SUSAN COLLINS - Artistic Director, Violinist
Susan Collins (…) plays these extraordinary scores with a remarkable sureness of touch, following even the most unexpected shifts in phrasing and expressive direction with micro-fine precision.
[Julian Haylock The Strad, May 2009]
At age 14, Susan performed Sarasate’s Zigeunerweissen with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Patrick Thomas at the Sydney Opera House. Since that time, she has performed as soloist and recitalist throughout Australia, the USA, and Europe. Critically acclaimed commercial CD releases include the complete violin works of Raymond Hanson (Tall Poppies) with pianist, David Miller, the complete Schumann Piano Trios (ABC Classics) with Kingfisher Trio, and Fritz Hart Music for Violin and Piano with Stephanie McCallum (Toccata Classics).
From 1992 until 2001, Susan held the position of Deputy Concertmaster of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and in 2003 was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for her contribution to Opera and Ballet. From 2014 to 2021 she was Head of Strings and Orchestra at the University of Tasmania Conservatorium following a 6-year tenure at the University of Newcastle. Now based in Queensland, she teaches at Qld Conservatorium, Griffith University. In recent years, Susan has enjoyed performing as a featured artist in music festivals including Dark Mofo, Synesthesia, Ten Days on the Island, and Bangalow festivals. In 2022, Susan conducted the Queensland Youth Orchestra and performed as a soloist for the organisation’s fundraising event, was a featured artist at the Newcastle Music Festival, joined the panel of international judges for the Lipizer Violin Competition in Italy, and conducted the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra’s final Metro Concert.
Since 2018, Susan is Musical Director of the Riverina Summer School for Strings. In 2021, she founded the Nova Muse Festival in Penguin as Artistic Director, which is a highlight of her year.
BARBARA JANE GILBY - Festival Mentor, Violinist
Barbara Jane Gilby has had a busy and diverse life with her violin. Study in Canberra and Boston USA was followed by orchestral positions in Iceland, Germany and Tasmania. At one point she had lived on three continents, in multiple cities, within 5 years, (and was thinking of setting up a house -moving consultancy) but the highlight was the 15 years she was concertmaster of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and director of the ARIA award winning Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players.
Twenty years in Canberra followed, initially as senior lecturer at the ANU, and then teaching privately when the University dismantled its music programmes. Since her move to Braidwood NSW in 2020 she has continued teaching in Canberra and leading Canberra Strings. As well as teaching and playing violin, Barbara is interested in passing on her knowledge and skills in the area of ensemble leadership. She lives with her happy cat Kara, maintains her acquaintance with the viola, enjoys painting and hosts a weekly radio programme on Braidwood Community Radio.
SALLY CLARKE - Festival Mentor, Violist
Sally Clarke was born in Brisbane, Australia. She received her earliest violin tuition at the age of 10; one year later she took up the viola, which quickly became her principal musical interest. She studied with Elizabeth Morgan at the University of Queensland (Brisbane) from 1983 - 1986.
After graduating with Honours, Sally continued her studies on a DAAD scholarship, firstly in Cologne, and then in the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1988 she was invited to perform in the “Schleswig-Holstein Musikfest Orchesterakademie” as principal violist, under the baton of Sergiu Celibidache, from whose mentoring she benefited greatly. She attended masterclasses of Rainer Moog and Yuri Bashmyet, and has herself has taught numerous workshops and masterclasses, and coached many youth orchestras. Sally teaches online at PlayWithaPro.
Since 1992 she has been a permanent member of the Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart (SWR); she also performs regularly with the prestigious Australian World Orchestra.
Chamber music has taken her to many places and festivals in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Australia. She has performed live on stage with modern dance and world music, and improvised to silent movies of the 1920s. The string trio, “Trio Krása”, was founded in 2020 with the intention of performing “forgotten music”, works by composers banned during the Holocaust.
Sally’s recordings for German and Australian radio are of valuable lesser-known repertoire, for example the Viola Sonata of Wilhelm Killmayr. The CD “…another sort of fire” was released in 2006; the CD “Blue Ayre” was released in 2013, with her harp trio of the same name. Sally’s YouTube Channel is: Callistemon 1212
BRETT RUTHERFORD - Festival Mentor, Cellist
Brett began his professional career as a full time cellist with the Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra, now known as the AOBO. During that time, he spent a year of study in London with Alexander Baillie and William Pleeth and soon after returning, accepted a full-time position in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Brett, with his wife Janet and Barbara Jane Gilby, formed the Trigon ensemble , a string Trio, which performed regularly around Tasmania and interstate and featured on ABC television and classic FM. Since then, he has played in the Kettering Piano Quartet and more recently, the Chrysantha string quartet. Brett also has an interest in early music and plays the Viola da Gamba in various ensembles such as Van Diemens Band and is a founding member of Sequenza.
MICHAEL FORTESCUE - Festival Mentor, Bass
Michael’s early musical training was in Canberra, playing with Canberra Youth Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and Australian Youth Orchestra. After a year with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, he moved to Tasmania, to study with Jan Sedivka at University of Tasmania. He commenced work with TSO in 1976. He undertook studies in 1988-89 with François Rabbath at Conservatoire Lili et Nadia Boulanger Paris IX. He left TSO in 2013. He is a former board member of TSO, deputy chair Music Fund of Australia Council, chair of Music Panel of TAAB, president of Hobart branch of Musicians Union and lecturer in double bass and improvised music at UTAS. Currently chair of Kickstart Arts and freelance specialist in whiskers and kicks.
ALEXANDER RAINERI - Festival Mentor, Pianist
Hailed as a "born communicator" (The Australian), Alex Raineri lives on Jagera and Turrbul land in Meanjin (Brisbane, Queensland). He is active throughout Australia and Internationally as a piano recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, harpsichordist, composer, writer, producer, and educator.
Alex is an artist ambassador for Kawai Australia and is the Artistic Director of Brisbane Music Festival and live-music venue FourthWall Arts. International tours include America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Asia, and New Zealand. Within Australia, Alex has been a featured artist at many major festivals, series, and venues.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Alex has commissioned over 80 works and has given over 140 World Premieres and over 170 Australian Premieres to date. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the Queensland, Tasmanian, Darwin, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Camerata, Orchestra Victoria, Ensemble Q, and others. Radio broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Radio NZ, California Capital Public Radio, Chicago’s WFMT, ABC Classic FM, and all of the Australian MBS Networks.
Collaborations with notable Australian and International artists include Andreas Ottensamer, Twoset Violin, eighth blackbird, ELISION, Asko|Schönberg, Lior, Sara Macliver, Mirusia, Natalie Clein, Natsuko Yoshimoto, Greta Bradman, Karin Schaupp, Lorina Gore, Amy Lehpamer, Claire Edwardes, Li Wei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Warwick Fyfe, Jack Liebeck, Kathryn Stott, Slava Grigoryan, Brett Dean, William Barton, Sophie Rowell, Jane Sheldon, Lisa Moore, Ensemble Offspring, Orava Quartet, and many others.
Major awards include winning the Australian National Piano Award, ANAM Concerto Competition, and Kerikeri International Piano Competition (New Zealand). Alex was a recipient of the Queensland Luminary Award (2021) in the APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards and also received a Kranichsteiner Musikpries (2014) at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music (Germany). In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
