Masters 2012

Nicholas Cowall
Nicholas Cowall completed tertiary music study at Monash University, University of Melbourne, the Moscow Conservatoire and the Victorian College of the Arts. Nicholas has conducted opera, orchestral and choral ensembles and is currently Director of Performing Arts and Music at Marcellin College, chair of the Russian Liturgical Music Commission of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese (ROCOR), and guest lecturer at the Monash University School of Music - Conservatorium. He is also one of the leading exponents of new Russian choral and vocal repertoire for Melbourne concert audiences and regularly works with singers on the pronunciation of Russian art song and operatic repertoire. Nicholas has assisted in the Russian language coaching of various symphonic choral, operatic and chamber music projects with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Carlo Ricci, Oleg Caetani, Simon Halsey, Jonathan Grieves-Smith, Markus Stenz, Richard Gill and John Dingle.  

Dr David Kram
Dr David Ian Kram is an Australian-European conductor, arts manager, pianist, arranger and composer. After making his conducting debut in Italy in 1969, David was repetiteur and conductor at the Grand Theatre de Geneve (Switzerland); Resident Conductor, Stadttheater Basel (Switzerland); First Conductor, Nationaltheater Mannheim (Germany); Resident Conductor, Opera Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane), and Musical Director, State Opera of South Australia (Adelaide). He then guest-conducted overseas before returning to Australia in 1995. David continues to work internationally on a regular basis. He has conducted in Germany (including Deutsche Oper Berlin and Komische Oper Berlin), China, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, and in every capital city in Australia. He has also lectured in Bulgaria, China, Sweden, the UK and the USA. David is General Director of More Than Opera (www.morethanopera.com), Musical Director of International Opera Productions (www.operapro.org) and a Senior Fellow of the University of Melbourne, where he was Senior Lecturer (including periods as Head of Opera and Coordinator of Ensemble) from 1996-2009. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts in 1999 and was awarded a PhD from Monash University in 2000

Sharolyn Kimmorley AM
Sharolyn Kimmorley AM After studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sharolyn Kimmorley joined the Music Staff of Opera Australia, where she has held the positions of Head of Music Staff, Artistic Administrator and Director of Music Administration. Regarded as one of Australia's finest vocal coaches and accompanists, Sharolyn has been guest vocal coach at the Australian National University, Australian Opera Studio, West Australian Opera, West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Auckland University, Southern Opera, London's Guildhall School of Music and the Cardiff International Vocal Academy. In 2009, Sharolyn became a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to the performing arts as an operatic accompanist, through the tuition and mentoring of young and emerging artists, and to the community. Sharolyn is currently Artistic Adviser to the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust and Chorus Director of Southern Opera in Christchurch. In 2012, she was National Adjudicator for the preliminary auditions for the Mietta Song Competition and the Lexus Song Quest (New Zealand). In June 2012, she will be guest Vocal Coach at the Tiroler Festspiele in Erl, Austria.

Alex Furman

Alex Furman After studying piano at the University of Melbourne and the Royal College of Music, London, Alex Furman embarked on a short career as a professional classical pianist, giving solo and chamber performances in Australia and the UK, on ABC Radio and Move recordings. Returning to Australia in 1992, he became Music Director of the Victoria State Opera Schools Company. Coming to the realization he would be more useful to the music profession at a computer rather than a piano keyboard, Alex made a transition to arts management. Over a 20 year period, he held a number of senior management roles in artistic operations, marketing, public relations and fundraising with Australia's leading companies. These include Opera Australia, Victorian Opera and the Melbourne International Arts Festival. For eight years, he was Senior Associate Director of Jenifer Eddy Artists Management, a leading specialist music agency representing international classical musicians. He has been a strong advocate for the development and promotion of young Australian musicians, including founding the long-running concert series, Twilight Chamber Music at Ripponlea. He is currently a committee member of the Mietta Song Competition and a member of Musica Viva Australia's national artistic advisory council. Other community involvement includes membership of the Development Board of the Children's Bioethics Centre at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, and volunteering as a surf life saver. Alex is particularly interested in developing a wider philanthropic culture in Australia and currently is Head of Public Relations and Development at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne.