Carl Pini

Carl Pini is a musician of international reputation. He began his career in London in 1960 as Leader of the London String Quartet and from 1968 spent six years in Sydney forming the Sinfonia of Sydney and the Carl Pini Quartet with whom he made three world tours. He also conducted the Sydney, South Australian and West Australian Orchestras and conducted the English Chamber Orchestra at the 1974 Edinburgh Festival.

In 1975 he was appointed Concertmaster of the Philharmonia in London and during the next six years appeared as soloist in concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Prokofiev with Riccardo Muti, Sir Adrian Boult and Zdenek Maçal.

In 1980 Carl Pini was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and from 1983 to 1988 he was Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, leading the ACO on its Bicentennial Tours of the USA and Europe. He has conducted several seasons of opera, including La Boheme, Don Pasquale, Julius Caeser and Le Cinesi.

Carl Pini was Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony from 1990 until 1995. In 1992 he premiered the Richard Mills violin concerto and since 1990 has conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on several occasions.
In 1998 the Carl Pini Quartet performed the complete cycle of Beethoven Quartets. He plays with various chamber music groups including Pini, Hazelwood & Friends which perform an annual concert series at Turramurra Uniting Church.

Carl Pini is an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music in London, and has taught violin and conducting at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, Melbourne and Monash Universities and the Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. He is currently the Artistic Director for the Riverina Summer School for Strings.

Kirsty Hilton

Kirsty Hilton was born in Sydney in 1976. She began the violin at the age of 5 with the Suzuki Method before beginning lessons with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music when she was 7.

She attended the Sydney conservatorium of Music High School where she was awarded numerous prizes and then completed her undergraduate studies with Alice Waten at the Australian Institute of Music.  During this time Kirsty worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and was concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra.  In 1998 she was a postgraduate student at the GuildHall School of Music and Drama under David Takeno.

In 1999-2001 Kirsty was a member of the prestigious Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra where she performed under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink and Lorin Maazel.  Kirsty then had a contract with the Berlin Philharmonic for a year before taking up the position of assistant principal 2nd violin in the Symphonie Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich under the direction of Mariss Jansons.  She performs regularly with these orchestras as well as with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg.

Kirsty took up the position of Assistant Concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in September 2007 and since August 2009 has been Principal 2nd violin.

Ole Böhn

Norwegian violinist Ole Böhn pursues an extensive career as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher.

In 1990 Ole Böhn gave the world premiere of Elliott Carter's violin concerto with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He has performed this concerto , which was written for and dedicated to him, with the leading orchestras in Europe and the U.S.A. His recording of the concerto on Virgin Classics was nominated one of the best recordings in 1992 by the Gramophone. The Fanfare magazine wrote in July 1993 : " This release is of Hall of Fame quality. Ole Böhn gives a heroic account of the soloist role. He has comfortably in his grasp all of the unwieldy intervals and expressive devices and makes the music sing." In 1994 this record gave the composer the prestigious " Grammy Award " in the category " Best contemporary composition" .

After his concert with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1993 the critic from The Plain Dealer
 wrote :  “ Böhn made a tour de force of the solo part, playing with intrepid power, crispness of attack and sensuous detail." Describing the performance given by Ole Böhn in Carnegie Hall in 1992, David Schiff of The New York Times wrote : "Ole Böhn projects every nuance like a great dramatic singer." After a New York recital in 1995, New York Times wrote : " Ole Böhn played throughout the evening with great authority and unflagging commitment. "
The Boston Phoenix wrote after his performance of Kurt Weill's concerto in 2002  : " Ole Bohn played the solo part gorgeously". The African Art Smart wrote after his performance of the Dvorak violin concerto with the KZN Philharmonic in Durban in 2005: "Ole Bohn has a dark and full tone which this work demands. In addition he displayed well balanced phrasings and nuances. "
In 2008 David Hurwitz from  Classicstoday wrote after Ole Böhn’s  live recording of Roger Sessions violin concerto on Albany Records: “ Ole Böhn turns in a remarkably confident performance of what must be a terribly difficult piece to play. His tone remains warm and his intonation accurate throughout his range, and the jerky rhythms of the scherzo and finale hold no terrors for him. “

