

Miles has also had the opportunity to work with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a Guest Principal and Contract Cellist, and with the Opera Australia Orchestra as a Causal Cellist. In 2020 and 2021, Miles was a Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellow. He has been a member of the Australian World Orchestra since their 2022 BBC Proms Tour.

Last updated 2023

Christopher Bainbridge

Posted on 24 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Canberra
Education: Australian National University School of Music; Australian National Academy of Music; Institut Oberschützen, Austria

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Since moving to Vienna in 2016, Chris has established himself as a regular with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra both as a tutti and in leading positions including on international tours. Since 2018 he is a member of the newly founded orchestra Klangkollektiv Wien whose members consist of musicians from some of the finest orchestras in Vienna.

During Chris’s time in Austria, he has also been invited to play with several other ensembles include Synchron Stage Vienna, Graz Philharmonic and Vorarlberg Symphony.

When he has time to return home, Chris also enjoys playing in productions with the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia productions with Orchestra Victoria.

As well as performing, Chris is currently completing further bass studies under the tutelage of Prof. Tim Dunin at Institut Oberschützen – (Kunst Universität Graz (KUG)), in Austria.

Originally from Canberra, Chris started his University education under Max McBride at the ANU School of Music, before continuing at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) under Damien Eckersley. At this time, Chris enjoyed playing with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Canberra Youth Orchestra and was selected as a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra, participating in the International Tour in 2016.

Last updated 2022

Sam Lucas

Posted on 20 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Sunshine Coast
Education: Robert Schumann University, Dusseldorf

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Australian born cellist Sam Lucas has distinguished himself internationally as an outstanding and talented cellist since moving to Europe in 2017.

From his base in Dusseldorf he continues studies and has begun to establish himself as a chamber and concert musician, equally at home with concerto repertory as well as the great works for smaller ensembles.

Since 2017 he has been a student of Professor Pieter Wispelwey at the Robert Schumann University, Dusseldorf. During his formative years Sam studied with the principal cellist of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and was invited to attend master classes with David Geringas, Pieter Wispelwey and Li Wei Qin as a ‘guest young soloist’ (aged 15) at the Adelaide International Cello Festival.

During these early years Sam toured widely across Australia and Bulgaria with pianist Evgeny Genchev, culminating in recitals at the Palace of Culture and National Music School in Sofia. He later appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at St Martin in the Fields, London. In 2015 was invited to perform for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

He made his Wigmore Hall debut in 2016. In recent seasons he has performed with the University of Bonn Symphony Orchestra, Robert Schumann University Symphony Orchestra and the Oberbergischen Kreises Symphony Orchestra.

In 2018 Sam was awarded first prize at the Sieghardt-Rometsch Competition, first prize in the 2019 Pro Artists International Music Competition, second prize at the Gisborne International Music Competition and the gold medal at the Vienna International Music Competition. He won first prize at the 2020 Anton Rubinstein International Cello Competition and first prize at the Gustav Mahler International Cello Competition 2021.

For upcoming concerts for the 2021 and 2022 seasons Lucas has concerto engagements with Uniorchester Bonn Camerata, Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ruhrstadt Symphony Orchestra and Cologne Sinfonietta and chamber ensemble concerts at the Concert Society Gevelsberg, Beethoven House in Bonn and for the NRW concert series.

Sam plays on a Rainer Beilharz cello 2008 and a Nicolo Gagliano cello 17XX.

Last updated 2022

Lisa Bucknell

Posted on 24 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown:
Education: Royal College of Music, London

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Lisa is a versatile violist, and enjoys a varied career as a guest artist with chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the UK and abroad. She has enjoyed trials with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and performs regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. As a chamber musician, Lisa has collaborated with the Sacconi Quartet and Manchester Collective, is the principal solo violist for The Opera Story, and performed in the Alan Bennett play Untold Stories at the National Theatre and on the West End.

Lisa also regularly plays for TV and film sessions, and has recorded for shows and films including Doctor Who, The Crown, Call the Midwife, Enola Holmes, and Emma.

Lisa holds both an Artist Diploma and a Master of Performance with Distinction from the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Simon Rowland-Jones. During this time, she was supported by the Richard Carne Trust, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, the Tait Memorial Trust, and the Clemence Charitable Trust, for which she is endlessly grateful.

Last updated 2023

Jason Henery

Posted on 22 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Sydney
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music; Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Born in Sydney, Australia in 2000, Jason Henery commenced his musical education on the violin at age five, moving to a study of the double bass with his father in late 2010. Jason was principal double bass of the Australian Youth Orchestras (AYO) for several years. Additionally, he has played alongside other principal members in the AYO, performing such chamber works as Mendelssohn Octet op. 20 and Beethoven Septet op. 20. As a soloist, Jason has recently been featured with Ensemble Nouveau, performing Bottesini’s Concerto in B minor. He has also been a finalist in the Alf and Pearl Pollard Award Competition.

