The Players
Lily Balatincz –
Movement Theatre
Lily is an Australian actress who grew up in rural New South Wales and received her M.F.A from the Tisch NYU Graduate Acting Program in New York City. Since graduating she was worked in film, theatre and movement theatre, including performing alongside Sam Rockwell and Marisa Tomei in feature ‘Loitering With Intent’ and alongside Louisa Krause and Nadia Dajani in the film ‘Waiting.’ For her work in ‘Constellations’ at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC she received the 2017 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play. Lily now works between the US and Australia, encouraging cultural exchange in both her performance work and in an arts ambassadorial capacity with the American Australian Association.
Zoë Black is a violinist's violinist, known for her beauty of sound and natural virtuosity. In 1989 she won the National Youth Concerto Competition and in 1991, the string section of the ABC Young Performers Awards.
After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1992, Zoë was awarded grants from the Australia Council and Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Trust as well as the major performance award of the Australian Music Foundation in London, which facilitated her studies at the Guildhall School of Music under David Takeno and subsequently at the Vienna Hochschule with Michael Schnitzler.
Zoë was appointed assistant leader of Australian Chamber Orchestra in 1993, touring the world extensively. A committed chamber musician, in 2005 Zoë co- founded the Freshwater Trio with whom she toured nationally and internationally. She has also performed as soloist with various chamber and symphony orchestras and is a regular guest concert master with MSO, ASO & QSO.
Zoë returned to the ACO in 2012 in a part time capacity, where she regularly led the ACO Collective, performed as soloist and was an integral component of their educational programme.
More recently, Zoë was a guest leader of the Australian String Quartet in 2016, performing at Festivals in Victoria, WA and in Italy (Rome, Venice and Cremona).
In 2011 Zoë co -founded the innovative duo with pianist/composer Joe Chindamo. The duo has performed at all the major festivals in Australia and recorded 4 CDs, Reimaginings, Symbiosis, Dido’s Lament (Aria nominated for best classical recording) and their re-versioning of the Goldberg Variations (also Aria nominated) - premiering the latter at Carnegie Hall in 2015. The duo also recorded an album for the Hush Foundation (Vol. 11), entitled Luminous, which has been the label’s best selling CD.
In 2018 Zoë and Joe appeared at Spinacorona Festival in Naples, at the invitation of renowned pianist, Michele Campanella and were invited to perform the aforementioned Goldberg Variations at the Bach Festival in Leipzig in 2020.
A passionate teacher and tutor, Zoë has taught and tutored at Melbourne University, VCA, VCASS, Monash University and AYO.
She is presently on faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music.
Caroline discovered the viola when she was 13, at which point she realised that for her it was much more fun and interesting than the violin.
In 2019, she became a student in two capacities. Firstly as a Masters candidate at Griffith, exploring composition through collaboration, and secondly as a trainee Feldenkrais practitioner.
Caroline recently took up playing the violin again - and has re-discovered her love for the instrument, playing chamber music with, and for friends. She prefers to play in small groups.
Louise King is an independent portfolio classical musician based in regional Queensland. A refined English cellist with extensive international experience and training, she is an inspiring concert artist, teacher, recording artist, adjudicator and event producer.
She is Artistic Director of the newly formed Sunshine Coast Chamber Music Festival and a founding member of Muses Trio who record, commission and perform music written by women.
As a trained Teaching Artist, she presents workshops, youth string orchestra intensives, professional development seminars for teachers, Artist-In-Residence-In-School projects, and mentors emerging young musicians. Louise is the program director of RISING STARS, a new mentorship program in chamber music practice for emerging musicians on the Sunshine Coast. She is a guest tutor for the Australian and Queensland Youth Orchestras.
Louise moved to Australia in 2003 with her family after working extensively in professional orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, the Halle Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra throughout the UK, Europe and Asia. Her work has become more and more about advocating for community music and building accessibility for the performing arts in regional communities. She enjoys collaborating with composers, choreographers, dancers and visual artists to create new works for her instrument. www.cellodreaming.com.au
Charles MacInnes is a performer, composer, researcher and educator. His composition and research have grown from extensive work as a professional trombonist fluent in a broad range of musical styles. He has performed with the North German Radio (NDR) Big Band, Hamburg State Opera, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia, in addition to over thirty years experience in the recording studio.
He is artistic director of Melbourne-based Ensemble Density, founded as part of his 2018 PhD from Monash University – Improvising Space – on improvisation in the contemporary art music ensemble. He has lectured both in music performance and composition at the Victorian College of the Arts, Australian National University, the University of Melbourne and Monash University, and regularly leads community arts and music workshops in Europe and Australia.
Charles also works as a writer, editor and translator and has had reviews, articles and program notes published on a wide range of musical topics and styles.
If you saw Christopher performing as an 11 year old, you would be forgiven for thinking that he ought to take up roller skating or any other non-musical pursuit. Thanks to the dogged determination of his mother, a keen amateur pianist and singer, he eventually improved. Christopher is a keen baker, brewer and cyclist. During lockdown, Christopher has spent many hours playing Theremin (hardest instrument in the world...)
A member of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2006 and a founding member of the Melbourne Ensemble, Stephen has been very fortunate to have performed with many wonderful orchestras and chamber ensembles. These experiences have helped him understand how music can communicate to all people.
As well, as playing the bass he enjoys singing, composing, cooking, coffee, beer and wearing his grandfather’s old clothes.
Eliza Shephard graduated from Australian National University with a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) in Flute Performance studying under Virginia Taylor, and has completed her Master of Music Research through Griffith University Conservatorium looking at the Glissando Headjoint, a mechanism designed to bend sounds and expand upon the pitch spectrum of the flute. Eliza has studied and performed in Canada and USA and has completed three years in the Professional Performance Program at Australian National Academy of Music. During her time at ANAM, Eliza received the Outstanding Program in a Solo Recital award, the ANAM Volunteer's Prize, the Ursula Hoff Institute Prize for Most Outstanding Performance in a Solo Recital, and the Director's Prize.
Eliza was awarded the International Woodwind Player Award at the Gisborne International Music Competition, and has guested with Plexus Collective, Arcadia Winds, Rubiks, and Elision Ensemble. Eliza tours around Australia sharing her passion for contemporary music through her flute program ‘The Extended Flute’, where she celebrates extended techniques and their many benefits. Eliza has completed her second year of ‘March of the Women’, where each day of March she releases a recording of a piece by a female composer to celebrate the output of women throughout musical history.