After leaving Fiji, her birthplace, as a small child, Wilma took all musical opportunities on offer in her new home of Auckland, New Zealand, culminating in study at Auckland University and early professional experience with the Auckland Symphonia (now Philharmonia) and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She then continued her studies in Boston at the New England Conservatory with the legendary Dorothy DeLay and Louis Krasner, playing in masterclasses for many others including Joseph Gingold, Yehudi Menuhin and Sandor Vegh.
She was founding first violinist of the Lydian String Quartet, prizewinners at Evian, Banff and Portsmouth International Competitions and winners of the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music. Although the Lydian String Quartet was Wilma's professional focus in Boston, she also worked regularly in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and led the Harvard Chamber Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society and Banchetto Musicale, a period instrument baroque orchestra. An invitation to form the New Zealand String Quartet took her back to Wellington in 1987 and she was first violinist of the quartet until her appointment as Concertmaster of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1993. During her years with the quartet they toured New Zealand and Australia extensively and performed at the Tanglewood Festival. Prior to her departure for Melbourne, the NZSO honoured her with the title of Concertmaster Emeritus.
Wilma has enjoyed a longstanding duo partnership with pianist, Michael Houstoun and since moving to Melbourne, has formed the Munro/Smith/Berlin Trio with Ian Munro (piano) and David Berlin (cello) with whom she has performed regularly in New Zealand and Australia. In the last two years Wilma has been a frequent guest with another Melbourne group. Ensemble Liaison, whose core is clarinet, cello and piano but who expand with other instruments to perform a widely varied and eclectic repertoire.
The 2008 International Festival of the Arts in Wellington provided an opportunity for three concerts of stimulating chamber music collaboration with Steven Isserlis (cello), Melvyn Tan (piano), Michael Houstoun (piano) and Carolyn Henbest (viola). The connection with Mr Isserlis will continue in 2009 with Wilma's participation in his Open Chamber Music Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, England.
In December 2010 Wilma co-founded the Hopkins String Quartet in Melbourne, together with violinist Yi Wang, violist Fiona Sargeant and cellist Sharon Draper, which is currently providing a performance series in venues such as Stones Winery in the Yarra Valley and the Melbourne Recital Centre Salon.
While performing the symphonic and chamber music repertoire is undoubtedly the core of Wilma's musical life, she is also a committed teacher of violin at Melbourne University and privately. Wilma lives with her partner, Peter Watt, a computer consultant and reformed trombonist, their three daughters, Jessye, Rosie and Sophie, two dogs, two cats and ten fish at last count.
She has won many prizes in international competitions including the Wieniawski, the Yehudi Menuhin and the Tibor Varga. She received the Gold Medal in both the prestigious 1994 Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Competition and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Award. In 2007 Natsuko was presented with the Iwaki Award for outstanding achievement as a Japanese artist.
Natsuko has appeared frequently at major international festivals throughout Europe, U.S.A, Asia and Australia. As a chamber musician she has collaborated with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Heinz Holliger, Stephen Kovacevich, Brett Dean, Stephen Osbourne and Christina Ortiz. She has performed in many of the finest concert halls around the world and was honoured to perform in the presence of the Queen and the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.
In great demand as a soloist, she has appeared with many world-renowned orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia (London), Halle Orchestra, Odense Symphony (Denmark), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. She has worked with many leading conductors and formed a special relationship with both Yehudi Menuhin and Hiroyuki Iwaki over many years.
In 2010, Natsuko became Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Previously she was the leader of the Australian String Quartet and then the Grainger Quartet and Sydney Soloists. Additionally, Natsuko has given many master classes and workshops in renowned musical institutions and conservatoires around the world.
Natsuko has given numerous world premieres of works by Australia's most prominent composers including a violin concerto by Gerard Brophy written for Natsuko and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in November 2010. She has recorded for Virgin Classics, ABC Classics, Melba Records and Tall Poppies.
Natsuko plays a Nicolo Amati dated 1650.
Caroline has worked extensively as a teacher, having taught at Monash University, Melbourne University, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she fulfilled a year’s contract as Senior Lecturer.
In 2007 Caroline was a jury member for the 5th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. She is a regular participant at chamber music festivals throughout the world, including the IMS Prussia Cove 2007 tour, which was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society chamber music award.
