With a career spanning more than 20 years as a gifted cello soloist, orchestral musician and now conductor, Umberto Clerici has gained a reputation as an artist of diverse and multifaceted talents. Umberto is the Chief Conductor Designate of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and will commence as their Chief Conductor from January 2023.

Umberto began his career as a virtuoso cellist making his solo debut at the age of 17 performing Haydn’s D Major cello concerto in Japan. After years of performing on the stages of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, Umberto took up the position as Principal cello of the Teatro Regio di Torino following which he was Principal Cello of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2021. It was in Sydney in 2018 that Umberto made his conducting debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. Following a rapid trajectory of conducting engagements, Umberto is now in high demand with the major symphony orchestras throughout Australia and New Zealand. In addition to his concert series’ with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducting highlights in 2022 include returns to the podiums the Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, as well as Umberto’s conducting debuts with the West Australian Symphony, Adelaide Symphony and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras.

As a cellist, Umberto began his studies with the Suzuki method at the age of five, later continuing with Mario Brunello, David Géringas and Julius Berger. Umberto received several international prizes including the Janigro Competition in Zagreb, the Rostropovich in Paris and, in 2011, the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow making him only the second Italian cellist ever being honoured in the history of the prize, after Mario Brunello. Umberto appeared as a soloist with an array of renowned orchestras internationally including the Philarmonia Wien, St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic, Russian State Orchestra of Moscow, I Pomeriggi Musicali (Milan) and Zagreb Philharmonic and at at the Salzburg Festival from 2003. In 2012 he performed Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations under the baton of Valery Gergiev.

Andrew Haveron joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Co-Concertmaster in 2013, arriving in Sydney with a reputation as one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation. With his unrivalled versatility, he is highly respected as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster. As a soloist, he has played concertos with conductors such as Colin Davis, Roger Norrington, Jiří Bělohlávek, Stanisław Skrowaczewski and John Wilson, as well as David Robertson, performing a broad range of well-known and less familiar repertoire with many of the UK's finest orchestras.

As first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Brodsky Quartet (1999-2007), his work included collaborations with artists ranging from Anne-Sofie von Otter and Alexander Baillie to iconic crossover work with Elvis Costello, Björk, Paul McCartney and Sting. He recorded more than 15 albums with the quartet, many of which won awards such as Diapason d'or and Choc du Monde de la Musique. He has also appeared with numerous other chamber groups, such as the Nash and Hebrides ensembles, the Logos Chamber Group, Kathy Selby, and the Omega Ensemble.

Andrew Haveron is in great demand as a concertmaster and director, and has worked with all the major symphony orchestras in the UK and many others around the world. In 2007 he became concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and in 2012 he joined the Philharmonia Orchestra. He also led the World Orchestra for Peace at the request of Valery Gergiev, and he has been the leader of the John Wilson Orchestra since its inception. Born in London in 1975, Andrew Haveron studied at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music and in 1996 was the highest British prize winner at the Paganini Competition for the past 50 years. In 2004 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent for his services to music. Andrew Haveron plays a 1757 Guadagnini violin, generously loaned to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra by Vicki Olsson.

Violinist, Zoë Black is one of nature’s musicians, known for her profoundly moving sound and vivacious virtuosity, coupled with an unmatched rhythmic swagger. Her immense musical intelligence is such that she has an uncanny ability to own any musical work that enters her orbit.

Throughout her stellar career, she has been showered with accolades from musicians and critics alike, testimony to which are the many awards she has received, among which, are: the National Youth Concerto Competition in 1989, the string section of the ABC Young Performers Awards in 1991, grants from Australia Council and Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Trust in 1992, which facilitated her studies at the Guildhall School of Music under David Takeno and subsequently at the Vienna Hochschule with Michael Schnitzlera, and a major performance award from the Australian Music Foundation in London.

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), has led several play/direct projects for Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, been artist in residence for the Australian National Academy of Music, performed as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with her sister, renowned oboist, Emma Black, in creating the critically acclaim CD, The Privileged Oboe, which they recorded in Vienna.

In 2011 Zoë co -founded the innovative duo with pianist/composer Joe Chindamo OAM. 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 Black and Chindamo appeared at Spinacorona Festival in Naples, at the invitation of renowned pianist, Michele Campanella.

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.

Christopher studied piano and violin before he discovered his passion lay in the rich harmonic and rhythmic complexities of the inner voices – so he bought a viola and the rest is history. After ten years as Principal Viola of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, he is now Principal Viola of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and is in high demand as a soloist and chamber musician in Australia and abroad. His colleagues at the Melbourne Symphony have even allowed him to conduct a few things here and there. He is the proud father of two wonderful daughters, Isabella and Dorothea. They both play musical instruments and sing in choirs, they’re just grand. Christopher also plays Theremin. If you don’t know what that is, just ask him.

Christopher is fortunate enough to play on a 1610 Giovanni Paolo Maggini viola - kindly on loan from an anonymous benefactor.

Kaori Yamagami has built an exciting and diverse career as a cellist, bringing her to several different continents from an early age. Yamagami is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she was accepted at the age of 13. She is also a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and received both a Diplom and Konzertexamen degrees with honors from the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, where she studied with Frans Helmerson, and was one of the final students of legendary Russian teacher Boris Pergamenschikow before his death in 2004.

