MSO Academy Showcase
MSO Academy
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Academy plays an essential role in developing the next generation of orchestral talent in Australia.
The Academy program bridges the gap between tertiary music education and a professional career through paid placements with the MSO, including mainstage orchestral performance opportunities, chamber music performances such as today’s concert, and Learning and Engagement programs. Academy participants also perform as part of the MSO’s annual regional touring program.
As part of their professional development, Academy participants are mentored by MSO musicians and are able to learn about orchestra management from MSO staff.
PHOTO: SAMANTHA MEULEMAN
MSO Academy End of Year Showcase
Sunday 16 November at 11am
Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre
Artists
2025 MSO Academy
Joolee Kim flute
Joel Walmsley trumpet
Michael Lo trombone
Joshua Jones cello with José Milton Vieira curator and trombone
Aidan Boase piano (Castérède, Piazzolla)
Leigh Harrold piano (Jolivet, Gaubert) and
Musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music
Harrison Steele-Holmes trombone
Angus Pace bass trombone
Program
Eijiro Nakagawa (born 1975)
Masamune for trombone quartet [5’]
Otto Ketting (1935–2012)
Intrada for trumpet [4’]
André Jolivet (1905–1974)
Chant de Linos for flute and piano [10’]
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Third Suite for Cello, Op. 87 [15’]
III. Canto (Con moto)
VI. Fuga (Andante espressivo)
VII. Recitativo (Fantastico)
IX. Passacaglia (Lento solenne)
Philippe Gaubert (1879–1941)
Pièce romantique for flute, cello and piano [8’]
Jacques Castérède (1926–2014)
Concertino for trumpet, trombone and piano [13’]
I. Allegro energico
II. Andante sostenuto
III. Allegro
Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992)
Oblivion [3’]
Proudly supported by MSO Academy donors
arranged by Michael Lo for alto flute, cello, trumpet, trombone and piano
Running time: 1 hour and 10 minutes without interval. Timings listed are approximate.
Joolee Kim flute
Joolee Kim attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School, after which she was awarded a full entrance scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she earned a Bachelor of Music (Hons) degree and a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma. At RAM, she studied under Katherine Baker and Patricia Morris. Joolee is now in her final year of her Master of Music (Orchestral Performance) degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium, studying with Lisa‐Maree Amos.
Joolee has has been invited to perform at the Sydney Opera House for Encore, Government House, Sydney, Cadogan Hall and LSO St Luke’s in London. As part of RAM’s 200th bicentenary, she premiered solo piccolo works by Gabriel Erkoreka and Zhenyan Li, the latter performed at the commemoration of William Bennett.
Musical highlights include playing Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with the RAM Symphony Orchestra and Semyon Bychkov at the Royal Festival Hall, and regular performances with the RAM’s Opera Orchestra and Manson Ensemble.
Since returning to Australia, she has collaborated with the Australian String Quartet, and performed with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic and Aussie Pops Orchestra, as well as playing alongside members of Orchestra Victoria and the MSO.
Joel Walmsley trumpet
Born in Melbourne, Joel Walmsley was raised in a musical family and developed a love for music as a member of the Young Voices of Melbourne Children’s Choir. As a boy, Joel discovered his uncle’s dusty old trumpet and after terrorising the eardrums of the household, it was decided that he would begin lessons. His love for the trumpet quickly grew and he was particularly influenced by the electrifying playing of Geoffrey Payne with the MSO.
Joel is inspired by the heroic character and versatility of the trumpet, and he enjoys exploring the vocal nature of his instrument. He developed his musicianship in several programs for young musicians, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship, Aspen Music Festival, and various Australian Youth Orchestra programs. He has performed with the Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian symphony orchestras, as well as Orchestra Victoria and the Auckland Philharmonia. In 2023 he made his professional solo debut with the Percy Grainger Youth Orchestra.
Joel holds a Music (Hons) degree and a master’s degree in Orchestral Performance from the University of Melbourne, where he studied with Joel Brennan, Mark Fitzpatrick, Rosie Turner, Shane Hooton and Owen Morris. He also spent three years at the Australian National Academy of Music, studying with Yoram Levy and David Elton.
PHOTOS: SAMANTHA MEULEMAN
Michael Lo trombone
Michael Lo completed his undergraduate degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music studying with Don Immel, Jessica Buzbee, Ben Lovell Green and Ming Yeung Li. During this time, he also studied with Peter Moore at the Hamamatsu Academy in Japan. He then completed a Master of Teaching degree at the University of Melbourne and has since returned to the Conservatorium of Music where he is now studying for a Master of Music degree.
In 2023, Michael travelled to Europe to undertake an intensive period of study with trombonists in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. He also had the opportunity to study with Jorgen Van Rijen at the Punte Arte Festival.
Michael has worked with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, Melbourne Opera, Netherlands Festival Orchestra and 70s rock band Foreigner as a guest musician. He is also a former member of the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and has taught at its summer school program.
