THE METROPOLITAN ORCHESTRA COMPOSER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2017 KEY PERSONNEL BIOS
Under the baton of Founding Artistic Director & Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO) comprises Sydney’s most dynamic musicians and is recognised as one of the country’s most versatile orchestras delivering accessible, first-class and vibrant concert experiences.
In addi on their much loved and regularly sold our Met Concert series at the ABC Centre in Ul mo, TMO’s annual season also includes a variety of events tailored to different demographics with a concert series presented in the upper Blue Mountains, development programs for composers and performers, performances for young audiences and newly arrived refugees, interstate tours, free concerts and more.
Boasting a rigorous work ethic and commitment to exceptional quality of performance, TMO has performed with many renowned artists in concert and/or on album recordings including Conductors Richard Gill, George Fenton, Brian Castles-Onion, Ben Foster and Guy Noble; Singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sumi Jo, Yvonne Kenny, Elaine Paige, Anthony Warlow, John Farnham, Marina Prior, Cheryl Barker, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Antoinette Halloran, Kate Ceberano, Olivia Newton-John, Emma Pask, David Hobson, Nicole Car, Rosario La Spina, Greta Bradman, Anna Leese, Belinda Montgomery, Alexander Knight, Daniel Bonic-Goodwin, Barry Ryan, Anke Höppner, Christopher Hillier, Teresa La Rocca, Stuart Maunder, Meredith O’Reilly, Richard Anderson, Sian Pendry, Samuel Dundas, Daniel Belle, David Hooley, Tommy Fleming, Suzanne Johnston, Judi Connelli, Mark Vincent and Renae Martin; Instrumentalists David Helfgott, Simon Tedeschi, James Morrison, Claire Edwardes, the Grigoryan Brothers, Bruce Mathiske, Shefali Pryor, Frank Celata, Emma-Jane Murphy, Patrick Murphy, Benjamin Kopp, Ambre Hammond, Kirsten Williams, Nicholas Russoniello, Anna Da Silva Chen, Bernard Walz, Lisa Stewart, Jane Rutter and the Lyrebird Trio; Actors Alex Kingston, Mark Williams and Tyran Parke; Vocal Ensembles Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney Chamber Choir, Figaro and members of Opera Australia and Children’s Entertainers Lah-Lah and Buzz.
Making music accessible at a community level hasn't stopped TMO making a massive impact on the larger na onal stage however. The orchestra’s sparkling seven year history includes a star-studded array of highlight concert events performed at pres ge venues such as Sydney Opera House for special events such as BBC’s Blue Planet and Planet Earth, Doctor Who, Opera in the Vineyards and Bravo! Cruise of the Performing Arts (sailing the high seas of the South Pacific).
An important focus in The Metropolitan Orchestra's mission is to support Australian ar sts - orchestral players, composers and soloists. TMO has commissioned, performed and recorded world premieres by a number of Australian composers including Sean O’Boyle, Mark Grandison, Daniel Rojas, Bruce Mathiske and Gavin Lockley. TMO has workshopped new works by Paul Stanhope, Stuart Greenbaum, Ma hew Hindson and James Humberstone, as well as the eight composi ons of the 2016 Composer Development Program. TMO’s 2017 season will boast several commissioned works and world premieres. SARAH-GRACE WILLIAMS TMO ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CHIEF CONDUCTOR 2017 COMPOSER WORKSHOP DIRECTOR
Sarah-Grace Williams has been hailed by Limelight Magazine to be amongst ‘10 of the Best Women Conductors – trailblazing talents that are leading the way for women conductors all over the world’. She has received acclaim from audiences and cri cs alike for her vibrant energy, outstanding musicianship and dynamic presence on the podium.
Founding Chief Conductor and Ar s c Director of The Metropolitan Orchestra, Sarah-Grace has also worked as Musical Director of Sydney Opera House Proms produc ons since 2007 and is in high demand as a Guest Conductor, with concert engagements with the Queensland, Adelaide, West Australian and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Bangalow Fes val Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Music Fes val, Southern Cross Soloists and Ar sts of Opera Australia amongst others. She has composed and orchestrated hundreds of works, including numerous produc ons for the Sydney Opera House Babies Proms.
