1 December

The Mirabella Trio

Sayaka Eguchi (violin)

Hanae McLean (clarinet)

Kayoko Nishiwaki (pianoforte)

Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major (1838) - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
I. Allegro vivace
II. Adagio
III. Assai vivace

Trio for clarinet, violin and piano in G minor (1932) - Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)
I. Andante con dolore, con molto espressione
II. Allegro
III. Moderato 

From Nourlangie Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014)

Twisting Landscapes for clarinet, violin and piano - Makiko Kinoshita (1956-)
II.
III.

The Mirabella Trio

Since their debut in 2011, Mirabella Trio have performed concerts of classical and contemporary music across Sydney. Using the uniqueness of instrumentation of this trio they are passionate to perform both well established repertoire, such as Trios by Aram Khachaturian, Darius Milhaud, Béla Bartók, and Igor Stravinsky, as well as the less exposed (but fantastic) works such as Serenade for Three by Peter Schickele, and Trio by Gian Carlo Menotti.

Violin: Sayaka Eguchi

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Sayaka began her violin studies at age of three, working with teachers such as Dr. Shinichi Suzuki and Kazuhiko Osaka. She was a part of Suzuki method children's orchestra tour to Germany at ten years old.

After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy in the USA, she then pursued her studies with Donald Weilerstein and David Updegraff at The Cleveland Institute of Music where she was awarded a special prize for "Distinguished Violinist" upon completion of Master's Degree in violin performance. She participated in major music festivals such as Aspen, Tanglewood, and Sarasota. She is a prize winner of Fishoff National Chamber Music Competition (Indiana, USA) along with many other prizes.

She served as the principal second violin of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the concertmaster of Cleveland Women's Orchestra with which she made numerous solo appearances. She is an active recitalist and chamber musician, performing as a part of Mirabella Trio as well as a dedicated violin teacher.

Piano: Kayoko Nishiwaki

Kayoko studied at Mukogawa Women's University in Japan with Boris Bekhterev and with the late Naoyuki Inoue, himself a pupil of Rudolf Serkin. She also holds a Master's degree from Moscow State Conservatoire. Kayoko is an experienced Chamber Musician. In Japan, replacing Boris Bekhterev, she appeared a number of times at Russian Embassy, both as a soloist and an accompanist. For several years she participated in the Kobe Memorial production of Verdi Requiem.

She and her husband, a former pianist Dong-Jun Ha, established a duo called 'Piano Duo'. In 2005 they played in Kobe International Competition and received an award. Kayoko now lives in Sydney where she studies privately with Phillip Shovk and runs a home studio. She has recorded for ABC Classics.

Clarinet: Hanae McLean

Hanae moved from Japan to Brisbane in 2000 to study with Floyd Williams at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. In 2003, she moved to Sydney to study with Francesco Celata, Associate Principal Clarinettist with the Sydney Symphony. In 2004, Hanae completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance degree, and in 2005 finished Post Graduate Diploma in Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Hanae was a member of Sydney Sinfonia, the Sydney Symphony Education Programme, in 2003 and 2004. She was a guest musician for Sydney Symphony Fellowship Program in 2005 and a member of Camerata programme for Australian Youth Orchestra in 2006. She has performed with Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonic Choir Orchestra, Pacific Opera as well as Eminence Symphony Orchestra. Hanae teaches clarinet and saxophone at various schools.

8 December

Classicum Australis

Andrew Doyle (period clarinet)

Shaun Warden (period violin)

Kirsty Vickers (period violoncello)

Trio in C-dur - Alessandro Besozzi (1792-1793)

Andante from Trio in E-flat - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Divertimento No. 3 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Classicum Australis is a chamber ensemble dedicated to Historically Informed Performance of 18th and early 19th Century Classical music.

A combination of period accurate instruments and extensive research into the repertoire and period performance styles results in performances rich in ornaments and musicality.

From a humble home concert in a living room to the concert hall stage, it is the goal of Classicum Australis to play classical music to as many people as possible, and display the beauty of classical music on period instruments.

The ensemble is led by period clarinettist Andrew Doyle, and he combines with a variety of wind and string instrumentalists to play original compositions and arrangements in true Classical tradition.

