Music for a Winter’s Day

Soloist: James Armstrong, Violin

James is currently in his second year of training at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) under the tutelage of Adam Chalabi, and he studied with Sophie Rowell in 2023.

He obtained a Bachelor of Music Performance with Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied with Janet Davies and was the recipient of the Ted and Susan Meller Memorial Scholarship Fund.

James enjoys a versatile career, performing on both modern and baroque violin. Most recently, James was selected as one of the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 2024 Emerging Artists. He performs regularly with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and has recently performed with Pinchgut Opera, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Sydney Philharmonia, Muffat Collective, the Nomad String Quartet and the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra.. James has been the concertmaster of the Sydney Youth Orchestra and has held principal positions in programs with the Australian Youth Orchestra and with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. In 2019, James was honoured to have been the inaugural recipient of the Austria Scholarship from SYO and the Austrian National Tourist Office.

As a passionate chamber musician, James was the Convenor of Chamber Music at St Andrew’s College and formed the ‘Forelle Ensemble’, a Sydney-based piano quintet, which toured in Sydney, regional NSW and ACT in 2021. James has performed in masterclasses with highly acclaimed musicians including Lukas Ljubas, Jan Pospichal, Anne Harvey-Nagl, Wayne Foster-Smith, Louis Creac’h, Julia Fredersdorff, Midori Goto, Shunske Sato, Anthony Marwood, the Brodsky Quartet and Leila Schayegh.

When James has a moment away from the violin, he could usually be found out on a walk somewhere or trying the new local cafe or wine bar.

James plays an A.E. Smith violin, jointly owned by ANAM and Janet Holmes à Court AC. It was purchased for ANAM with the support of Christina Katsimbardis, and with donations from Gilbert George, George Georgiou, Peter Ingram, Maria Kailis and an anonymous benefactor.

Conductor: Willem van der Vis

Concert 4

Soloist: Jamie Miles, Viola

Conductor: Willem van der Vis