During 2009-2010 Sarah-Grace was Assistant Conductor for Symphony Australia, assis ng various conductors including Simone Young, Johannes Fritzsch, Eivind Aadland, Arvo Volmer and Paul Daniel. At the conclusion of this pos ng, she was awarded a pres gious Churchill Fellowship, allowing her to study and assist renowned orchestras and conductors throughout Europe and the UK. In early 2011, Sarah-Grace worked as Stager Conductor at the Ukraine Na onal Opera and Ballet Theatre before returning to Australia to take up a posi on as Conduc ng Fellow with the Australian Ballet.
Over the past three years, Sarah-Grace has conducted more than 150 performances with highlights including the na onal tour of pianist David Helfgo , numerous concerts with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, gala events with James Morrison, Ka e Noonan and Kate Ceberano, the album recording/world premiere performance of Gavin Lockley’s King of the Air Musical and Piano Concerto with Simon Tedeschi, the world premiere of Daniel Rojas’ Marimba Concerto with Claire Edwardes, the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s ballet Li le Green Road to Fairyland for the opening of the Queensland Music Fes val, appearing as Guest Resident Conductor at the Bangalow Music Fes val and conduc ng all major concerts in The Metropolitan Orchestra’s concert season.
In 2013 Sarah-Grace was recognised for her outstanding achievements and contribu on to the community, being announced on the Interna onal Women’s Day Honour Roll.
Sarah-Grace received her Bachelor of Music with Dis nc on in 1996 majoring in performance and composi on, followed by a First Class Honours in Conduc ng. Following this, she con nued her conduc ng studies overseas with Alexander Polishchuk (Russia) and Jorma Panula (Holland). Sarah-Grace has been awarded numerous prizes including a Symphony Australia Podium Scholarship, the University of Western Sydney Prize for Academic Excellence and Prize for 1st place in Performance. She has been listed in the Who’s Who of Australian Women for the past five years and in Limelight magazine's list of 50 top power players in the arts and one of the top 5 Australian conductors to watch. Sarah-Grace is a Unit Coordinator and Lecturer of Conduc ng at the Australian Ins tute of Music and has worked as a guest radio presenter for various sta ons including ABC Classic FM. She also con nues to work as a freelance clarine st, pianist and orchestrator.
Sarah-Grace is passionate about suppor ng Australian music and Australian ar sts and has mentored a number of young Australian composers and conductrs numerous world premieres by Australian composers each year. CORE ASSESSMENT PANEL (Responsible for selec on of 8 par cipants in program) Sarah-Grace Williams (TMO Ar s c Director & Chief Conductor), Svetlana Yaroslavskaya (TMO Chief Librarian & Principal Flute), Dominique Guerbois (Concertmaster), Nataliya Lukich (Principal Violin & TMO Commi ee Member), Andrew Doyle (TMO Principal Clarinet & TMO Commi ee Member), Murray Parker (Principal Timpani/Percussion & & TMO Commi ee Member) Feedback from other principals may be sought, pending submissions.
