2. ttedsc masterclass tutors - isdcn.edu.au · luonnotar!and!rachmaninof's! ......

2015 Series Co-‐Sponsor

TtEDSC MUSIC MASTERCLASS SERIES 2015: MUSIC TUTORS

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Associate Professor Merlyn Quaife AO (Classical Voice) Monash University

A performer of great versatility, the distinguished soprano Merlyn Quaife received an Order of Australia Award in the Queen's Birthday 2013 Honours List for significant service to music. Merlyn continues to perform opera, oratorio, Lieder, chamber music and contemporary music to great acclaim throughout Australia and Europe. She has also performed as soloist with the Singapore Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Voronesz Philharmonic in Russia. Merlyn has appeared with all the State Opera Companies in roles ranging from the bel canto Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor to the minimalist Chiang Ch'ing in Nixon in China. She has performed with all the Symphony Australia orchestras, featured in repertoire of every conceivable style, as well as

recorded a number of CDs including Aria for John Edward Eyre by David Lumsdaine, which won her a Sounds Australia Award. She appears on Naxos, Move, Tall Poppies and ABC Classics recording labels.

In 1994, Merlyn made her American debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, singing the title role in Gordon Kerry's opera Medea with Chamber Made Opera, which she also sang to great acclaim when she created the title role in Melbourne, with subsequent seasons in Sydney and Canberra. This was closely followed by a new production with the Berliner Kammeroper, which enjoyed three seasons. Along with her wide array of operatic and oratorio projects, Merlyn is also a regular soloist at St Francis Church in the heart of Melbourne – a role she has enjoyed for many years.

Poulenc's La Voix Humaine (The Human Voice) has become a regular performance piece. Other major highlights have included Shostakovitch Symphony No 14 with the Sydney Symphony, Britten War Requiem with the Berliner Capella and Flower Maiden 1 in the acclaimed State Opera of South Australia production of Parsifal (the first fully staged Australian performance, under the baton of Jeffrey Tate). Merlyn has also performed the Schoenberg String Quartet No 2 with the Arditti String Quartet for Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and the Goldner Quartet for the Adelaide Festival.

Merlyn has had many works composed specifically for her and dedicated to her – Gordon Kerry's Kindled Skies and the Christopher Willcock Akmahtova Stanzas being among the highlights. Lipizzaners with the Stars, Australia wide, saw her combine her love of music with her passion for horses when she sang the fiendishly difficult Queen of the Night aria while riding. She has also been privileged to perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy in performances of Sibelius' Luonnotar and Rachmaninof's The Bells.

Education has also been an important part of Merlyn’s career. Between 1995 and 2007 she headed the Vocal Department at the Faculty of Music at the University of Melbourne. Since 2005 she has also been guest teacher at the Lotte Lehmann Woche Summer School in Pereleberg, Germany and has been invited for teaching/performing engagements in Vienna and the USA. She is currently coordinator of classical voice at the Sir Zelman Cowan School of Music, Monash University. Merlyn's next major performances are listed on her website www.merlynquaife.com



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Dr Kenji Fujimura (Classical Piano) Monash University

Dr Kenji Fujimura is one of the most acclaimed musicians based in Australia. He is the recipient of numerous major prizes and awards, including the Australian National Piano Award and the William Lincer Foundation International Composition Award (New York). Concert, masterclass, and adjudication engagements have taken Kenji throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia and he is regularly broadcast as piano soloist and chamber musician on networks such as BBC Radio 3, ABC-‐FM and TV, the MBS-‐FM network, and Bravo! Canada. Kenji has been described as ‘a grand artist with a magical sound, an accomplished technique and a superb understanding of all musical styles. He adds to this a vision of deep profundity’.

