John Harding

The Australian Chamber Orchestra was

tormed in 1975 and since that time it has established itself as one of the country's

most consistently successful ensembles, performing works from the standard chamber orchestra repertoire and works by contemporary Australian composers. The orchestra, founded by John Painter, basically consists of 13 stringplayers with harpsichord, but on many occasions

it is augmented by leading wind players based in Sydney. The orchestra usually

pertorms as a conductorless ensemble but it has enjoyed working with several

distinguished conductors including8 Neville Marriner, whose tour with the orchestra in 1976 included several performances at the Adelaide Festival. For the 1977 Sydney International Piano

Competition the orchestra was conducted by Robert Pikler.

In 1980 the orchestra was conducted by Sir David Willcocks in a pertormance of

the Bach B-minor Mass. Overseas soloists work frequently with the orchestra and harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood has been a regular visitor. Yehudi and Hephzibah Menuhin toured with the orchestra in 1979, and in 1980 Felix Ayo

toured Australia as a soloist with the

orchestra. Violins Nancy Clements Julie Batty

Isabel Morse Alice Waten

Martin Lass Leigh Middenway

Fiona Zeigler

Violas

Irena Morozov

The orchestra toured Indonesia and visited Japan and South-East Asia in January 1980. Tours to Europe and New Zealand are scheduled for 1981/82. Jane Hazelwood

Cellos David Pereira Anthea Scott-Mitchell1

The first recording made by the Australian Chamber Orchestra was Double Bass released through 2MBS-FM, and a second David McBride

recording of Bach and Mozart, with Felix Ayo as guest soloist, has recently been released by Seven Records.

The orchestra has made television and For the Sydney International Piano Competition the Orchestra will be augmented musicians. by some other professional

radio recordings for the Australian

Broadcasting Commission.

John Harding

John Harding studied at the Sydney

Conservatorium of Music under Robert Pikler. He played with the original Sydney String Quartet for a year until the

Quartet went into recess. He then tormed the Fidelio String Quartet with Nathan Waks and became associate concert

master of the Elizabethan Trust

Sydney Orchestra.

In 1973 he went to Europe and began to study conducting with David Zenman,

then co-director of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and music director of the Rochester Philharmonic in New York State. Zenman appointed Harding to the

post of assistant concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic and during his first year in the United States, Harding attended the Tanglewood Festival where he was awarded the Albert Spaulding Prize as the single most outstanding instrumentalist. At this time he began studies with Joseph Silverstein, the famous concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Whilst in Rochester, Hardingperformances with played many concertothe Philharmonic and

led his own quartet. chamber orchestra and string In 1976, John Harding won a coveted principal position with the Metropolitan

Opera. This move to New York permitted him to commence conducting studies with James Levine, and providedopportunities of working with Erich Leinsdorf, Karl Böhm and Leonard Bernstein.

He was invited to become artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 1979. His other musical activities in Sydney include membership of the Mitta gong Piano Trio, and leadership of the

University of New South Wales Ensemble. He lectures at the University

of Sydney and teaches violin at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

David Pereira graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as Student of

the Year in 1974, having studied with Osric Fyfe and John Painter. He served principal cellist in the Sydney as Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra and

the Australian Youth Orchestra. In 1976 he continued his studies in the United States with the cellist Fritz Magg at Indiana University. Completinga master's degree in performance, David Pereira began a doctorate and was awarded an associate instructorship at the University. He later played with the Indianapolis Symphony and in 1980 took

up the position of princ1pal cello with the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Sydney String Quartet

The Sydney String Quartet wasre formed in 1974 and rapidly established itself as one of the major chamber Following studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under Florent Hoogstoel and Georgina McClean, HarryCurby was granted a scholarship for one year's intensive study with the Russianviolinist Leopold Cherniavsky who was a pupil of the celebrated teacher Leopold Auer. Harry Curby spent many years studying and working in London and on the continent where he was leader of the Haydn String Quartet in Holland from 1968 to 1974. During this same period he was guest Protessor of Violin at the Royal Flemish Conservatorium i Belgium.

On returning to Australia in 1974 he

re-tormed the Sydney String Quartet in which position he remained as leader until 1980. He both in EuropeSeven Records, has recorded extensively and Australia for Philips,RCA and Cherry Pie, as well as archival recordings for the Dutch and Belgian Ministries of Culture. In addition to his current position on the

ensembles in Australia. It is the Quartet statt of the Sydney Conservatorium as in-Residence at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. teacher of violin and chamber music, he is engaged in a wide range of solo and

The Quartet has toured extensively

chamber music recitals.

throughout Australia giving concerts,

master classes, lecturing and recording It has received wide critical acclaim for

its overseas tours which have included visits to Asia, North and South America, Europe and the United Kingdom. In 1975 the Quartet's first record of the

Ravel Quartet in F major and the Beethoven Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95 was released and this has been followed by several other records including the most recentlyreleased

Schubert Quintet in C major Op. 163 with Janos Starker. The membership of the Quartet is currently undergoing changes due to Harry Curby leavingthe group in October last year and the tragic death of Dorel Tincu in March this year For the Competition the Quartet

will comprise: William Hennessy Guest leader Douglas Weiland Alexandru Todicescu Viola Nathan Waks