TMO ENSEMBLE (STAGE TWO) Comprising Principal Players of TMO (1 Player per part) VIOLIN: Dominique Guerbois, Nataliya Lukich | VIOLA: Irina Andreeva | CELLO: Ezmi Pepper | BASS: Mark Szeto FLUTE/PICCOLO: Svetlana Yaroslavksaya |OBOE/COR ANGLAIS: Ma hew Bubb CLARINET/BASS CLARINET: Andrew Doyle | BASSOON/ CONTRA BASSOON: Anthony Grimm HORN: Michael Wray | TRUMPET: Jenna Smith | TROMBONE: Jacob Shaw | TUBA: Sco Frankcomber TIMPANI: Murray Parker | PERCUSSION: Tim Brigden Musicians of Stage Two are asked to complete a ques onnaire on each composi on (in addi on to providing verbal and wri en feedback to composers). These comments are taken into considera on by the assessment panel when selec ng the four works to progress to Stage Three of the program
FULL ORCHESTRA (STAGE THREE) First Violin: Dominique Guerbois#, Nataliya Lukich* Anthea Hetherington, Angela Cassar, Sarah Anthony, Kathryn Crossing, Nan Heo, Caroline Kelly, Peter Krajniak, Emlyn Lewis- Jones, Jackie McCaughan, Chris na Mills Second Violin: Lindsay Irik*, Lidia Bara, Catrina Hughes, Sagar Nagaraj, Elisabe a Sonego, Mar’yana Sywak, Denisa Smeu-Kirileanu, Ela Stopa-Zbikowska, Renae Pinazza, Jane Stanley Viola: Irina Andreeva*, Georina Price, Robyn Botha, Elizabeth D’Olier, Darius Kaperonis, Laura Piplica, Kathryn Ramsay, Viktoria Vukovich Cello: Ezmi Pepper*, John Benz*, Steve Meyer*, Caroline Hobbs^, Julienne Guerbois, Emily Palethorpe Bass: Jeremy Fox*, Mark Szeto*, Jessica Holmes, Nicole Murray-Prior Flute: Svetlan Yaroslavskaya, Jacinta Mikus, Vanessa Couper Oboe: Ma hew Bubb* Rie Tamaru*, Alex Fontaina Clarinet: Andrew Doyle*, Alisha Coward, Evay Guy Bassoon: Tony Grimm*, Sarajane Hansen* Horn: Michael Wray*, Julia Zeltzer*, Adrian Hallam, Tina Brain, Neil O’Donnell Trumpet: Jenna Smith*, Adam Davis Trombone: Jacob Shaw*, Mark Brown, Darcy Shevlin Tuba: Sco Frankcombe* #Concert Master Timpani: Murray Parker* *Principal Player Percussion: Tim Brigden ^Associate Principal COMPOSER DEVELOPEMENT PROGRAM OPERATIONS SUB-COMMITTEE
Orchestra Coordinator & Stage Manager Sharika Toth A Music Consultant for global music publisher Audio Network, Sharika holds degrees in Music, Psychology and Strategic Public Rela ons from The University of Sydney, as well as a Master of Arts Management from The Australian Ins tute of Music. Sharika has also been in the role of Orchestra Coordinator and Stage Manager for all TMO produced events since 2014.
Opera ons Coordinator & Composer Coordinator Sean Moloney The Opera ons and Orchestra Manager of the Australian Ins tute of Music Orchestra, Sean Moloney has completed his Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance), AMusA and Advanced Cer ficate from Trinity Guildhall. Sean currently has been in the role of Opera ons Manager with The Metropolitan Orchestra since 2015 and was the Composer Development Program, Composer Coordinator in 2016.
Schools Coordinator Renae Pinazza Lecturer in Music Educa on at Wollongong University and Head of Arts at Illawarra Grammar School, Renae has taught music across all levels covering Preparatory, Primary, Mandatory, Elec ve, Preliminary and HSC Music 1, 2 and HSC Music Extension course. Renae is commencing in the newly appointed role of Educa on & School Coordinator in June 2016, liaising directly with teacher’s to encourage student a endance and par cipa on to all TMO educa on and young audiences programs, including the Composer Development Program.
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In addi on to this sub-commi ee, TMO will draw upon resources from their Execu ve Commi ee, TMO Advisory Panel, TMO Opera on Sub-Commi ee and Friends of TMO (Volunteers) as required.
Execu ve Commi ee: Bevan Rigato (General Manager), Sarah-Grace Williams (Ar s c Director), Bernard Walz (Financial Controller), Sarajane Kirkaldy-Hansen (Secretary), Svetlana Yaroslavskaya (Chief Librarian)
Opera ons Sub-Commi ee: Sharika Toth, Sean Moloney, Kathryn Ramsay, Alisha Coward, Murray Parker, Laura Piplica, Nataliya Lukich
TMO Advisory Panel: Erla Ronan (Group Manager, Community and Cultural Services, Inner West Council) Trevor Solomons (Na onal senior Manager, Woolworths) Steve Lloyd (CEO, CruiseCo) Robert Orrell (Managing Director, Brand Marke ng) Joseph Malouf (CEO, Joseph Malouf and Associates) Mark Gardiner (CEO, Teddington Legal) Tim Kennedy (Vice Presidnet, Credico)