An avid supporter of both contemporary and lesser-‐known music, Kenji has given many premiere performances. Recent recordings include a double-‐CD set of piano trios by William Hurlstone, Max d’Ollone, Dag Wiren and Miriam Hyde on the Divine Art (UK) label, as a founding member of Trio Anima Mundi, which was selected as a 2013 Musicweb International Recording of the Year, and hailed: ‘[a]s to chamber music this has to be the CD of the year and, perhaps, many years to come.’ In 2014 he released the premiere recording of George Benjamin’s Violin Sonata (with violinist Elizabeth Sellars) as well as works by Olivier Messiaen, Gyorgy Kurtag and Paul Dukas for Move Records (Australia); this disc won the 2014 Limelight Recording of the Year for chamber music. Forthcoming releases include the first recording of the solo piano works of William Hurlstone for Toccata Classics (UK).

Kenji completed the four-‐year Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree in only two years at The University of Melbourne, where he also received a Master of Music degree as a full scholarship holder. His performance recitals at the university achieved the highest marks ever awarded in the history of the institution. During his Masters candidature, he was also a student at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he received numerous awards and prizes and was active as a pianist, fortepianist and chamber musician. His music studies culminated with a full-‐scholarship PhD from Monash University which investigated the piano music of William Hurlstone.

As a composer, Kenji’s recent successes include winning the 2014 international VirtualArtists ‘Simply Stunning’ Composition Competition for his piece Au Revoir for violin and piano. The work was subsequently premiered in USA in May 2014, and was ‘the biggest “hit” on the program – even more so than the gorgeous Rachmaninoff Vocalise!‘. His Ballade to Anxiety for solo piano was also a winning work in the Vox Novus competition and was premiered in May by pianist Yumi Suehiro in New York.

In addition to his creative activities, Kenji is a highly respected pedagogue; his teaching career at the tertiary level began while he himself was an undergraduate. He is currently Deputy Head of School, Coordinator of Classical Performance and Chamber Music, and Senior Lecturer in Piano/Keyboard at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University. Kenji is also an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board and is frequently invited as an adjudicator for competitions throughout Australia and abroad. For more information on Kenji visit www.kenjimusic.com.



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David Griffiths (Classical Clarinet) Monash University

David Griffiths is Senior Lecturer in Clarinet, Coordinator of Woodwind and a member of Ensemble Liaison ensemble-‐in-‐residence at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University. Originally from Armidale NSW, David studied at the Canberra School of Music with Alan Vivian before completing his Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music under the direction of Charles Neidich, Ricardo Morales, Alan Kay and David Krakauer. As a winner of the Artists International Award in New York he made his Carnegie Hall Debut in February 2000. David has appeared with the New Zealand, Goldner, Tin Alley and Flinders String Quartets, the New York

Wind Soloists, the Australia Ensemble @UNSW, the Southern Cross Soloists, and members of the Cleveland, Shanghai and American String Quartets. He has also collaborated with Nemanja Radulović, Ray Chen, Anthony Marwood, Henning Kraggerud, Emma Matthews, Cheryl Barker, Peter Coleman-‐Wright, David Jones, Paul Grabowsky and Tony Gould. David’s festival performances include the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, the Port Fairy Festival, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo Japan, as a chamber musician alongside Principal members of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. David has held positions as Associate Principal Clarinet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Principal Clarinet of the Macau Orchestra and Principal Clarinet of the Shanghai Radio Orchestra. He has appeared as Guest Principal with all of Australia’s major symphony and opera ballet orchestras along with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He was also Co-‐Principal of the 2000 National Repertory Orchestra (US), acting Principal of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic and has performed with the New World Symphony, the New York City Opera, National Company, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the China Philharmonic, the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. David’s recordings with Ensemble Liaison of Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ for the Melba Recordings label, and Trios of Brahms, Beethoven and Bruch for the Tall Poppies label have won high praise from critics around the world. David has recently been appointed Coordinator of Woodwind and Brass, Lecturer in Clarinet at the Monash University School of Music. For more information about David and Ensemble Liaison visit www.ensembleliaison.com.



