To all Open Conservatorium Participants, Friends and Colleagues,
A core element which drew me to the role as Director here at QCGU was knowing how distinctive and central Open Conservatorium is to our identity and how important it is for music in Queensland. It has been a joy over the past couple of years to come to know, more from the inside, how firmly Open Conservatorium is established as an integral aspect of music education in Queensland.
Open Conservatorium's State Honours Ensemble Programs grew from modest beginnings in 2001 to hosting over 5,000 students each year through 16 individual programs in 10 centres; with many more being nominated than we are able to accommodate. The Australian Honours Ensemble Program, which celebrated seven years in 2024, has also grown to encompass students from New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and the Northern Territory.
Watching those who have joined us for the current project, after the past few years of upheaval, has highlighted the importance of music in education being available, regardless of region or resources; and how valued music is in schools, by all involvedstudents, teachers, families and the wider public. We are always pleased that so many students are willing, and able, to make music with their peers, with the support of their families and schools.
From my childhood in Cairns, I remember vividly the life-changing dimensions of such interactions and will be doing all I can as Director to be supporting our reach across this extraordinary state. Thank you for your support of SHEP and your support of your children and students and their music education.
I also acknowledge the Open Conservatorium team under Jason Budge for their care and commitment to make everything possible. I hope to see many of you return as students of Queensland Conservatorium, performers and audience members of the future.
Professor Bernard Lanskey Director Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
AHEP GRAND FINALÉ CONCERTS
Big Band
Symphony Orchestra
Wind Orchestra
String Orchestra
Vocal Ensemble
ConductorDrSimonPetty
ConductorSarah-GraceWilliams
ConductorDavidLaw
ConductorLoretaFinAM
ConductorAstridJorgensen
AccompanistJustineFavell
SCHOOLS REPRESENTED
A.B. Paterson College
All Saints Anglican School
Ambrose Treacy College
Anglican Church Grammar School
Atherton State High School
Australian Christian College Moreton
Balmoral State High School
Benowa State High School
Bishop Druitt College
Blue Mountains Grammar School
Bray Park State High School
Brisbane Boys' College
Brisbane Girls Grammar School
Brisbane State High School
Burdekin Christian College
Cairns State High School
Cannon Hill Anglican College
Canterbury College
Centenary Heights State High School
Centenary State High School
Chancellor State College
Chanel College (Gladstone)
Chinchilla State High School
Citipointe Christian College
Concordia Lutheran College
Coolum State High School
Emmanuel College
Emmaus College Rockhampton
Fairholme College
Faith Lutheran College Redlands
Ferny Grove State High School
Gladstone State High School
Glasshouse Christian College
Good Shepherd Lutheran College
Grace Lutheran College
Hillbrook Anglican School
Hillcrest Christian College Home School
Immanuel Lutheran College
Indooroopilly State High School
Ipswich Girls' Grammar School
John Paul College
Kedron State High School
Kelvin Grove State College
Kenmore State High School
King's Christian College
Kirwan State High School
Longreach State High School
MacGregor State High School
Mansfield State High School
Marist College Ashgrove
Mary MacKillop Catholic College (Highfields)
Matthew Flinders Anglican College
Moreton Bay Boys' College
Moreton Bay College
Mountain Creek State High School
Mt Maria College
Mueller College
Nerang State High School
North Rockhampton State High School
Northside Christian College
Ormiston College
Our Lady's College (Annerley)
Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
Palmview State Secondary College
Pimlico State High School
Queensland Academies - Creative Industries campus
Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology
Queensland Academy of Health Science
Redeemer Lutheran College (Rochedale)
Redlands College
Robertson State School
Rockhampton Girls Grammar School
Ryan Catholic College
Saint Stephen's College
Sandgate District State High School
Shalom College
Somerset College
Somerville House
Southport State High School
St Aidan's Anglican Girls School (Corinda)
St Andrew's Anglican College
St Augustine's College (Cairns)
St Joseph's College (Toowoomba)
St Joseph's College Gregory Terrace
St Laurence's College
St Luke's Anglican School (Bundaberg)
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
St Mary's Catholic College
St Monica's College, Cairns
St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe
St Paul's School
St Peters Lutheran College (Indooroopilly)
St Thomas More College
Stretton State College
Sunshine Coast Youth Orchestra
Tannum Sands State High School
The Cathedral College, Rockhampton
The Cathedral School of St Anne and St James
The Gap State High School
The Glennie School
The Rockhampton Grammar School
The Southport School
The Springfield Anglican College
Toowoomba Anglican School
Toowoomba Grammar School
Trinity Lutheran College
Wavell State High School
Whitsunday Anglican School
Young Conservatorium
AHEP BIG BAND
Conductor - Dr Simon Petty
Dr Simon Petty is an internationally acclaimed musician, educator, and researcher, renowned for his significant impact on music education and research. His influencespans Australia, Europe, and the United States, where he is in high demand for conferences, clinics, adjudications, and workshops.
