Past Performers

Amanda Hodder holds a Masters in Music from the University of Melbourne. During her undergraduate studies, she won awards for collaborative pianism and was featured on ABC Classic FM’s Rising Stars program. Since moving to Melbourne in 1998, Amanda has worked as an accompanist for all the major Melbourne universities and is currently the on staff accompanist for the voice department at the Victorian College of the Arts. As a repetiteur, Amanda has worked for all the major Melbourne opera companies and Opera Australia. In 2003 Amanda won the major ensemble award at the National Liederfest.

As a Music Director, Amanda has worked on such shows as Tick Tic….BOOM!, The Threepenny Opera, and The Wild Blue. In 2004 Amanda won the Hugh D. T. Williamson Accompanist’s Award at the Mietta Song Recital, an award which secured her work at l’Académie Internationale d’Eté de Nice. The award also enabled Amanda to spend most of 2005 studying in Paris and Southern Germany.

In 2007 Amanda was the recipient of the Lady Hamer Award, an award made specifically for pianist who are interested in working collaboratively with other musicians. In May 2008 Amanda was the recipient of the Geoffrey Parsons Award and was a MacDonald Trust Scholar at the VCA for 2008. On television, Amanda has worked with The Choir of Hard Knocks, performed with Ronan Keating on Rove Live, and continues to perform for ABC Classic FM and 3MBS.

Having completed an Advanced Diploma of Opera at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2008, Angela recently performed the title role in Rossini’s Cinderella for Opera Australia’s touring OzOpera Schools Company. In November 2009 she competed as a finalist in the Herald Sun Aria Competition, the Audi German Opera Scholarship and was awarded 3rd place in the German-Australian Opera Grant. She was also awarded 1st Place in the under 25 yrs Aria Section and 3rd place in the Sutherland/Bonynge Scholarship at the MacDonalds Eisteddfod.

In both 2008 and 2009 Angela was a semifinalist in the Australian National Singing Competition, receiving prizes in Italian Studies. Angela specialises in coloratura repertoire and has performed roles such as Adina from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Zerline from Auber’s Fra Diavolo, Mme Silberklang from Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, and Lisetta from Haydn’s La Vera Costanza. In 2010 she will understudy Mabel for Opera Australia’s Pirates of Penzance.

Ashlyn Skye Tymms began classical singing lessons from a young age with Janis Laing in Perth, Western Australia. From 2001-2004 Ashlyn performed on several occasions with En-Chant Productions directed by Janis Laing. In 2004 Ashlyn received the St Mary’s Vocal Scholarship for 2004-2005, touring England with the St Mary’s Hale Cantata as the Music Prefect and soloist in 2005.

Ashlyn moved to Melbourne to begin her Bachelor of Music at The University of Melbourne in 2006. From 2006-2007 Ashlyn was a Choral Scholar with The University of Melbourne Trinity College Choir, touring both interstate and internationally and recording two albums with ABC Classics, Southern Star (2006) and Mystical Songs (2007).

In 2007 Ashlyn played the role of Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Melbourne University’s Early Music Studio Opera Project. In 2008 she played the role of Pitti-Sing with Savoy Opera Company’s production of The Mikado and in 2009 performed the role of Dido in Purcell’s early opera Dido and Aeneas as part of The Spring Early Music Festival. Ashlyn performed at the VCAM Chamber Music Competition Final as one of three finalists with her trio The Tea-Tree Oh. Ashlyn is starting the Melbourne University Master in Music Performance program.

Soprano Greta Bradman has won awards for her solo recitals, and in association with vocal trio Eve of which she was a founding member for their live performances and their two CDs Evesong and Muse. Greta collaborates with various instrumental ensembles and musicians and appears as a guest soloist with a range of choral groups.

Until now Greta has balanced her passion for singing with that for psychology undertaking a Master of Clinical Psychology and a research PhD in the area of human intelligence. In late 2009 Greta presented her seventh Sunday Live concert program for ABC Classic FM and undertook collaborative projects for ABC Classics and Universal Music, both as a classical singer and associate producer. Greta has just signed a four-album contract with Sony Music and has recorded two songs by Osvaldo Golijov with the Australian String Quartet for ABC Classics.

2010 is the first year in which Greta’s primary focus is her singing. She will undertake further recording, will tour and perform with world-class musicians and ensembles such as the Australian String Quartet, Jürg Dahler, Kathryn Selby, Marshall McGuire, and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, as well as touring following the release of her first solo album. She is also presenting a range of recitals and concerts around Australia as well as performing at notable charity and fundraiser events that are personally meaningful to her, including the Victor Chang ball (April 24 2010, Sydney).

Soprano Hana Crisp recently completed a Bachelor of Music Performance with First Class Honours at the University of Melbourne, under the tutelage of Raymond Connell.

Hana has featured in many productions, including The Beggar’s Opera (OzOpera), The Seven Deadly Sins (with the Australian Youth Orchestra) and One Final Oration (a chamber opera written by David Chisholm). Her concert repertoire includes the Australian premiere of Heinrich von Herzogenberg’s Die Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Schumann’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Christmas Oratorio, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Pergolesi’s Magnificat. In 2007 and 2008, she performed in a series of Bach cantatas with the VCA Orchestra. She has also featured numerous times as a soloist in the 3MBS Live at the Convent series.