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Associate Professor Robert Burke (Jazz & Contemporary Saxophone) Monash University

Robert has enjoyed a diverse and wide-‐ranging career as a performer, composer and educator. Although classically trained on the clarinet and saxophones, his main focus as a performer has been on jazz and popular rock, including eight years performing and composing with Kate Cebrano (including a top-‐ten Australian hit) and fifteen years with ARIA award-‐winning band The Black Sorrows. Robert has also performed on and composed for numerous CDs by groups ranging from pop acts such as John Farnham, Ice House, Real Life, Vika and Linda Bull, to contemporary jazz projects with leading artists including Tony Gould, Tony Floyd, Doug De Vries, Slava Grigoryan, Geoff Hughes, Nick Haywood, Stephen Magnusson, Don Burrows, Geoff Hughes, Tony Floyd and Mike Nock.

As a Jazzhead recording artist (the most prestigious Australian jazz label with international distribution), Robert’s recent releases include a duet album with Tony Gould titled Here (2010), the third in a series of such collaborations, and a quartet album Live at Bennetts Lane (2012). Both CD’s included original compositions.

Robert has an established international reputation as successful and prolific collaborator. He has toured extensively through Asia, Europe, and the United States (including as leader of his own projects), performing and recording with many influential, international jazz artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, including: Red Rodney (USA -‐ Charlie Parker’s trumpet player), John Abercrombie (USA), Paul McCandless (USA -‐ Oregon), Jim Black (USA), George Garzone (USA), Lula Galvao (Brazil), Roberta Valente (Brazil), Hermeto Pascoal (Brazil), Mirko Guerrini (Italy), Debasis Chakroborty (India), John Taylor (UK) and Qmars Piraglu (Iran).

Robert has had extensive teaching experience, locally and internationally. Following an invitation to conduct improvisation classes at Monash University’s School of Music, he subsequently developed an autonomous jazz course for the School of Music, and in 2003 was appointed Coordinator of Jazz and Popular Studies. This jazz course is now regarded as the leading course for jazz education in Australia, offering both comprehensive practical training and strong academic qualifications, and providing students with exceptional learning and performance opportunities in Australia, Italy and the United States (New York).

Since 2007 Robert has focused on creating cultural and educational ties between Monash University in Australia and Brazil. He has been artist-‐in-‐residence at Universidade Estadual de Campinas – Unicamp (Campinas), Musica de Scuola de Brasilia (Brasilia), and Souza de Lima School of Music (Sao Paulo) where he conducted workshops, lectures and musical performances. Robert has also built links with NYU (both educational and research), New York University (USA) and Lulea University of Technology (Sweden). Robert served as Associate Professor and Head of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University from 2011 to 2014. He holds a doctorate in practice-‐led research, focusing on the influence of a range of other (non-‐jazz) musics on his work as improviser and composer. For more information on Robert visit http://www.jazzhead.com/cms-‐artists/rob-‐burke.phps.



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Stephen Magnusson (Jazz & Contemporary Guitar) Monash University

Stephen Magnusson is considered one of Australia’s most accomplished, versatile and distinct musicians with an incredible technique and an astoundingly beautiful tone. His hectic schedule shows that he is a delight to work with and someone that has ‘something to say’ as an artist.

Stephen was given his first ukulele at the age of 3, his first guitar at age 6, and began performing at age 10 on an electric guitar that he loaned from his schoolteacher. When he was 13 years old he started to study under the guidance of Gordon Pendleton at the Box Hill Tafe and discovered the world of improvised music.

In 1986, Stephen studied at the esteemed Victorian College of the Arts under the supervision of some of Australia’s finest musicians -‐ Tony Gould, Bob Sedergreen and Mike Doyle. Here he expanded his practice regime and playing. He joined various bands playing numerous styles and developed an understanding of different methods. But, his main focus remained, to develop and hone the craft of mastering the guitar.

Stephen travelled to Europe to live, and in 1997 he was appointed on the staff at The Academy of Contemporary Music (Zurich), where he met his long time collaborator – Sergio Beresovsky. They began to perform regularly with Swedish bassist Bjorn Meyer, and in the July of the same year, Australian saxophonist Julien Wilson travelled to meet and play with the trio. After the first week of playing, they formed SNAG and produced a self-‐titled album (released in Australia as Hey Guess What’). After 3 years of living in Zurich, Stephen returned to Melbourne in August 2000. He entered the National Jazz Award at Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival, where he tied for First Place. At this festival he performed with his trio featuring Sergio and Eugene Ball. This recorded result is captured on the CD 'Healing Songs’.

