| Resident
at the University of New South Wales |
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Australia's
foremost musicians combine their artistry in the renowned Australia
Ensemble - that country's leading chamber group. Founded in 1980
and resident at the University of New South Wales in Sydney,
it has performed extensively throughout Australia and in regular
tours of Europe, the United States of America, Japan, China,
the former Soviet Union, India, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South
America.
The group has appeared in such premier halls
as London's Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls, Carnegie Recital
Hall in New York, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Beethovenhalle in Bonn,
Tokyo's Bunka Kaikan, the Concertgebouw Kleine Saal in Amsterdam,
the Gulbenkian Museum Foundation in Lisbon and the Sydney Opera
House. Performances of the ensemble have reached millions through
Radio France, NHK Japan, ORF Austria, Radio Studio Bern, BBC
United Kingdom, ABC Australia and Radio New Zealand.
Comprising a string quartet, flute, clarinet
and piano, the Australia Ensemble is known for creating innovative
programs that delight audiences of all tastes. Drawing from a
prodigious repertoire of over three hundred works from classical
to contemporary, the ensemble is equally at home with traditional
favourites by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms as well as twentieth-century
compositions in a variety of styles and instrumentations.
In addition to their busy touring schedule and
a series of twelve concerts and six public workshops at the University
of New South Wales, the ensemble members are currently undertaking
a long term recording project of standard and contemporary repertoire.
The individual members are frequently heard as soloists and recording
artists in the Australasian region.
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| Australia
Ensemble, the Members |
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| Biographies |
| Geoffrey Collins (flute) |
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Studied
at Sydney Conservatorium with Victor McMahon and Margaret Crawford |
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Awarded
Churchill Fellowship in 1981 enabling advanced study with William
Bennett, Michel Debost and Peter Lukas-Graf |
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Guest
Principal Flute and soloist with Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
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Principal
Flute, Australian Chamber Orchestra |
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Member
of Contemporary music group, Flederman 1980- 1988 |
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| Catherine McCorkill (clarinet) |
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Graduate
and Student of the Year at Canberra School of Music 1982 |
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Principal
Clarinet Australian Chamber Orchestra |
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Churchill
Fellowship enabled advanced study in Europe and USA |
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Principal
clarinet and soloist Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra 1986-90 |
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Lecturer
clarinet Western Australian Conservatorium and later at the Victorian
College of the Arts |
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Member
of Ensemble Vasse and WASO 20th Century Ensemble 1990-1992 |
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| Dimity Hall
(violin) |
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Graduate
of Sydney Conservatorium of Music |
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Post-graduate
studies with Herman Krebbers in Amsterdam |
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Winner
of "Silveren Vriendenkrans" with subsequent recital
in the Kleine Saal of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam |
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Played
with Concertgebouw Orchestra under major conductors |
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Principal
player and soloist with Australian Chamber Orchestra 1985-1991 |
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| Dene Olding (violin) |
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Prize
winner in 1985 Queen Elizabeth (Belgium) Violin Competition |
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Graduate
from Juilliard School, New York |
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Studied
with Ivan Galamian, Margaret Pardee, Hennan Krebbers and Nathan
Milstein |
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Co-Concertmaster,
Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 1987-1994 |
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Awarded
Churchill Fellowship in 1985 |
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Soloist
and recording artist with all Australian orchestras |
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| Irina Morozova (viola) |
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Studied
at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Duquesne University (Pittsburgh,
USA) with |
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Robert
Pikler and Richard Goldner |
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Principal
Viola and frequent soloist with Australian Chamber Orchestra
in Australia and overseas 1977-1991 |
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Principal
Viola, Australian Opera Orchestra |
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Foundation
member, Australia Ensemble |
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Soloist
with major Australian orchestras |
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| Julian Smiles
(cello) |
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Studied
at Canberra School of Music with Nelson Cooke |
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Post-graduate
studies with Janos Starker at Indiana University (Bloomington) |
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Winner
of String Prize, ABC Young Performer of the Year Award, 1988
resulting in concerts with Australian orchestras |
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Principal
Cello, Australian Chamber Orchestra 1989-1991 |
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| Ian Munro (piano) |
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Born
in Melbourne, Ian Munro completed his early studies in that city
under the guidance of Roy Shepherd |
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Further
studies in Vienna, London and Italy. |
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Prize
winner of important piano competitions in Spain, Italy, Portugal
and the UK |
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Concerts
in over 18 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia |
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Soloist
with many European Orchestras and Ensembles |
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released
4 solo CDs and 2 piano duet CDs |
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| Press Reviews |
...
excellently performed...
Wiener Zeitung, 1992
... the finest musical group working in Australia today.
The Australian, 1993
Australia's most consistently rewarding chamber group
Sydney Morning Herald, 1994
Estupendous australianos!
EI Pais, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1997
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| Discography |
| Title |
Label |
| Contemporary
American Chamber Music |
(MBS
5) |
| Beethoven |
(Philips
6514 293) |
| Mozart
and Zemlinsky |
(Philips
Digital Classics 416 000- 1) |
| Music
by Luigi Dallapiccola |
Australia
Ensemble with Jane Manning (soprano)
(Entr'acte ESCD 6504) |
| Music
from the Second Viennese School |
(Entr'acte
ESCD 6507) |
| Cafe
Concertino |
(Tall
Poppies TP 002) |
| Music
by Franz Schubert |
The
Australia Ensemble with Jennifer Bates (soprano)
(Tall Poppies TP 012) |
| Mozart
Arranged |
(ABC
Classics 438 199-2) |
| Mozart
- The Wind Quartets |
(Tall
Poppies TP029) |
| Music
by Richard Meale |
(Tall
Poppies TP048) |
| Chamber
Music by Dmitry Shostakovich |
(Tall
Poppies TP052) |
| Samsara |
(CSM
25/Vox Australis VAST020-2) |
| in
preparation |
The
Complete String Quartets of Peter Sculthorpe
(Tall Poppies) |
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