Since his debut in 1969, Ole Böhn has performed regularly with orchestras in Europe, the U.S.A. and South America. In 1983 he toured the People's Republic of China. He has collaborated with conductors such as Moshe Atzmon, Herbert Blomstedt, James Conlon, Lukas Foss, Heinz Fricke, Michael Giehlen, Imre Pallo, Marek Janowski, Franz Welser-Möst, and Oliver Knussen.

Ole Böhn's repertoire is greatly varied and ranges from the baroque up until the present day. His programmes are always innovative and exciting.Besides Elliott Carter, composers like Niels Viggo Bentzon, Noel Lee, Ib Nørholm, Pascal Dusapin, Saed Haddad and Arne  Nordheim have written for him. Ole Böhn is a great advocate of 20th and 21st century music and has become one of the leading interpreters of American contemporary music in Scandinavia.

As a chamber musician Ole Böhn was for 12 years a member of the Trio du Nord which in 1975 won the UNESCO competition in Bratislava. From 1997 - 2001 he was  first violinist of the Leonardo Quartet and first violinist and founding member of the Vigeland Quartet from 2004 - 2008. Mr. Böhn is a frequent guest at numerous chamber music festivals. He also gives a large number of recitals.

As a teacher Ole Böhn is widely recognised. His students come from all over the world and he teaches in seven languages. Many of his students have received international prizes and  have won seats in leading orchestras in Europe, South America and in the U.S. In March 2009 Ole Böhn joined the faculty of the Sydney Conservatory of Music.  He has taught at the Royal Danish Conservatory and at the Conservatory of Music in Oslo. He has given classes at the  Eastman School of Music, The Norwegian State Academy of Music, the Gedai Institute in Tokyo and the University of Northern Illinois. He has for several years taught at the Officina da Musica de Curitiba in Brazil during their summer courses and is currently teaching every year at the Pro Musica in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. In the spring semester of 2005 he was teaching at Oberlin Conservatory in the US.. Ole Böhn has also acted as member of the jury in national and international competitions such as the Sparre Olsen Competition in Norway, The Grieg Society's International Competition  for Composition., the Concert Artist Guild Competition in New York , the Canadian Music Competition and the London International String Quartet Competition .

Ole Böhn has studied under Louise Behrend at the Juilliard School of Music , with Ernst Glaser in Oslo, Henry Holst at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, and with Max Rostal at the Statliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne.

Ole Böhn lives partly in Sydney and in Oslo, Norway and is the concertmaster of the Norwegian National Opera on a special contract. He has previously held a similar position with the Copenhagen Symphony Orchestra, and worked for shorter periods as concertmaster of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Teatro del Fenice in Venice, Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, the Residentie Orchestra in Den Haag, Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, The Beethoven Orchestra, Bonn and the Hamburg State Opera.

In addition to his busy life as a performing musician Ole Böhn was artistic director of the Semaine Musicale des Portes du Soleil in France from 1997 to 1999 and is since 1999 artistic director of the summer concerts and at the Vigeland Museum in Oslo. Since 2004 he also is artistic director of the winter concerts at the Vigeland Museum in Oslo. Ole Böhn is President of the National Federation of Norwegian Musical Artists. He is a Commander of the Order of the Norwegian Artists'Association. In 2002 he became the first recipient of the " Fartein Valen " prize  awarded to a musician who has made  an "extraordinary contribution to the performance of the music of Fartein Valen and contemporary music in general".  In 2006 Ole Böhn received from King Harald V of Norway the King's Order of Merit in Gold. The city of Oslo awarded Ole Böhn the “ Bydelspris 2007” for his contribution to his municipality. In 2007 the Norwegian Opera Foundation awarded Ole Böhn the prestigious “ Augusta Jerwell “ prize for his “ extraordinary contribution to the art of opera in Norway “. The “ Association of  Friends of the Norwegian Opera” gave Ole Böhn its “ honorary award” in 2008.