In 2008 Hana toured regional NSW with The Song Company. Last year, she performed in e21’s ‘Love and the Art of War’ at the Sydney Opera House for the 2009 Utzon Music Series. Hana has been the recipient of the Mabel Kent Singing Scholarship, the Athaneum Award, and she was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Mietta Song Recital Award. She was the winner of the 2009 National Liederfest, where she also received the Alan McArthur Memorial Award for best ensemble of voice and piano with Amanda Hodder. This year she will feature in a concert series at the Melbourne Recital Centre as a member of Aria Co.

James holds a Licentiate in Music (Singing) from the AMEB and a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours) from the University of NSW. In concert, James has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, J.M.Haydn’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noël, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Schubert’s Mass in G and J.S.Bach’s Cantata #4, and has been broadcast a number of times on 2MBS-FM, ABC-FM and 3MBS-FM. Operatic roles he has performed include Don Giovanni (Opera Hunter), Dr. Bartolo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) (Pacific Opera), Owen Wingrave, Mr.Gobineau (The Medium) (Opera Workshop), Melchior, Balthazar (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and The Baritone (The Four-note Opera). He is currently a member of the Opera Australia Chorus.

James has been a finalist in the Herald Sun Aria, McDonald’s Operatic Aria, Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship (2009), German Opera Award, Rockend National Opera Studio London Scholarship (Opera Foundation Australia), 2MBS-FM Young Performer Award, City of Sydney Opera Awards (2008) and was awarded 3rd place in the National Operatic Aria (2009). He has been a winner of the Sydney deVries Baritone/Bass Award at the Sydney Eisteddfod and the Bram Walker Vocal Championship Award, Werner Baer MBE Prize, Ballarat Nativity Choir Encouragement Award, and Courier Ballad Contest at Royal South Street Competitions. James has been a Telstra Wholesale Young Artist with Pacific Opera since 2009.

Jem Harding is based in Sydney and works as an accompanist and repetiteur for a number of Australian opera companies, music ensembles and private singers. He has recorded and traveled extensively throughout Australia, Asia, South Africa and Europe.

Jem won the National Eisteddfod in 2005 and was a finalist in the international piano competition, the Concurs D’Andorra in Spain, 2006.

In 2008 he was the winner of the accompanist prize at the Mietta Song Award and accompanied the winning vocalist. In 2009 he was the recipient of the NSW Music Teachers Association Elizabeth Todd Lieder memorial prize in memory of Geoffrey Parsons and also won the Lieder Award at the McDonald’s Performing Arts Challenge. He is currently employed at St. Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney, as a full time accompanist.

Perth born Soprano Jocelyn Hickey graduated with a Graduate Diploma of Opera Studies from the Queensland Conservatorium and a Bachelor of Music from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She is currently completing a Masters of Music degree from the Victorian College of Arts and Music. Jocelyn won The Herald Sun Aria 2004, Opera Foundation Australia’s 2005 New York Study Award and the 2006 Vienna State Opera Award. These enabled her to study in New York with coaches from The Metropolitan Opera, and in Vienna where she made her international debut at the Wiener Staatsoper as a Blumenmädchen in Parsifal. Jocelyn sang as a member of Opera Australia/OzOpera Schools Company for four years, before joining the OzOpera regional tour in 2005 as Michaela and Frasquita in Carmen.

She is a regular member of the Opera Australia Melbourne Chorus. She made her Opera Australia mainstage debut as the cheeky ‘Northern’ fairy Fleta in Iolanthe. Operatic roles include: Countess Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Mme Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor), Michaela & Frasquita (Carmen), Laurie (The Tenderland), Musetta (La Boheme), Anne Truelove (The Rake’s Progress), 2 Blumenmaedchen, II Gruppe (Parsifal), Gianetta (L’elisir d’amore) and Johanna (Sweeney Todd).

Leigh Harrold was recently named The Advertiser ‘2008 Musician of the Year’.Born in Whyalla, South Australia, Leigh completed undergraduate and post-graduate studies at Adelaide University. During this time he was a National Finalist in the Young Performer Awards and won the Beta Sigma Phi Classical Music Award.

He moved to the Australian National Academy of Music and was made Academy Fellow in 2004. Leigh has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America and Australia as both soloist and chamber musician, including concerts at Australia House in London, the Royal Academy of Music, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and concerto engagements with many Australian orchestras.

In 2007 he toured the United States and Canada. In 2008 he was a soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for the Santos ‘Symphony under the Stars’. He has collaborated with Thomas Reibl, Michael Cox, Daniel Gaede, Wissam Boustany, Charles Castleman, Andrew Ball, and Lisa Moore. In June 2002, Leigh traveled to the Orkney Islands to perform a concert of Maxwell Davies’ works in the presence of the composer.