As a soloist, Michael has given Australian premieres of works by Miho Hazama, Pauline Oliveros and Susan Mutter. He also performed the world premiere of Hendrik Hoyfmeyr’s Trombone Sonata with pianist Coady Green.
Michael is also an avid home cook who is determined to improve his baking skills.
Joshua Jones cello
Joshua Jones is a cellist from Brisbane. A graduate of the Australian National Academy of Music, he is currently completing his third year of undergraduate study at the Melbourne Conservatorium (University of Melbourne) under Howard Penny.
Joshua has won numerous awards, including placing in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Young Instrumentalist Prize four times, and winning the Australian String Teachers Association Concerto Competition three times. He has also participated in the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy, and as a member of the Amogus Piano Trio, he won Musica Viva’s Strike A Chord competition.
As an orchestral soloist, Joshua has performed the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Queensland Youth Symphony and was a finalist in the 2021 National Youth Concerto Competition. In 2023, he won both the ANAM Concerto Competition, performing Prokofiev’s Symphony‐Concerto in E minor with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Conservatorium Concerto‐Aria competition with the same piece. Earlier this year he participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra 2025 International Tour. Joshua’s interests include chess, music production and audio engineering.
Aidan Boase piano
Melbourne-based pianist Aidan Boase is an Associate Faculty Artist at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), where he has the delightful job of collaborating with and coaching musicians of the Academy. In high demand as a pianist and collaborator, he is a member of Melbourne Chamber Players and also performs regularly with the MSO and Orchestra Victoria. This year he had the pleasure of joining Rubiks Collective for shows at the Canberra International Music Festival, as well as in Perth, Melbourne and Bendigo.
Aidan has performed at festivals in Europe and in the US, and he was a 2015 fellow at the prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival of Yale University. He was a prize winner in the Virtuoso and Bel Canto Chamber Music Competition in Lucca, Italy. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras around the country, including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.
Aidan was born in Perth, and has completed studies with Anna Sleptsova at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and with Timothy Young at ANAM in Melbourne. During his time studying at ANAM he was twice a finalist in the Concerto Competition and won first prize and the 3MBS Listeners’ Choice award in the Chamber Music Competition.
Leigh Harrold piano
Born in Whyalla, South Australia (lands of the Barngarla people), Leigh Harrold studied with Gil Sullivan at the University of Adelaide, during which time he was a finalist in the ABC Young Performers Awards. In 2003 he moved to Melbourne to study with Geoffrey Tozer at ANAM and in 2004 was made the Academy Fellow.
Leigh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, North America, Africa and Australia, as well as concertos with Australian orchestras. He has toured North America, giving lecture-recitals featuring American composer Robert Muczynski (the subject of his PhD research), and England, promoting Australian piano music.
His reputation as an associate artist has led to collaborations with luminaries such as violist Thomas Reibl, flautists Michael Cox and Wissam Boustany, violinists Daniel Gaede and Charles Castleman, soprano Camilla Tilling and pianist Mark Gasser. He has twice received the Geoffrey Parsons Award for Associate Artists, and in 2014 was the recipient of the pianist’s prize in the Mietta Song Competition. He is also a founding member of the Syzygy Ensemble.
He is pianist with the MSO, holds faculty positions with the Australian National Academy of Music and University of Melbourne, and is Head of Keyboard at Camberwell Grammar School.
José Milton Vieira curator and trombone
José Milton Vieira is Principal Trombone of the MSO and a leading figure of the new generation of Brazilian trombonists. Before joining the MSO in 2025, he was principal trombone of the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, where he also contributed to chamber music and education.
He has built a distinguished international career, performing throughout Brazil, as well as the US, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Cuba, Venezuela and South Korea, and appearing as a guest artist at numerous festivals, including the 2018 International Trombone Festival (USA), where he performed Johan Meij’s T-Bone Concerto with the composer conducting. He is a prize-winner at several major competitions, including the Concorso Internazionale ‘Città di Porcia’ (Italy, 2015) and the Lewis Van Haney Philharmonic Prize (2012 ITF, Paris).
A passionate advocate for new music, he has premiered numerous works for trombone. His solo album Plural (2019), blending classical and popular styles, won Best Classical Album and Best Instrumentalist at the Açorianos Music Awards.
José studied at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and holds a master’s degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is also a Thein Brass artist and a faculty member of Play With a Pro.
ANAM and the MSO
orchestral training partnership
The MSO and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) have forged a learning partnership to nurture Australia’s most exceptional young musicians and prepare them for a career as professional musicians. Included in this partnership are performance opportunities such as today’s concert.
Founded in 1996, the Australian National Academy of Music is an internationally renowned institution – the only purely classical music performance academy in Australia and one of the few worldwide. It provides an intense, studio-based program featuring outstanding pedagogy and one of the country’s most active and innovative public performance programs.
This is complemented by musician enhancement activities for health and wellbeing, professional development and community engagement. ANAM alumni can be found in many of the world’s leading orchestras and ensembles, including the MSO, and the ANAM schedule brings together a global network of artists who provide mentorship and guidance.
anam.com.au
PHOTO: LAURA MANARITI