Ole Böhn  uses a violin made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in 1766 which was acquired for his use by Nordea Bank of Norway.

Susan Collins

Australian violinist Susan Collins has been lecturing at the University of Newcastle Conservatorium since January 2007.

From 1992 until 2001, Susan enjoyed a rewarding collaboration with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In 2003 she was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for “contribution to Australian society through opera and ballet”. From that time until the present Susan has shared her time between Europe and Australia. In 2005 she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Creative Arts through the University of Wollongong.

Susan received the Diploma of the State Conservatorium of Music (Sydney) before going to Berlin where she studied at the Hochschule der Künste under Thomas Zehetmair in 1989.  Susan received a Master of Music degree from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1991.  Prior to commencing tertiary study in Australia Susan was the recipient of a scholarship from California State University and from the American String Teachers Association, enabling a year of study in the USA.  Upon returning to Australia, she was awarded a number of scholarships and awards available to young Australian musicians.  Amongst these was a Victorian Arts Council Scholarship to participate in Master Classes with Pinchas Zukerman in 1988.  Susan pursued and completed her Masters Degree at Indiana University’s School of Music at the recommendation of Henryk Szeryng to Joseph Gingold. Susan’s primary field of study for this degree was Violin Performance, with a secondary field of Jazz Studies. She received a major grant from the Australia Council for this purpose.

During her years of study, Susan enjoyed a wide range of orchestral and chamber music experience.  As a student at Sydney Conservatorium she was Concertmaster of the National Ensemble. Whilst studying in Berlin, she was a member of Ensemble Oriol.  As a student at Indiana University, she was a member of that institutions distinguished Early Music Ensemble, working and performing with artists including Monica Huggett and John Holloway.

In 1992 Susan auditioned for and was awarded the position of Deputy Concertmaster of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. While holding this position Susan acted regularly as Concertmaster for the AOBO. She also accepted engagements as Guest Concertmaster for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the State Orchestra of Victoria.

In 2002, Susan worked as Guest Concertmaster of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as soloist in “Opera in the Vineyards” with Yvonne Kenny, performing works including Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasie and Zigeunerweissen.

Since 2003 Susan has been performing with the Berlin Chamber Orchestra, with which she has also appeared as soloist. She has performed the Brahms violin concerto with Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, and has enjoyed the opportunity to work with Symphony Australia as violin soloist for conductor-training modules with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

In addition Susan has recorded many times for ABC FM, and 2MBS FM radio stations in live performance broadcasts as well as studio recorded recitals. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as recitalist throughout Australia and the USA, and in Europe. She also enjoys playing chamber music from early Baroque to contemporary music.
 
In 2005 Susan appeared twice in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sunday Live series, performing duo recitals with cellist Sue-Ellen Paulsen in Hobart, and with pianist Paul Virag in Newcastle. The Hobart recital was rebroadcast as one of the “Best of Sunday Live” segments.

In 2006 Susan began working with a newly formed Piano Trio, with cellist Sue-Ellen Paulsen and pianist Duncan Gifford. She was also engaged as soloist for two programs with Orchestra Victoria, performing works by Mozart and Chausson. Susan is engaged again to work with Symphony Australia and the ASO as violin soloist for a conductor-training module in 2008, playing both Brahms and Tchaikowsky violin concertos.

Susan has edited the complete works for violin and piano by the Australian composer Raymond Hanson. She has recorded these works with pianist David Miller for a CD being released by the Tall Poppies label. These projects were undertaken as part of a Doctor of Creative Arts degree at the University of Wollongong.

Throughout her performing career Susan has been a dedicated teacher. She has taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has taught scholarship students from Pymble Ladies’ College and Ravenswood School and maintained for many years a personal commitment to a private studio of advanced students. Successes of her students include many eisteddfod and concerto competition prizes throughout Sydney, and a number of her students have now entered the music profession.