JENNEN NGIAU-KENG (Winner)
Jennen Ngiau-Keng studied at the Australian National Academy of Music from 2002 to 2005 and completed a Master of Music Studies Degree at the University of Tasmania in 2008.

He has won over 100 awards and prizes in competitions, including winner of the Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand) in 2004, the Kendall National Violin Competition in 2006 and the Geelong Advertiser Music Competition in 2009.

Jennen has toured Australia, Europe and Asia as a soloist, and has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Russian Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has toured the U.S and Australia extensively with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and has acted as Guest Concertmaster of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Jennen has been interviewed and broadcast on Australian television channels 2, 7, 9, 10 and 31 and radio stations 3MBS FM, ABC Classic FM, ABC National Radio, SBS FM and New Zealand Radio. He has held a masterclass at Melbourne University on violin technique, and is a demonstrating violinist on the ‘Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) Technical Syllabus and Key Techniques’ CD-Rom series.

Jennen currently performs on a Graham Caldersmith violin and a Matthew Coltman bow, both of which were won as prizes.

He is a casual violinist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Cirque Du Soleil.
June 2010

BING XIANG
Bing was born 1987 in China, and relocated to Melbourne at the age of 4. He commenced violin lessons at the age of 8 with Sook Yoon, attending Camberwell Boys Grammar under a full music scholarship for 3 years. He then attended the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School from year 9 onwards, continuing his violin lessons with Miwako Abe.

Bing Xiang has been awarded numerous prizes including the Paul McDermott Scholarship for Violinists, the Austral Salon scholarship and the Preston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. In 2004 he was one of the three national finalists in the National Youth Concerto Competition held in Brisbane, QLD, where he performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Queensland Youth Orchestra under John Curro.

Bing is very involved in travel and studies as he pursues his musical career. He is currently studying for a B.Mus (Hon) at the Royal Northern College of Music.
September 2009

LILLIAN SO
Lillian is currently undertaking her Bachelor's degree in music with Associate Professor Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
 
Over the years Lillian has attained a high level as a performer, receiving distinctions for her AMusA and LMusA diplomas at the ages of 12 and 14.   At the age of 15 she was a finalist for the Kendall National Violin Competition and the Richard Goldner Award, and the winner of the National Youth Concerto Competition where she was a soloist with the Queensland Youth Orchestra.  Between 2006 and 2007 she performed several concerto movements with the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra in the NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition, where she was the Overall Winner in 2007, winner of the Multiples in 2006, and voted Best Player in both 2006 and 2007.  In 2008 she had the privilege of performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic, and she recently gave a live broadcast recital for the 2010 2MBS-FM Young Performers Award.
 
Lillian's experiences in working with others have also been rewarding.  From 2005-08 she had the privilege of leading school orchestras and chamber groups, and in 2006 and 2008 she was awarded scholarships to the Australian String Academy Summer School where she had the opportunity to study chamber music under international tutelage.

Lillian graduated from High School in 2008 with a UAI of 99.95, having achieved First in the State  for HSC Music in Year 10 and Tenth in the State in HSC Agriculture in Year 11.  These results contributed to her receipt of a University of Sydney Outstanding Achievement Scholarship for her current studies in a Combined Music and Medicine degree.  Lillian feels this is a godsend which enables her to fulfil both her personal love for the violin and her deep desire to use her life to serve others in as tangible a way as medicine.
July 2010