What do you teach at the Con?
Viola and violin.
What is it that you love about teaching music – particularly at Wollongong Conservatorium?
I love being able to teach developing musicians in the community that I live in.
Please share a particular career highlight and why it’s special to you.
Performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 with the Tupelo Symphony was the most moving and inspiring performance I have ever experienced. It was my first major gig, I knew no one else in the ensemble, and I was surrounded by much older and more experience violist. I was so nervous and self-conscious. As we started I remember taking a deep breath in and hearing the most massive, stage-shaking piano entrance I’ve ever experienced. From beginning to end that concert was the first time I had been fully engaged, immersed in my medium. I had been playing for a decade at that point and never had I felt so connected to my instrument and the collective sound as I had that night. It was just pure, joyous fun.
What’s one piece of music that you’d recommend people listen to?
Britten Double Concerto for Violin and Viola.