Stephen has worked with many artists including Charlie Haden, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ricki Lee Jones, Sinead O’Connor, John Cale, Gurrumul Yunupingu, Paul Grabowsky, Vince Jones, Katie Noonan, Lisa Young, Christine Sullivan, Michelle Nicole, Martin Breeze, The Assumptions Trio, Megan Washington, Paul Kelly, Jim Black, Mike Nock, Barney McAll, Enrico Rava, Arthur Blythe and many others. Stephen has released over 9 records. As a part of the Katie Noonan trio Elixir, the ensemble won the ARIA for Best Jazz Album in 2011. His latest album MAGNET was awarded the 2013 Bell Award for Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album. Stephen was also awarded winner of the 2013 Melbourne Prize for Most Outstanding Musician.

Stephen’s latest band KINFOLK recently debuted at the Wangaratta jazz festival to rave reviews. Kinfolk focuses on grooves and features drummer Dave Beck, Frank DiSario on bass and Hammond organist Tim Neal. KINFOLK will release their first album in October 2015. For more information on Stephen visit http://www.mag.net.au.



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Dr Paul Williamson (Jazz & Contemporary Trumpet) Monash University

Australian Jazz trumpeter Paul Williamson has established a reputation of producing distinctive recordings of outstanding ensemble performances. Paul began music with classical training on piano and trumpet, with his early musical experiences encompassing performances in diverse musical contexts such as wind band, orchestra, salsa and big bands. Whilst he remains interested in many musical styles, he is passionate about jazz and improvised music.

Paul has performed with international jazz artists at festivals and venues in the United States, Europe, Asia, and throughout Australia. He was active on the European jazz scene whilst based in Dublin, performing with Bill Carothers, Dave Liebman, Reggie Washington, Paul Wertico,

Ronan Guilfoyle, Lindsay Horner, Michael Buckley and Métier until returning to Melbourne in 2009. His recent performances include collaborations with Charlie Haden, John Abercrombie, the Australian Art Orchestra, Hermeto Pascoal, Aaron Goldberg, Django Bates and Mark Helias. In 2014 Williamson was invited by Dave Douglas to perform at the Festival for New Trumpet Music (FONT) in NYC where he premiered a program of new compositions.

Paul is the leading artist on nine CD releases, including: Non-‐Consensual Head Compression (2001, Newmarket), Talk It Up (2002, Newmarket), Mutations (2003, Newmarket), On the Surface, In the Core (2005, Newmarket), Far Away Here (2006, Jazzhead), By a Thread (2009, Downstream), In Cahoots (2011, Jazzhead), Connect Four (2013, Jazzhead), and Paul Williamson Quartet: LIVE (2014, Jazzhead). Together, these recordings exhibit Paul’s desire to create music featuring improvised dialogues and interaction of complementary individual conceptions. It is music designed to reach beyond jazz formulas and clichés, whilst remaining grounded within the diverse traditions of jazz and improvised music.

In addition to an active recording career, Paul is busy as an educator. He is currently a lecturer in jazz, Honours coordinator and faculty member at the esteemed Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University, which produces some of Australia’s finest musicians. Paul is also passionate about practice-‐based research in jazz, and has a PhD in music performance (Doctor of Philosophy). His PhD topic, “Developing Technical Control, Ensemble Interaction, and Flow within Jazz Performance”, explicates the approaches, processes and experiences within his performance practice, exploring relationships among studio practice, performance, the flow state, improvisation and composition. The exegesis also looked into balancing individual conception and technical control with interactive ensemble performance. For more information about Paul visit www.jazzhead.com/cms-‐artists/paul-‐williamson.phps.

In addition to the personal websites listed above, links to all of the artists can be found on the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music website at http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/music.

2. ttedsc masterclass tutors - isdcn.edu.au · luonnotar!and!rachmaninof's! ......

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