Artists

The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra has been privileged to work with the following artists.

Charlotte Miles – Cello

Maroondah Symphony Orchestra

Born in 2002, Melbourne-based cellist Charlotte Miles is currently completing her third year of training with Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), in addition to her second-year Bachelor of Music (BMus) studies at the University of Melbourne.

In recent years, Charlotte has performed in Los Angeles, New York, London and Zurich, and throughout Germany, China, France, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand (including extensive performances with the Australian Youth Orchestra). Charlotte has benefitted from masterclasses with cellists including Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Maria Kliegel, David Geringas and Alban Gerhardt, in addition to performing alongside world-leading cellists such as Mischa Maisky, Truls Mørk, Sol Gabetta and Giovanni Sollima in a 100-cello ensemble at the 2016 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival in Los Angeles.

Awarded over 100 competition prizes, Charlotte has performed at Carnegie Hall (New York) and Opera Bastille (Paris) in prize-winner concerts for international competitions, and has been a major prize-winner at the 2018 Gisborne (NZ) International Music Competition, and the 2020 “Anna Kull” International Cello Competition in Graz (Austria). In 2019, Charlotte was the 3MBS Young Performer of the Year and winner of the National Young Virtuoso Award. Charlotte has performed on 3MBS, 4MBS, 5MBS and ABC Classic radio stations, and has been featured on The Violin Channel.

Performed with MaSO March 19 & 26th 2017, March 28th 2021

Harry Ward – Violin

Maroondah Symphony Orchestra

Harry has always been extremely passionate about music and the violin in particular, and is currently training at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) with Robin Wilson. He was most recently studying at Robert McDuffie Center for Strings under the tutelage of Amy Schwartz-Moretti, David Halen and Robert McDuffie in America.

Before this time, Harry studied in Vienna, Austria with Professor Boris Kuschnir as part of a course for young ‘Highly Gifted Students’ at the Graz Kunst-Universität, and was afforded the opportunity to consume and perform music with some of the world’s finest musicians.

As a violinist, Harry has been fortunate enough to win many prestigious awards and prizes, including the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition, and finalist in the ABC Young Performers Awards. Most importantly, the competitions have afforded some great opportunities to get to know other musicians who have become lifelong friends and mentors.

Harry has been invited to attend great festivals, schools and Summer schools. In 2016 and 2017 he attended the Aspen Music Festival under the fellowship program. He successfully auditioned for the prestigious Lac Leman Music Masterclasses in Switzerland in 2014, working with Boris Kuschnir and Mihaela Martin, Daniel Austrich, Nobuko Imai and Frans Helmerson of the Michelangelo String Quartet. In 2011 and 2012 he received full scholarships to the Meadowmount School of Music in New York. He was part of the Rising Stars Program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from 12 to 17 years under Professors Peter Zhang and Alice Waten. He has had ongoing mentoring and masterclasses with numerous luminaries such as Professor Boris Kuschnir, Joseph Silverstein (late), Donald Weilerstein, Berent Korfker, Professor Alice Waten, Professor Peter Zhang, Cho-Liang Lin, Walter Schwede, Charmian Gadd, Patricia McCarty, Gerard Willems and James Ehnes whom he worked with in Vienna and America.

Since the age of ten Harry has frequently been asked to perform as a soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician; with performances in Australia, America, China, Mexico, Singapore and Europe. He has performed as soloist with the Nanjing, Nanning, Hunan, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Willoughby, Beecroft, Ku-ring-gai, and The Arts Unit Symphony Orchestras, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán in Mexico. Harry has collaborated with many different conductors such as Fu Renchang of the Berlin Symphonie, Eduardo Sanchez-Zuber, Manuel Alberto and Ward Stare. From 2009-2013, Harry lead the Porcelian Quartet and many other chamber groups in various music festivals around the world.

Harry performs on a beautiful 1780 Pietro Antonio Landolfi violin on loan from anonymous but very generous benefactors.

Performed with MaSO 15th September 2019

Michael Olsen – Trumpet

Maroondah Symphony Orchestra

Michael Olsen completed his third and final year at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 2018 studying with David Elton and Tristram Williams. Michael grew up in rural Western Australia, where he first started learning piano and violin, before picking up the trumpet at the age of ten. He began his Bachelor of Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) studying with Peter Miller, before transferring to a Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where he studied with Sarah Butler and Richard Madden. In 2016, Michael’s ensemble performing Stravinsky’s Octet was awarded First Prize in the ANAM Chamber Competition.

Michael has had orchestral engagements with the Melbourne, Sydney, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, and in 2014 completed a six-month internship with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist for Josh Groban’s Melbourne Stages tour, and has also been a regular member of Australia’s leading youth orchestras, including the Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Youth Orchestra, and the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute (AISOI).

Internationally, Michael has performed in the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Columbus, Ohio where he was awarded the Anatoly Selianin Memorial Scholarship. He also attended the Internationale Trompetentage Kürnbach (2015) with Reinhold Friedrich and the Norddeutsche Trompetentage (2014).

Performed with MaSO 24th March 2019

Edward Walton – Violin

Maroondah Symphony Orchestra

Edward began the violin at the age of 3 and currently studies with Dr Robin Wilson at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. Already an experienced performer, Edward has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across the globe including performances of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with the Western Bohemian Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra and was a soloist in Vivaldi’s Concerto for 4 violins with the Whitehorse Orchestra in Melbourne.

Edward has recently returned from the 9th International Young Musicians Competition in Legnago Italy, where he was awarded the Premio Magnani Young prize, the Premio Virtuosite prize and was the joint winner of the Premio Salieri Young prize. Since 2016 he has been invited regularly to attend Professor Zakhar Bron’s masterclasses in Interlaken and has also performed in masterclasses with Professor Maurizio Sciarretta.

Before commencing studies at the Australian National Academy of Music, he was the recipient of the Victor Cromack and Melba Alma Harris Cromack Memorial Scholarship in the pre-college program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Edward is a keen chamber musician and has participated in the Sound Thinking Chamber Strings program and has been selected for the 2017 and 2018 Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy.

Performed with MaSO 17th June 2018