15 December

Alastair Duff-Forbes (violin)

Paul Cheung (pianoforte)

Méditation from Thaïs - Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912)

Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major - César Franck (1822 - 1890)

  I - Allegretto Moderato
 II - Allegro
 III - Recitativo-Fantasia
 IV - Allegretto Poco Mosso

Alastair Duff-Forbes began playing the violin at the age of five and the piano at the age of seven. He attended the Conservatorium High School on scholarship. During that time, he studied the violin with Alice Waten and Goetz Richter, and the piano with Stephanie McCallum. Alastair obtained his A.Mus.A for violin in 1998 and for piano the following year. He was awarded the L.Mus.A for violin in 2002.

In 2001, Alastair began his studies for a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium, majoring in violin performance, continuing his studies under Goetz Richter. Since then, he has received a number of Scholarships including the Matteson and Nancy Roberts Scholarship, the Chapple Bremner Award and a Rotary Scholarship. Alastair graduated with honours at the end of 2004 and studied for a Master of Music in violin performance at the Sydney Conservatorium under Chris Kimber and Carl Pini. Alastair has participated in masterclasses with artists of international renown, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dene Olding, Lara St. John, Walter Verdehr, Charles Castlemann, the Borodin Quartet, the Goldner String Quartet and the Belcea Quartet. Alastair reached the semi-finals of the Kendall National Violin Competition in 2001.

As a soloist, Alastair has performed many concerti including the Barber Violin Concerto with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, the Mozart A Major Violin Concerto with Orchestra 143, the Bach Double Violin Concerto with Tracy Wan and Orchestra 143, and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Balmain Sinfonia. In 2012, Alastair performed the world premiere of Chernobyl, violin concerto, by Aaron Kenny with the Bourbaki Ensemble – a work that was written especially for Alastair.

Alastair has been an active chamber musician for many years, and has been a member of many different ensembles including the Sapphire String Quartet, the Stables Quartet and the Stables Trio. He has performed in a wide variety of events including the 2006 Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, the 2007 APEC leaders' conference at the Sydney Opera House, and the world premiere of 'Dreams and Visions' by John Petersen, in 2011.

Alastair has been a member of many orchestras, including the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Sydney Youth Orchestra and Eminence Symphony Orchestra. He has been Concertmaster of the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Bourbaki Ensemble and Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra. He is currently Concertmaster of Balmain Sinfonia. Alastair studied conducting with Henryk Pisarek in 2003 and 2004. He has performed as a conductor in various concerts including with Orchestra 143 in 2010.

Paul Cheung is one of Australia's most promising young accompanists.  He recently completed a postgraduate diploma at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he was a recipient of both the prestigious Geoffrey Parsons Australian Scholarship and the Chapple Bremner Award.  He has studied piano with Tamara Anna Cislowska and accompaniment with David Miller AM. He is increasingly in demand as an accompanist for instrumentalists and singers across a wide range of situations, including concerts, competitions, recordings, and so on.

In addition to his experience as an accompanist, Paul has also achieved considerable success as a solo pianist.  In 2009, he was the winner of both the UMT Roger Woodward Scholarship and the MTA Junior Pianoforte Scholarship, and as a result of the latter he was chosen to perform in Adelaide in the Yamaha Recitals Australia Showcase concert as the NSW representative.  In 2010, he was runner-up in the prestigious Kawai Piano Award at the Sydney Eisteddfod.  Later in the year, he entered the semi-finals of the 2MBS-FM young performers award, and was subsequently runner-up in the state finals.  In late 2011, he was awarded his LMusA with distinction, and was invited to be one of the five performers at the graduation ceremony in early 2012.  More recently, Paul was the winner of the Recital Award section of the Sydney Eisteddfod, and runner-up in the Russian Piano section.

Aside from piano-playing, Paul is also interested in mathematics.  In 2008, he was a silver medallist at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Madrid (one of six Australian representatives that year).  At the age of 19 (in 2012), Paul commenced his PhD in mathematics at the University of Sydney after being awarded a Bachelor of Science (advanced mathematics), with first class honours and the university medal.

22 December

NO RECITAL

29 December

No RECITAL

RECITALS RESUME ON 2 FEBRUARY 2018