Tutors

Donald Armstrong – Violin

Born in Wellington, Donald Armstrong joined the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19. After subsequent violin studies at Mannes College, New York, and New England Conservatory in Boston he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Tivoli Sinfoniorkester in Denmark and soon after become Co-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.

He has continued his passion for chamber music and performs regularly with his own chamber group, the Amici Ensemble, now in its 37^th year of concerts.  He has recently become Co-Artistic Director of the Martinborough Music Festival with long-time friend and colleague Wilma Smith.

As a conductor Donald has conducted at the Aroha String Quartet Chamber Music Festival, The Akaroa Music Festival, Mt Buller Chamber Music Festival (Australia), NZ Chamber Orchestra, Wellington Youth Orchestra, Manawatu Sinfonia and Hutt Valley Orchestra. Donald is Resident Conductor of the Kapiti Concert Orchestra.

Donald is interested in preserving and advancing New Zealand’s musical heritage. He is actively involved with Arohanui Strings+ and has seen first-hand the difference that music can make in young people’s lives. As a violinist, teacher, conductor and mentor he encourages young instrumentalists while continuing his quest for the wild, wacky and wonderful in music.

Caroline Henbest – Viola

Caroline Henbest is a Violist and Feldenkrais Practitioner based in Melbourne, Australia. She performs as a chamber musician and soloist and enjoys regular appearances at festivals such as the Stradbroke Island Chamber Music Festival and Music by the Springs. Since 2015 she has been Resident Viola Faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music.

As well as the viola, Caroline also loves to play the violin, though generally with friends who don’t earn their living as performers. Her love of music-making with community musicians came from her father, a passionate amateur violinist, violist and cellist. Working with non-professional musicians, and reading chamber music with friends who love to play for fun, brings another dimension to her musical life. Caroline has taught on many occasions at the Mount Buller Chamber Music Summer School.

Early in her career she was violist in the Mistry Quartet and performed with many UK based chamber orchestras and ensembles. She has acted as guest principal with the SSO, MSO, TSO and NZSO, as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia, Glyndebourne on Tour, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Caroline moved to Australia from England in 1993 to be Principal Viola with the ACO. She was a full-time member for eight years and a part-time member for ten.

Her teachers at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Guildhall School of Music & Drama included Robert Masters, David Takeno & Hans Keller

Caroline’s recent Master of Music Research degree (Griffith) explored creative collaboration through composition and performance.

Lisa Grosman – Viola

Lisa Grosman was the Director of the Viola Programme at Monash University. She has recently been appointed Head of Strings at Camberwell Grammar School. Lisa has also taught at Melbourne Conservatorium as part of the Young Artists Academy at the University of Melbourne. She was the viola tutor for the Australian Youth Orchestra’s 2024 programme, and a faculty member at the Elder Conservatorium’s String Quartet Course at the University of Adelaide.

For 15 years, Lisa was a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, during which time she toured extensively throughout Europe, America and Asia. Lisa was also the Director of Strings for the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s Education and Outreach Project, “Sing Out with Strings” – an El Sistema inspired programme involving more than 300 children from under resourced communities.

Since returning to Australia, Lisa has performed with ensembles such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

With the Fidelio Quartet she has performed the entire Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at the Melbourne Recital Centre, as well as making numerous broadcasts on 3MBSFM.

Lisa began learning Suzuki Method violin at the age of five, and went on to be the Concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra.  She studied with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Institute of Music before receiving a scholarship to study viola with Professor Bruno Giuranna at the University of Limerick, where she completed her Master of Arts in Classical String Performance. She continued her studies with Professor Giuranna for a further two years at the Walter Stauffer Institute, Corso di Perfezionamente, in Cremona.

Lisa plays a viola made by Giuseppe Vignali, purchased with assistance from the E.V.Llewellyn Memorial Fund.

Ashley Brown Cello

Founder of NZTrio and Principal Cellist of Auckland Philharmonia, Ashley Brown is a passionate advocate for New Zealand music and is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, adjudicator and recording artist.

Early on, his teachers including Coral Bognuda and Euan Murdoch (Auckland), Alexander Ivashkin (Canterbury), Aldo Parisot (Yale) and William Pleeth (London), directed him to international competition success. More recently his natural curiosity led to a Doctorate exploring the collaborative relationship between composer and performer, and then on to sharing the stage with artists as diverse as Dame Gillian Whitehead, Moana Maniapoto, Phil Dadson, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michael Houstoun, Kristjan Järvi and Neil Finn. He continues to enjoy a career that explores the wildly diverse colours of the musical spectrum and is critically acclaimed as a musician of “unimpeachable artistry”.

Rohan de Korte – One of the world’s tallest cellists

At just over 50 years of age Rohan has come to the conclusion that it’s now been 45 years since he began to play the cello simply because it was bigger than a violin, a decision he still says he would repeat again today without question. It’s also been almost 25 years since he left the Cologne Hochschule of Music to become a professional musician. It has been a journey of many orchestras like the Sydney Symphony, the Australian World Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and, for the past 14 years, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Along the way he inadvertently became a veteran of around 25 auditions, eventually winning one with the MSO. He has played countless quartets, trios and chamber works and in festivals around Australia, even managing the occasional concerto with some of Melbourne’s finest amateur Orchestras.

Rohan has performed on a yearly basis with Darryl Coote from the Team of Pianists, including cycles of Beethoven’s sonatas for Cello and Piano and the Brahms sonatas. In the Years of Covid lockdowns he also regularly performed on the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, playing to empty halls and iPads all over Australia.

As a teacher Rohan has taught at ANAM, the Vca and currently teaches at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music and Melbourne Grammar School while also tutoring the Melbourne youth Orchestra and MYM music camp. In fact, it was while teaching that Rohan had to finally relinquish his mantle of Australia’s tallest cellist to ANAM student Hamish Jamieson who is in fact taller than Rohan.

Lately, and probably due to being locked down with his three rowdy sons and a particularly patient wife during the Covid years, Rohan began arranging music for cello quartets. His version of Bohemian Rhapsody is being played around the world now as well as many other classics including a Carmen fantasy and even a Don Quixote salsa.