She has performed as Guest Principal Viola with the Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Glyndebourne on Tour.
Caroline is based in Melbourne, where she is a member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and teaches at the Australian National Academy of Music.
He was principal cellist of the WASO for 6 years and is a regular guest principal with the Tasmanian and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He has also been a principal cellist of the ACO.
Perhaps best known as the cellist of the Macquarie Trio, Mr Goldschlager recently recorded the complete Unaccompanied Suites for cello by J.S. Bach for ABC Classics, slated for release this year. He has appeared twice on Margaret Throsby’s radio program, and was the subject of a feature article in Vogue Magazine.
This year marks Michael Goldschlager’s 6th appearance at the AFCM, having been part of the Festival’s inaugural year. He has been a coordinator of strings at the Australian National Academy of Music, and has held positions at several other tertiary institutions in Australia and in New York.
Ian Munro completed his early training in Melbourne under the guidance of Roy Shepherd, furthering his studies in Vienna, London and Italy. In the UK alone he has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and broadcast widely for the BBC. Elsewhere, he has performed with orchestras in Poland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, the USA, China, New Zealand and all the major orchestras in Australia in over sixty piano concerti. In chamber music he has joined artists such as Ruggiero Ricci, Erich Gruenberg, Oleh Krysa, Krszysztof Smietana, Leslie Howard, Karina Georgian, Jane Manning, Gerald English, Yvonne Kenny and the Medici and Belcea String Quartets, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Ian joined the acclaimed Australia Ensemble in Sydney in 2000.
Increasingly in demand as a composer, Ian was composer in residence with the TSO in 2005 and 2006 and has been commissioned to write for the Melbourne Chorale, Gondwana Voices, Flinders Quartet, Australia Ensemble and Chamber Music New Zealand. After having headed the piano department at the Tasmanian Conservatorium for five years between 1995 and 1999, Ian has been a member of staff the Australian National Academy of Music and was on the jury of the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition.
Music (Hons) and Higher Diploma in Education. He pursued his postgraduate
studies at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Hungary,
where he studied under world renowned conductor and pedagogue, Péter Erdei.
He graduated in 1988 with the Advanced Diploma of the Kodály Institute, the
Institute¹s highest award.
In 1990 he moved to Australia to take up a position at the Canberra School
of Music teaching in the school's Primary Music Programme , a programme
designed in part to pursue standards of excellence being achieved in the
'singing' primary schools in Hungary. In 1991 he took up a position in the
school's tertiary programme lecturing in the areas of Aural Training, Music
Theory, Pedagogy, and Choral Conducting. Between 1990 and 1993 he also
conducted the Canberra School of Music Children's Choir. This choir gave a
number of very successful performances at the 20th World I.S.M.E Conference
in Seoul, Korea in 1992.
In 1994 he took up a position as Academic Sub-Dean and Head of Core Studies
at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania. He was
founding Director of 'Community Music Access', a programme which offered
Musicianship and Instrumental training to children aged 2-14. From 1994-1998
he was director of the Chamber Vocal Ensemble 'VocE '96', and was founding
Musical Director of 'Sisongke Community Choir', a choir which focuses on the
multi-cultural nature of Australian society.
In 1998 Micheál moved to Perth to establish Cottage School of Music, and in
2001 he took up a position as lecturer in music at WAAPA (the Western
Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University). He is
currently Senior Lecturer in Music, specialising in areas of Aural Training,
Music Theory, Choral Conducting, and Chamber Music/Ensemble Skills
Development. He is also the director of Eneskis Vocal Ensemble, a choir
which has quickly gained a reputation as one of the finest choirs in
Australia.
Micheál's choirs have featured regularly on ABC Classic FM and have also
been invited to perform for the members of the Upper and Lower Houses of the
Western Australian Parliament on the occasion of the Centenary of Parliament
Celebrations in 2004. Micheál conducts regular workshops for teachers,
students, community groups and corporate organisations in Australia and
overseas, and many of his workshops have featured at national and
international conferences. In 2010 Micheál received a Citation for
Excellence in Teaching as part of the Australian Learning & Teaching
Council's 'Australian Awards for University Teaching'.