Jason received the Merenda Scholarship in 2022 to pursue musical studies in Italy, and a professional performance engagement for a solo recital with the City Recital Hall Prize for his performance of Andrés Martin’s Concerto for Double Bass No.1, accompanied by Paul Cheung.

Last updated 2022

Siobhan Stagg

Posted on 20 January 2022 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Mildura & Melbourne
Education: Sydney Conservatorium of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Soprano Siobhan Stagg is one of the most exceptional young artists to have emerged from Australia in recent years. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, Siobhan began her career in the Salzburger Festspiele’s Young Singers Project and as a soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Highlights in Siobhan’s 2021/22 season include Leonore Fidelio for the Théâtre national de l’opéra-comique with Raphaël Pichon and Ensemble Pygmalion, Sophie Der Rosenkavalier in her debut for the Deutsche Staatsoper and a return to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Elettra in a new production of Idomeneo.

On the concert platform she will sing Mélisande in a concert performance of Pelléas et Mélisande at the Kölner Philharmonie (Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth), Rosalinde in concert performances of Die Fledermaus (Orchestre national de Lyon/Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider), Mozart’s Mass in C Minor (Berliner Staatskapelle/Zubin Mehta), Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 (LSO/Kirill Karabits) and she will give the premiere of Brett Dean’s In this Brief Moment. An Evolution Cantata (Orchestre national de Lyon/Markus Stenz) and sing in performances of Exiles, a new work for soprano, choir and orchestra by Julian Anderson (LSO/Sir Simon Rattle, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Robin Ticciati & Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Robin Ticciati).

Among her recent successes is the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon for the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Pamina Die Zauberflöte for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Sophie Der Rosenkavalier for the Opernhaus Zurich; Mélisande Pelléas et Mélisande for the Opéra de Dijon and Australia’s Victorian Opera; Pamina, Gilda Rigoletto and Cordelia in Aribert Reimann’s Lear for the Hamburgische Staatsoper; Najade Ariadne auf Naxos for the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich and as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem staged by Romeo Castellucci at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Adelaide Festival. Her many roles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin include Pamina, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Sophie, Gilda, Micaëla Carmen, Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Musetta La bohème.

On the concert platform appearances include Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (Berliner Philharmoniker/Christian Thielemann); Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony at the BBC Proms (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Simone Young); Mozart Concert Arias at both the Salzburger Festspiele and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (Ensemble Pygmalion/Raphaël Pichon); Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Kristiansand Symfoniorkester/Nathalie Stutzmann); Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna/Asher Fisch) and his Symphony No. 9 (Bamberger Symphoniker/Nathalie Stutzmann); Ravel’s Shéhérazade (Stavanger Symphony Orchestra/Marc Soustrot); Debussy’s Ariettes Oubliées orch. Brett Dean (Orchestre National de Lyon/Karl-Heinz Steffens) and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä).

Siobhan became a Director of the Melba Opera Trust Board in October 2020, their first scholarship alumna to be appointed, and the first International Director.

Last updated 2022

Rachel Smith

Posted on 16 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Brisbane
Education: Queensland Conservatorium of Music; Northwestern University, Chicago

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Brisbane-born violinist Rachel Smith has been a member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra since 2014, and prior to that was Principal 1^st violin in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She is also a regular guest player with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia.

A keen chamber musician, Rachel is founding Artistic Director of the Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival (now in its 15^th year), which takes place on a beautiful sub-tropical island off the coast of Brisbane. Apart from presenting concerts, the festival incorporates an education program for younger school students as well as an intensive chamber music program for tertiary students.

As a teacher, Rachel has taught and coached extensively from beginner to tertiary level. In 2018 she was appointed on the faculty of St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. She has also been on staff at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Macgregor Summer School, Southern Cross Soloists Winter School and Broughton High School (Edinburgh Music School).

Rachel completed her undergraduate music studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Michele Walsh, and her Master’s Degree at Northwestern University, Chicago, where she was awarded a fellowship with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In 2003 she was recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Performing Arts Fellowship, which enabled her to undertake further violin studies with Ilan Gronich in Berlin.

In 2013 Rachel received an Australia Council grant for a period of study with Sophie Till in the USA in order to deepen her understanding of the elements that make up a healthy technique, thereby aiming at playing with ease and brilliance as well as preventing playing limitations and injury.

Rachel Smith enjoys living in Edinburgh with her husband, cellist Eric de Wit, and two young daughters. Her hobbies include baking, knitting and reading on the couch.