Yamagami was the recipient of full scholarships from the Curtis Institute and New England Conservatory and also of Career Grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. She is also the recipient of the Beebe Fellowship. In Europe, she has been chosen to play in several festivals and academies including Verbier Festival and Kronberg Chamber Music Connects the World. Yamagami was the recipient of the Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts in 2011. This prestigious and highly coveted prize is given to one Canadian performer of classical music under the age of 32, who demonstrates outstanding talent and musicianship. Yamagami was also a prize winner of numerous international competitions including the International Rostropovich Competition in Paris (in 1997, aged just 15, and again in 2005) and the 2007 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow.

Currently on trial as Principal Cellist of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Yamagami's orchestral experience spans many decades and continents. Most recently she served as Principal Cello of Amsterdam Sinfonietta for nine years until 2019, and since then has been performing with chamber ensembles and orchestras across Europe, guest leading ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Basel Kammerorchester.

She has performed with Teodor Currentzis and Utopia, an international orchestra that brings together soloists and concertmasters from various orchestras into one collective and provide an opportunity to delve deeper into music. Yamagami was asked to join this ensemble after ten years in Currentzis’ previous orchestra MusicAerterna, which she guest led on numerous occasions.

Over the past several years, Kaori has also dedicated a portion of her year to historical performance practice (HIP), and during the 2024 European summer will be performing with baroque ensembles at the Salzburg Festspiele.

Former Principal Oboe of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 1997-2024, internationally recognised Diana Doherty has performed as soloist with the New York, Liverpool and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, Ensemble Kanazawa, Japan, all the major Australian and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, the Australian and Melbourne Chamber Orchestras, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Musica Viva, the Seymour Group, Queensland Music Festival, Four Winds Festival, Australian Chamber Music Festival, Prague Spring Festival, MusicaRiva Festival, Italy, Bratislava Music Festival and the ‘Young Artist in Concert’ Festival in Davos, Switzerland.

Concertos by Ross Edwards, Graeme Koehne, Allan Zavod, Joe Chindamo and Nigel Westlake’s Spirit of the Wild were all written specifically for Diana.

Diana’s performances are featured on ten recordings: Westlake’s Spirit of the Wild (Sydney Symphony); Concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Martinu and Zimmerman (Symphony Orchestra,Lucerne, released in Europe on Pan Classics); Romantic Oboe Concertos (Queensland Symphony); Blues for DD (folk and jazz influenced works with pianist David Korevaar); Souvenirs; Ross Edwards’ Oboe Concerto (Melbourne Symphony); Carl Vine’s Oboe Concerto (Tasmanian Symphony); Bach’s Concerto for violin and oboe (Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra); Works for oboe and oboe d’amore by JS Bach (Ironwood and Linda Kent), all for ABC Classics; and Koehne’s Inflight Entertainment for Naxos. 

Awards and prizes include joint winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, first prize at Prague Spring Festival Competition, a MO and ARIA awards.

Internationally praised for his breathtaking virtuosity and versatile musicianship, Scottish born James Crabb is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading classical accordionists. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen with accordion pioneer Mogens Ellegaard. James became professor there from 1995 until 2010. He also held a long-standing guest professorship at the University in Graz, Austria. James was awarded the prestigious Carl Nielsen Music Prize, Denmark in 1991.

James has collaborated with some of the most important composers of the last 50 years including Sofia Gubaidulina, Thomas Adès, Harrison Birtwistle, Sally Beamish, Luciano Berio a.o. and has premiered countless concertos, chamber music and solo works dedicated to him. He is also recognised internationally as an authority on the music of Astor Piazzolla and was invited to curate the inaugural Piazzolla Festival in Buenos Aires in 2016.

In 2019 James gave the world premiere of Brett Dean’s accordion concerto The Players in Sweden, (recorded on the BIS label); featured in the on-stage role in Dean’s opera Hamlet with Cologne Opera. Future Hamlet productions include the Munich Opera in 2023.

James has recorded for several labels including Chandos, EMI Classics, BIS, ABC Classics, Simax, Dacapo a.o.

A passionate and sought-after music educator and mentor, James collaborates regularly with the Australian National Academy of Music, Freedman Fellowship Trust, Australian Youth Orchestra, Music Viva as well as music conservatories and universities both in Australia and abroad. He was Artistic Director of the Four Winds Festival in Bermagui, NSW, from 2016 – 2020 during which time he curated both the annual Easter and inaugural Youth Festivals and developed the music education programs in local schools.

Internationally praised for his clarity, depth of expression, virtuosity and versatility, Melbourne-born Stefan Cassomenos is regarded as one of Australia’s leading concert pianists. His concerto repertoire now exceeds forty works, and has led to performances with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Opera Australia Orchestra, and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist at Tonhalle Zurich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Beethoven Festival Bonn, and at concert halls across Germany, Netherlands, England, Italy, Malta, Greece, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Russia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. In 2013, Cassomenos was a grand finalist and recipient of the Second Grand Prize and Chamber Music Prize at the International Telekom Beethoven Piano Competition Bonn. He is a founding member of acclaimed ensemble PLEXUS, which since launching in 2014 has commissioned and premiered over 110 new works. Cassomenos began composing at an early age, giving the premiere of his own Piano Concerto No 1 with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at age 16. His recent commissions include Victorian Opera, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and Festival Neue Musik Rockenhausen. Cassomenos is currently co-Artistic Director, together with Monica Curro, of Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. He is generously supported by Kawai Australia.