Wilma Smith - violinist
Wilma Smith was born in Suva, Fiji and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. After studying at Auckland University she gained 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 Dorothy DeLay and Louis Krasner, playing in masterclasses for many others including Josef Gingold, Yehudi Menuhin and Sándor Végh. She was the 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 a 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. Her years with the quartet included extensive touring of New Zealand and Australia and performance at the Tanglewood Festival. Prior to her departure for Melbourne, the NZSO honoured her with the title of Concertmaster Emeritus.Wilma became Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in 2003. The MSO's Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis has stated that, of all the performances of Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending he has conducted, Wilma Smith's was "unquestionably the most beautiful". He describes her as "an exceptional musician with whom [he] felt an immediate rapport". In June 2013 she announced her retirement from the MSO from the end of the 2014 season.
Some of many Partnerships
Wilma Smith has enjoyed a longstanding duo partnership with pianist Michael Houstoun, and after moving to Melbourne formed the Munro/Smith/Berlin Trio with Ian Munro (piano) and David Berlin (cello), performing regularly in New Zealand and Australia. In the last two years she 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. During this period she has also provided Melbourne with her chamber music series “Wilma and Friends”, effectively a moveable chamber music feast showcasing an array of different performers and instruments, with the only constant being curator and violinist, Wilma.
Elsewhere, the 2008 International Festival of the Arts in Wellington provided an opportunity for three concerts of chamber music collaboration with Steven Isserlis (cello), Melvyn Tan (piano), Houstoun (piano) and Caroline Henbest (viola). The connection with Isserlis continued in 2009 with her participation in his Open Chamber Music Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, England.
Wilma also teaches violin at Melbourne and Monash Universities and privately. She plays a 1761 Guadagnini violin.
Born in Wellington, Donald Armstrong started early professional studies with the NZBC Orchestral Trainees (later the Schola Musica) and the NZ National Youth Orchestra. He participated in the 1975 World Tour of the NZ National Youth Orchestra giving concerts in Scotland, England and China. He joined the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19. Two years later, with an Arts Council Bursary and an Alex Lindsay Memorial Award Scholarship, he completed a post-graduate diploma at Mannes College, New York, and a Masters degree at the New England Conservatory in Boston, studying violin with Masuko Ushioda and Josef Gingold, and chamber music with Louis Krasner, Eugene Lehner and Laurence Lesser. As First Violin of the New England Conservatory Scholarship String Quartet, he won a special prize at the Concours International d’Évian held in France in 1982.
In 1983 Donald Armstrong was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Tivoli Sinfoniorkester in Denmark and soon after become Concertmaster of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice in France. He returned to New Zealand in 1987 as Associate Concertmaster of the NZSO, a position he still holds.
Donald Armstrong was Music Director of the NZ Chamber Orchestra from 1987 to 2004. His incisive leadership was a major force in creating the dynamic and exciting style of the NZCO heard both in live concert and on its many commercial recordings.
Donald Armstrong has appeared as soloist with the NZSO and made frequent solo appearances with the NZ Chamber Orchestra.. He has continued his passion for chamber orchestra repertoire and enjoys introducing musical challenges to musicians and audiences alike. He has conducted the Chamber Orchestra on occasion, and more recently has conducted other New Zealand orchestras including “Hot Young Strings” a string orchestra made up of talented young professionals and students from the NZ School of Music. He also performs regularly with his own chamber group, the Amici Ensemble, playing chamber works ranging from very small to large ensembles.
Donald Armstrong is interested in preserving and advancing New Zealand’s musical heritage and as an artist teacher at the New Zealand School of Music, he teaches, coaches and encourages young instrumentalists. He plays a violin by Nicolo Gagliano of 1754.
Born in England, Caroline Henbest studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guildhall School of Music with Robert Masters and David Takeno. After ten years as violist in the Mistry string quartet, she moved to Australia to take up the position of Principal Viola with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Caroline has performed concertos with the ACO in Australia, USA, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Spain and the UK. She has regularly partnered Richard Tognetti in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Though she left the orchestra as a full time player in 2002, Caroline currently holds a part time position with the ACO.
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 teaches at the Australian National Academy of Music.