Last updated 2022

Robert Ashworth

Posted on 25 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Sydney
Education: Universitaet Mozarteum, Austria; University of British Columbia, Canada

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Robert Ashworth is having a great time being Principal viola for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He arrived from Canada to New Zealand shores in 2003 for a one-year adventure, he found a connection with the country through its music, people and country-side, his animals and family.

He has been guest-principal viola for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, as well as assistant-principal for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He is violist with the Jade String Quartet in Auckland, and also plays with the Australian World Orchestra.

Robert is a twice recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Award for Emerging Artists and has performed with various groups at international chamber music festivals in Europe, North America, and Japan. He has had the honour of studying with violists Thomas Riebl and Veronika Hagen at the Universitaet Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and with Gerald Stanick at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Last updated 2023

Antoine (Tony) Bedewi

Posted on 25 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Sydney
Education: Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Royal Academy of Music, London

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Antoine Bedewi holds the position of Principal Timpanist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, best known as the host orchestra of the world’s biggest international classical music festival, the BBC Proms.

Prior to joining the BBCSO in 2017 Antoine held the position of Co-Principal Timpanist with the London Symphony Orchestra, whilst simultaneously freelancing with all of the major orchestras in London and the UK. He has also performed around the world with a variety of orchestras and conductors including the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Australian World Orchestra. In 2007 he served as the Principal Timpanist at Chile’s national opera house, Teatro Municipal.

As a percussionist, Antoine appears frequently with the Colin Currie Group, an internationally-acclaimed ensemble founded in 2006 specialising in the music of Steve Reich. With Reich’s personal endorsement the group has performed at international venues including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Louis Vuitton Foundation (Paris), Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Opera City Tokyo.

Antoine currently teaches orchestral timpani at London’s Royal Academy of Music, having previously completed his postgraduate studies there in 2005. Prior to this he was awarded a first-class degree in music from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he was also presented with the Director’s Prize for all-round excellence and service to the Academy.

His teachers include Simon Carrington and Alan Cumberland, whose virtuosic Two Challenges for Timpani (2003) are dedicated to Antoine.

Last updated 2022

Andrew Bain

Posted on 25 August 2020 | by AWO | Leave a Comment

Australian Hometown: Adelaide
Education: Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide; University of Music Karlsruhe, Germany

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Andrew Bain was appointed to the Chair of Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Gustavo Dudamel in May 2011.

Born and raised in Australia, Andrew was first introduced to music at age 8 when he took up the piano. Four years later, he was enrolled at Brighton High School in their special music program and soon after switched to the French horn because he loved the sound. Andrew ultimately received a Bachelor in Music from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide studying with Patrick Brislan. He furthered his studies with Geoff Collinson in Sydney, Hector McDonald in Vienna, and in 2003 completed a Graduate Diploma in Chamber Music under Will Sanders in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Prior to moving to LA Andrew held positions of Principal Horn of the Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Münchner Symphoniker and the Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra, and Associate Principal Horn of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. From 2003-2012 he was the Principal Horn of the Colorado Music Festival.

A regarded solo artist, Andrew has appeared regularly as a soloist with the LA Phil since joining the orchestra. Andrew has also appeared at the front of the stage with the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Colorado Music Festival, Colburn Orchestra and Music in the Round Festival. In 2015 Andrew presented the world premiere of Brad Warnaar’s Horn Concerto with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra and looks forward to recording the work in 2016. A keen chamber musician, Andrew loves to explore the possibilities of the horn in various ensembles and most recently gave the first performance of Geoffrey Gordon’s Winterleben for Mezzo Soprano, Horn and Piano.

In addition to performing, Andrew is passionate about education and is proud to be the Horn Professor at the Colburn School Conservatory. Andrew has held teaching positions with the Australian National Academy of Music, University of Melbourne, Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and Sydney Conservatorium. He has also given master classes and lectures throughout the United States, Europe and Australasia.

Throughout 2015 Andrew appeared as guest principal horn of the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic and the Australian World Orchestra’s concerts with Simon Rattle in Sydney and Melbourne and the AWO’s groundbreaking tour throughout India with Zubin Mehta. As Co-host of the 2015 International Horn Symposium here in LA, Andrew was thrilled to welcome over 1000 horn players and musicians to the Colburn School for a week long celebration of everything horn!

Andrew can be heard on numerous Hollywood films and was overjoyed to fulfill the dream of a lifetime working with John William’s as principal horn for the score of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’

As well as appearing at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil, over the Summer Andrew is the Principal Horn of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

In addition to music, Andrew loves traveling, cooking and exploring L.A. with his beautiful wife, Rupal. If he’s not working, you will most likely find him on the golf course trying to improve his handicap.

Last updated 2022