DORETTA BALKIZAS
Doretta was only 10 years old in 2001 when she was won a $1000 scholarship competing against open aged violinists and adjudicated by the English violinist, Robert Masters. She has been a finalist in several violin competitions and invited to participate in a recital programme as part of the Australian National Youth Orchestra competition. She recently performed the 2nd movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto in the Sydney Opera House concert hall.

Just after 2007 KNVC finals Doretta travelled to Europe (Vienna, Budapest, Prague. France)
to perform in a series of concerts with the MLC Chamber orchestra and choir. She had master-classes in the Konservatorium Wien (in Vienna) and in the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. She performed the second movement of the Ross Edwards Violin Concerto, accompanied by the MLC Chamber Orchestra. She also performed the Sarabande from Partita no.2 by J.S Bachs' Sonatas & Partitas.

Doretta's usually busy musical schedule has recently been interrupted by injury to her left hand, and she is concentrating now on rebuilding its strength and refining her technical skills.
July 2009

ALICE HIGGINS
Alice graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2006. During her studies she was broadcast as a soloist on 2mbsFM and Radio NZ.

She began a masters at the Conservatorium and was awarded an exchange to Freiburg Musikhochschule in Germany. During that exchange she was accepted as a full time student and, since 2008, she has been completing an Artists Diploma in Advanced Performance, to be completed in 2010. To help fund her overseas studies, Alice was awarded the Vasanta scholarship in 2008.

In Germany, Alice has performed regularly as a soloist and as part of chamber ensembles throughout southwest Germany and in the neighbouring regions in France.
June 2010

JONATHON MUI (winner)
Jonathon, at 15, has performed in masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatorium of Music, been the recipient of a scholarship to the seven-week Meadowmount Summer School of Music in the USA with Professor Charles Avsharian and has performed in China with both the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra and the Nanning Conservatorium of Music Orchestra.

Following the 2007 Kendall National Violin Competition, Jonathon won the Queensland Youth Concerto competition, performing with Graham's violin. He has decided to make use of his travel scholarship at the end of 2007 and will go to London in December to study with Prof. Hu Kun for a week. He is a professor at the Royal College of Music there.

Although Jonathon has had to devote a lot of time recently to studying for his Higher School Certificate, the time has also produced some musical career highlights for him. He performed his own composition, written for piano, violin and alto saxophone, at the Sydney Opera House as part of the "ENCORE" program, the annual showcase of outstanding HSC music performances and compositions.

He is currently studying with Ole Bohn at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and has recently returned from a tour with the Conservatorium Orchestra to the Bronnbach Festival in Germany. Another overseas tour is also likely in the near future.
June 2010

SONJA SCHEBECK
In 2009 Sonja Schebeck attained her BMus (Performance) with first class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium, studying with Christopher Kimber. She is currently the holder of a University Postgraduate Award, studying a Masters degree in Violin Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium, researching the violin works of Prokofiev.

She has been a prize-winner at the Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand), Balmain Sinfonia Concerto Competition, Marcus Edwards Violin Prize, Kendall National Violin Competition and NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition, and a finalist in Sydney Eisteddfod’s Musica Viva Award for Chamber Music and the Nelson Meers Foundation Outstanding Instrumentalist Awards.

Sonja currently performs and tours with classical/theatre collective Ilythian, Balkan ensemble The Yellow Quinces and musical circus-stunt group Strings on Fire. She has worked with a variety of artists including composer Chloé Charody, Sydney Sinfonia, pop/rock outfit Saving Grace, The Eastern Bloc folk string quartet, experimental band Wicked Miranda, and Aussie hip-hoppers Mind Over Matter. She has played on numerous commercial and film soundtracks, most notably Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (2008) and Jane Campion’s Bright Star (2009), and performed as a casual player for the Sydney Symphony.

She has undertaken masterclasses with Perry Hart, Jiří Zigmund, Simon Fischer, Pekka Kuusisto and Arabella Steinbacher. She performed at the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival and represented the Sydney Conservatorium at the Beijing Musicathlon. In 2009 she toured Europe with the Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra.

In 2010 Sonja played with Nigel Kennedy during his concert tour of Australian and in April/May toured Germany, Poland and the UK with Nigel Kennedy and the Orchestra of Life.

Sonja also edits and writes for MusiqueArt/Arts Inc. Magazine.
June 2010