Born in Newcastle, Christopher Moore's strongest memory from childhood was seeing his mother Patricia (a long time subscriber to ACO concerts in Newcastle) pulling up in the driveway of his Valentine home with a tiny blue violin case on the back seat. Pat was and still is a dedicated amateur musician and would take Chris to concerts in Newcastle and Sydney long before he had even learned to tie his shoelaces. After studying with two prominent Sydney Suzuki teachers, Marjorie Hystek and the late Harold Brissendon, he completed his Bachelor of Music in Newcastle with violinist and pedagogue Elizabeth Holowell.
After working with Adelaide and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras as a rank and file violinist, Chris decided to take up a less highly strung string instrument and moved his musical focus and energy to the viola. He had always thought that the violin made his head look big! He accepted a position as rank and file violist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - a position he held for one and a half years before successfully auditioning for the position of Associate Principal Viola with the same orchestra. During his association with MSO, Chris performed regularly as a chamber musician with other colleagues from the MSO and counts among his many highlights sharing the stage with KISS.
During the 2006 ACO season, Chris appeared as Guest Principal Violist with the ACO for their March National Subscription tour and their tour to Malaysia. It was during this time that Chris successfully auditioned for the ACO's Principal Viola position.
Christopher plays a 1610 Giovanni Paolo Maggini viola on loan to the ACO by an anonymous benefactor.
Svetlana was born in Belgrade, Serbia, into a family of prominent Yugoslavian musicians. She studied at the prestigious Special High School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatorium of Music, Moscow, the Peabody Conservatorium, Baltimore, and the Cologne Hochschule of Music.
In her student years she worked with legendary cellists, Daniel Shafran, Boris Pergamenshikov and Antonio Janigro. Even before she could perform, she was on stage at age 6 turning pages for her mother in performance with cellist Andre Navara.
In her professional years she has toured Europe, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand as a soloist and chamber musician include recent performances at the Belgrade International Cello Festival and the KotorArt festival in Montenegro.
As an orchestral musician she held the position of Associate Principal Cello with the Rheinische Philharmonie and has worked with the North German Radio Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony and Singapore Symphony Orchestras.
She is a founding member of the unique and critically acclaimed trio, Ensemble Liaison. With Ensemble Liaison she directs and performs a 3-concert series at the Melbourne Recital Centre along with regular performances for Musica Viva, ABC Classic FM, and appearances at the Port Fairy and Woodend festivals. She has collaborated with many wonderful Australian and International artists including Nemanja Radulovic, Emma Matthews, Cheryl Barker, Peter Coleman-Wright, Ray Chen, Wilma Smith, Henning Kraggerud, Paul Grabowsky, David Jones and Tony Gould.
Svetlana’s recordings with Ensemble Liaison of Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ for the Melba Recordings label and Trios of Brahms, Beethoven and Bruch for the Tall Poppies label have won high praise from critics around the world.
Originally from California, Molly now calls Melbourne home.
Between 1996 – 2003 she was a core member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), touring extensively within Australia and overseas. Since then she has continued performing as a soloist, chamber musician and freelancer in Melbourne and beyond, as well as teaching cello performance and chamber music at ANAM, VCAM, and Monash University.
Molly has performed as guest principal and associate principal with the ACO, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. In 2010 she was invited to become a core member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (the former Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra).
As a chamber musician, Molly has performed at the Huntington and Port Fairy festivals with artists including Steven Isserlis, Pieter Wispelway, Richard Tognetti, William Barton and has worked in collaboration with poet/cartoonist/philosopher Michael Leunig.
As a concerto soloist, Molly has appeared with the ACO, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and the Freemont-Newark Orchestra.
After leaving the ACO, Molly made her Melbourne recital debut with Ben Martin at the Federation Square in 2004 in the BMW Edge series, has performed on several occasions as a soloist in the Bach cello suites series at St Mark’s church and at the Twilight Chamber Music series at Rippon Lea Estate.
Prior to moving to Australiain 1996, Molly studied in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship with Prof. Wolfgang Boettcher (former principal cellist of the Berliner Philharmoniker). Molly received her Bachelor of Music Degree with Honours from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1991 under the tutorship of Prof. Laurence Lesser (former student of Piatigorsky). She received her early training from Irene Sharp (San Francisco) and Joan Dickson (Purcell School of Music,London), and as a young musician was a recipient of numerous awards and prizes.