Leigh maintains a fruitful relationship with the composers’ collective ‘The Firm’, and is a founding member of The Kegelstatt Ensemble. He is currently on the keyboard faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts, studying for a Ph.D. in piano performance and working at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Nicole Wallace is a Melbourne based soprano who most recently has been touring with Opera Australia’s Oz Opera School’s Company performing in Rossini’s Cinderella, where she performed both the title role and the role of Clorinda and performing in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Nicole has been a winner and place getter in the Ringwood Eisteddfod, Manningham Eisteddfod, Warrnambool and Boorondara Eisteddfod and has been a Semi Finalist in the Herald Sun Aria and the More Than Opera German Opera Grant.

Nicole has performed many roles ranging from Micaela in Carmen to Johanna in Sweeny Todd. Nicole is a member of the Victorian Opera Chorus.Last year Nicole made her debut concert appearance as a soloist with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, Monash Chorale and Camberwell Chorale. In 2009 Nicole was selected as one of 8 sopranos to be short listed for Opera Queensland’s Young Artist Program 2010.

Raymond Yong is a pianist, chamber musician and conductor. His performances have taken him to music festivals and concert series around Australia and internationally. As an emerging conductor, he is Music Director of the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the Victoria Chorale. He will appear as a guest conductor of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra in their 2010 season, and is a participant in the Symphony Australia Young Conductor Development Program.

Recent piano performances include recitals at the Musica Viva Huntington Estate Festival and Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, as well as concerto appearances with the Melbourne, the Tasmanian and the West Australian Symphony Orchestras. He has performed chamber music at the Melbourne International Festival and is regularly broadcast across Australia on ABC Classic FM.

Raymond is a graduate of the University of Melbourne where he studied piano with Stephen McIntyre and conducting with John Hopkins. He also holds the German Artist’s Diploma from the Hannover University of Music and Drama where he studied piano under Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling.

Melbourne pianist, conductor and composer Stefan Cassomenos appears regularly as a soloist, associate artist, and chamber performer. He completed his Bachelor of Music (Honours) in 2009 at Melbourne University, where he was awarded five prizes for performance. He was a semi-finalist and prize-winner in the 2005 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition and the 2006 Australian National Piano Award, and more recently was a finalist and prize-winner in two International Chamber Music Competitions, as a member of The Yarra Trio.

He has performed concertos with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, the Melbourne University Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Strings of Melbourne. Internationally, he has appeared as a soloist in St Petersburg, Tallinn, Warsaw, Krakow, Athens, Rome, Milan, Amsterdam, London, Bangkok, and Tokyo.

Stefan has been composing since the age of seven, and performing his music internationally since the age of ten. His compositions have been performed by the Symphony Orchestras of Melbourne and Adelaide.

Stefan was the Artistic Director of the 2007 Melba Festival, and has been the Guest Artistic Director of Melbourne’s Piano Landmarks festival since 2009. He was appointed Conductor of the Percy Grainger Youth Orchestra at the start of 2010.

Sue Goessling has enjoyed an extensive career as a pianist and accompanist for a wide variety of concert-work, as a rehearsal repetiteur both for opera productions and choral works. Her earliest engagements as a repetiteur and accompanist were for the Victorian Boys’ Choir and for the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society

During 1985 and 1986 she toured Victoria as official pianist for the Victoria State Opera’s Schools Touring Program. From 1997 until 2006, she was been the regular accompanist for Promac Productions’s performances in the Morning Melodies series of concerts in the Victorian Association Of Performing Arts Centres.

She has played regularly for performances including Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado and for such artists as Dennis Olsen Phillip Gould and soprano, Judy Glen. Sue is also pianist for Style Music, Opera Plus and for Trio Grande and Elastic Band which recently recorded a fundraising CD for the Royal Childrens’ Hospital.

She is official repetiteur and accompanist for the RMIT Choirs conducted by Faye Dumont and from 2005 to 2010 has been the official accompanist for Opera Australia’s Victorian Schools Company.

Tanya completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2007. During her time there she participated in several operas including Handel’s Semele, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, covering the role of 2nd Spirit, and performed the role of Emmie in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. Last year she was involved with the Melbourne Opera School and undertook the role of First Lady in The Magic Flute.

Tanya was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Herald Sun Aria. In 2009 Tanya studied at The School of Music Parkville at The University of Melbourne where she completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Music Performance where she was awarded the Clarice Malyon Middleton Scholarship and Lady Turner Exhibition Award. Tanya’s future engagements involve a performance of Beethoven’s concert aria Ah! Perfido with the Preston Symphony Orchestra.

Tom Griffiths has degrees in French from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and in Music from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He pursued postgraduate study at the European Mozart Academy in Warsaw. Since moving to Melbourne in 1999, Tom has established himself as a busy freelance repetiteur and accompanist.

Since 2000 he has been Principal Repetiteur for Melbourne Chorale/MSO Chorus. He has worked regularly for Opera Australia since 2002, including three years as Music Director of OzOpera’s School’s Company.Tom has performed with both the MSO and Orchestra Victoria. He is a regular accompanist at the Victorian College of the Arts, has featured on ABC Classic FM and in 2009 performed with the Vocalconsort Berlin in the Melbourne International Arts Festival.