LYREBIRD TRIO
Wednesday 22 May : Ian Hanger Recital Hall
Elegie, Op.23
Moments of Mozart
I. Moderato
II. Vivace
III. Allegro
IV. Andante
V. Allegro
VI. Allegretto
Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15
I. Moderato assai
II. Allegro, ma non agitato
III. Finale: Presto
The Lyrebird Trio is comprised of Australian musicians Glenn Christensen (violin), Simon Cobcroft (cello) and Angela Turner (piano), all distinguished graduates of the Queensland Conservatorium. Formed in early 2013, the trio takes their name after the remarkable Australian native lyrebird, also an important emblem of their alma mater for much of its history.
Valenin SILVESTROV
Bedrich SMETANA
In July 2013, Lyrebird Trio won all piano trio prizes at the quadrennial Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition: the Beluera Prize for best piano trio, and the Peter Druce Audience Prize. Subsequently, they featured in the ABC International documentary “Ivory, Strings and Bows”, broadcast in over 40 countries across Asia, North America, the Pacific and Indian subcontinent. As Winter Musicians-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, they gave numerous performances across the region in January/February 2014. The trio made a welcome return to Banff in January/February 2015, recording their debut CD for the Master Performers label, hailed by The Australian as “exquisite and exhilarating” and “an impressive recording that augurs well for a long and enriching life by three stellar young Australian musicians.”
During 2014-2016, Lyrebird Trio were Ensemble-In-Residence at the Queensland Conservatorium, and since 2018 are Ensemble-In-Residence at the Mackay Chamber Music Festival. In addition to their core season, other appearances have included
Josef SUKengagements at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Sydney Opera House, the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival (Victoria), Coriole Music Festival (South Australia), Tyalgum Festival (NSW), Ukaria Cultural Centre (South Australia), Musica Viva QLD, 4MBS Festival of Classics (QLD), Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with The Metropolitan Orchestra (Sydney), and recordings and broadcasts for ABC-Classic FM, and the MBS networks.
Outside of the trio, Glenn Christensen is Principal 2nd Violin and Deputy Concertmaster of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; Simon Cobcroft is Principal Cello with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, currently Acting Associate Principal Cello with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Angela Turner is a Specialist Keyboard Lecturer at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and School of Music, University of Queensland.
Glenn Christensen, violin
Australian violinist Glenn Christensen was born and raised in the regional Queensland town of Mackay, where he received his early music education through the Suzuki Method with local teacher Diane Powell. Glenn then studied with Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University and graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Music, First Class Honours. He was also the first person ever to be awarded the three highest prizes – the Conservatorium Medal, the Music Medal and the University Medal.
Glenn is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and guest principal musician in Australia and internationally. He currently holds the position of Deputy Concertmaster and Principal 2nd Violin with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, prior to which he was a full-time member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 2014 to 2020, and Principal First Violin in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2014. He has recently appeared as guest concertmaster and director with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and his 2023/2024 season includes guest appearances as Principal 2nd Violin with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Glenn was the Concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra in 2012 and 2013 and an Australian Chamber Orchestra Emerging Artist in 2012.
As a soloist, Glenn has performed with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions. He has had performance broadcast live on ABC Classic FM, was a finalist in the 2014 ABC Young Performer Awards, and in 2009 won every category in the prestigious Kendall National Violin Competition. Glenn is also the violinist in the Lyrebird Trio, which won both the audience choice prize and the Piano Trio prize in the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition.
Glenn has appeared at festivals and masterclasses around Australia and internationally, such as the Musica Viva Festival, Bangalow Festival, Port Fairy Spring
Music Festival, Tyalgum Festival and the International Musician’s Seminar, Prussia Cove. In 2018, Glenn started a successful annual festival in his hometown - the Mackay Chamber Music Festival.
Simon Cobcroft, cello
Simon Cobcroft is the Artistic Director of the Coriole Music Festival, and for almost 10 years has served as Principal Cello with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the critically acclaimed Lyrebird Trio, familiar to audiences around Australia and further afield, since winning the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition.
Simon studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music. Since graduating, he has held principal positions with the Queensland Symphony and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras, and has performed with London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, Denmark’s Esbjerg Ensemble, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and as principal with the Tasmanian and Singapore Symphony Orchestras.
Recent highlights include performances as guest principal cello with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, Tinalley Quartet and with Pinchas Zukerman and friends. He has appeared as principal and soloist at the Aldeburgh, Pacific and Salzburg Music Festivals. Simon has performed the cello concertos by Haydn, Elgar, Saint-Saëns and Bruch with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, winning the 2016 Adelaide Critics’ Circle Award for his performance of the Elgar Concerto. In previous years he appeared as soloist with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney’s Metropolitan Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Simon studied with Matthew Farrell, Janis Laurs, Alexander Baillie, David Strange and Michael Goldschlager. He plays on a beautiful English cello made in 1840 by Thomas Kennedy. In his spare time, he loves to cook.
Angela Turner, piano
Australian pianist Angela Turner enjoys a multifaceted career as pianist and lecturer. Broadcast on Australian radio as soloist and chamber musician, Angela has performed extensively throughout Australia, and in the UK, Canada and Taiwan. In recent years, Angela has enjoyed a focus upon chamber music, most notably with the Lyrebird Trio, who were winners of all piano trio prizes at the quadrennial 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition.
Angela’s engagements have included appearances at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Sydney Opera House, Ukaria Centre, Elder Conservatorium, ABC’s Iwaki and Ultimo Centres, Kawai Keyboard Series, Queensland Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series, Musica Viva; recordings for the Melba and Master Performers labels; and festivals such as the Port Fairy, Tyalgum, Mackay, 4MBS, Coriole, and Australian Piano Duo Festival. Angela lectures in piano at the University of Queensland School of Music, and has been on staff at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University for over 25 years, where she currently leads the Intermediate Piano Program at the Young
Conservatorium. Angela was previously an Artistic Associate at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Canada. Presently the Principal Federal Syllabus Consultant (Keyboard) for for the Australian Music Examinations Board [AMEB], Angela is also the author and editor of the best-selling multi-volume series “Exploring Piano” for publishers Hal Leonard.
A Queensland Conservatorium medallist & winner of numerous national awards, Angela completed a Master of Music on exchange at the Royal College of Music, London, with full scholarship. Her principal piano teachers have been Joyce Bennett, Natasha Vlassenko and Yonty Solomon.