What do you teach at the Con?
I teach the cello, conduct the Powell String Orchestra, manage and tutor the BlueScope Youth Orchestra, and conduct MISA assessments for both individuals and students graduating from the Transition program, at the end of the Conservatorium Chime Program.
What genres do you teach?
I teach classical music.
What is it that you love about teaching music – particularly at Wollongong Conservatorium?
I love being involved with enriching children’s lives through music. It is a challenge combining modern life with the rigours of teaching classical music, as it requires uncompromising attention to detail and technique. It is ultimately a privilege to travel through the learning journey of a child through childhood, the teenage years, and into adulthood.
Please share a particular career highlight and why it’s special to you.
A memorable concert for me is when the BlueScope Youth Orchestra performed in the Gita Swarasisya Buwana concert in the Sultan’s Palace Yogyakarta August 2005. The concert was to raise money to help 800 students orphaned after the Boxing Day Tsunami. It was broadcast live to air on Indonesian television to over 30 million people, asking for donations to help educate and house orphans to the end of their schooling and university. The concert was so successful that due to popular demand it was replayed to another 30 million people.
What’s one piece of music that you’d recommend people listen to?
A piece I like to listen to is Vivaldi’s Gloria, a piece I have played so many times that I know the cello part inside out. It is uplifting always.
