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 2001 finalists - 2003 finalists  |
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MARIANNE
BROADFOOT (winner)
Marianne has been a member of the Sydney Symphony first violins since 2008. She is co-currently completing her PhD in Music Performance with Wanda Wilkomirska at the Sydney Conservatorium where she holds an APA Scholarship. She gained her Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours from the Canberra School of Music in 2004, studying with Barbara Jane Gilby and Alice Waten.
Marianne has performed extensively as a contract and casual player with the Australian Chamber Orchestra since 2006 when she was chosen for their Emerging Artists Program and last year was invited to play second violin in the Australian Chamber Orchestra string quartet in a concert tour of North Queensland.
In 2004 and 2005 Marianne studied with Igor Ozim at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg with the assistance of the E.V.Llewellyn Memorial Fund. Marianne was the winner of the Kendall National Violin Competition in 2002 and gave a recital tour of the region with Edward Neeman as part of the prize. In 2004 Marianne was awarded first prize in Australian Concerto Competition in Townsville and later that year was awarded the 2nd prize at the Gisborne International Music Competition in New Zealand.
In 2003, Marianne performed with The Queensland Orchestra in the ABC Young Performer's String Final and in 1999, as recipient of a Young Artists Award, recorded a movement of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Marianne has also appeared as soloist on two occasions with both the Barrier Reef Orchestra and the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, as well as with the Sydney Conservatorium Orchestra, Melbourne University Orchestra and the Canberra Chamber Players, performing works by Beethoven, Bruch, Edwards, Mozart, Prokofiev and Szymanowski.
Marianne is the first violinist with the Enigma Quartet who regularly play at the Art Gallery of NSW and have also been broadcast on ABC Classic FM for their Sunday Live program and given a concert tour of the South Island in New Zealand. She is also a tutor at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School and has played in masterclasses with Pinchas Zukerman, David Takeno, Anthony Marwood, Vivane Hagner, Charles Castleman, Rudolf Koelman, Valerie Oistrakh and Jack Liebeman.
Marianne is one of the adjudicators at the 2011 KNVC Final Round.
August 2011
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NEELA DE FONSEKA
After completing her 'Diplom' and 'Konzertexamen' degrees with Nora Chastain at the Universitaet der Kuenste in Berlin, Neela has spent the last 2 and a half years in a permanent position with the 1st violin section of the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Learning the immense opera repertoire was an exciting and rewarding challenge, and she learned a lot from the experience. Curious about the life of a symphony orchestra musician, however, Neela decided to audition for the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester in Berlin, and having won a job there, will be starting a trial year with them in the coming months.
As ever, Neela is an avid chamber musician, and keen to be involved in smaller projects as well as orchestral playing. She has co-founded a group called 'Alba Musicale' (the Musical Sunrise)-- with 3 other women from the opera, as well as a Mezzo Soprano and Pianist. Their initial project was an exploration of Gypsy and Tango music, and the next program planned will be based around French Chansons.
September 2011
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KATHERINE LUKEY
In April Katherine was awarded the position of assistant concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She also recently performed as a member of the Australian World Orchestra comprising local and expatriate orchestral players at the Sydney Opera House. She continues as a core member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra with whom she will tour Victoria and NSW as a soloist in October.
Katherine was winner of the 2004 Kendall National Violin Competition and also received the audience choice prize. In 2009 she was a string finalist in the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Award performing the Nielsen Violin Concerto with the Queensland Orchestra. She has twice been awarded the Dr Bill Williams Memorial Prize at the Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition and was winner of the Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Award for Strings and finalist in the 3MBS FM Young Performer of the Year Award.
From 2002-2006 she studied with Prof. Tibor Varga and Silvia Marcovici at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts, Graz, Austria. She has performed as soloist and chamber musician for organisations in Austria, including the Yehudi Menuhin LIVE MUSIC NOW foundation. In 2008 Katherine was invited by Musica Viva to perform at Sydney’s Recital Hall at Angel Place, and in Melbourne she performed regular solo and chamber music recitals as a member of the Advanced Performance Program at the Australian National Academy of Music. Katherine has attended masterclasses with Prof. Igor Ozim, Prof. Boris Kuschnir, Dimitri Sitkovestky, Gerard Poulet and Felix Andrievsky. Katherine has appeared as soloist with the Darwin Symphony, Melbourne Sinfonia, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Conservatorium Orchestra as winner of the University’s Concerto Competition. She recently completed her Masters in Performance with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she was a recipient of the M E Wright Bequest.
Katherine continues as a casual member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She has been a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra with whom she has toured Europe, Asia, North/South America and Australia.
In 2012 she looks forward to performing the Mendelssohn Concerto with Sydney’s Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.
August 2011
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HIROAKI
YURA
Hiroaki Yura (born July 21, 1981) is a Japanese violinist who is the founder and Artistic Director of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia.
The founder of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra, the Eminence Audio Production company, and a violin virtuoso, Hiroaki has extensive solo experience ranging from recitals to solo concerto performances. He has played for heads of state, international delegates and officials such as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Ambassadors and Consulate Generals to many nations.
Hiroaki has performed with exalted and revered musicians such as Prof. Chikashi Tanaka (violin), Maestro John Harding (violin), Alexev Yemstov (piano), Alexander Gavriluk (piano), and has had a wealth of experiences with top composers around the globe. Hiroaki Yura has performed as a soloist with most of the major Chinese Orchestras including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Nanjing Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Woollahra Symphony Orchestra, and debuted in Japan with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hiroaki has won numerous competition internationally and locally, including the 7th Etoh Toshiya International Violin Competition for Young Violinists, was a prize winner at the Gisbourne International Music Competition in New Zealand, received multiple scholarships to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and has received scholarships with a number of other institutions.
Hiroaki has been critically acclaimed by many leading artists such as Pinchas Zukermann, Salvatore Accardo, and Wanda Wilkomirska.
He now directs all orchestral recording for Interactive Entertainment and Films. Amongst his notable credits are Diablo III, Soul Calibur IV, and The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk. Hiroaki was recently selected to be the Music Supervisor for SOULCALIBUR V.
He is otherwise playing violin for soundtracks.
August 2011 |
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