Simon is the music education lecturer at the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University and also serves as the Coordinator of Pre-Tertiary Jazz Studies at the Queensland Conservatorium. He has taught across all educational levels, from primary to tertiary, and professional settings, and is internationally recognised as a leading authority in jazz studies and pedagogy.
A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium, Simon holds a Bachelor of Music in jazz trumpet performance and instrumental music pedagogy, a Graduate Diploma of Education, a Graduate Certificate in Music Studies, and a Doctor of Philosophy.
His distinguished performance career includes regular engagements with Australia's premier big bands, jazz ensembles, and orchestras. Simon's professional instrumental and conducting activities spans radio and television appearances, musicals, and commercial recording sessions. Recognised for his musical experience and inspirational teaching style, Simon is highly esteemed as both a performer and educator.
A Churchill Fellow, Sarah-Grace Williams is the Founding Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO) and Principal Conductor for both ‘Synthony’ and 'Stardew Valley: A Festival of Seasons' Australian and New Zealand Tours. Boasting an impressive conducting career, she has also conducted the Queensland, Adelaide, Melbourne, West Australian, Tasmanian, Christchurch and Perth Symphony Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia, Sydney Scoring Orchesra, Australian Pops Orchestra, Brisbane Camerata, Bangalow Festival Orchestra, Queensland Music Festival Orchestra and Southern Cross Symphony, amongst others. Additionally, Sarah-Grace has held positions as Musical Director of the Sydney Opera House Proms, Artistic Director of Aspire International Music Festival, Stager Conductor at Ukraine National Opera & Ballet Theatre and Conducting Fellow at Australian Ballet. Recently, she was Music Director /Conductor for Sydney Opera House’s revered production of Amadeus, starring Michael Sheen.
Since founding TMO in 2009, Sarah-Grace has received much acclaim and admiration for her accomplishments with the orchestra and has conducted them in more than 550 concerts, album recordings and national and international tours. Under Sarah-Grace’s direction, TMO has become recognised as one of Australia’s most versatile orchestras, with their annual seasons including a variety of events tailored to different demographics, from their highly acclaimed and regularly sold-out Met, Chamber and Cushion Concert series to outreach concerts for newly arrived refugees and free events for the community. Sarah-Grace also led the establishment of TMO Junior and TMO’s Young Artist, Conductor and Composer Development Programs. She has also championed the commissioning of numerous new works.
Sarah-Grace performs across a variety of concert genres including mainstage symphonic concerts, concerts with film, ballet, opera, crossover performances with contemporary artists, multi-media installations and stadium event. In addition to her regular conducting commitments in TMO's annual season, Sarah-Grace recently conducted the Australian and New Zealand concert tours of Basement Jaxx and Air Supply, and has conducted numerous Live film concerts including Jurassic Park, Love Actually, Indiana Jones, Batman (1989), BBC Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Antarctica, and the Muppets Xmas Carol, plus video game concerts including Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons. She has also collaborated with a formidable list of renowned artists such as José Carreras, Sir Bryn Terfel, Jack Liebeck, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Sir Dave Dobbin, John Butler, Lisa Gasteen, Anthony Warlow, James Morrison, Katie Noonan, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano, David Helfgott, John Farnham, Olivia NewtonJohn, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Horrorshow. Sarah-Grace is also regularly engaged to conduct movie/television soundtracks and album recordings.
Sarah-Grace has received constant recognition for her significant achievements including being awarded the 2017 Western Sydney University Alumni Chancellors Leadership Award (the highest honour the awards bestow), was announced on the 2013 International Women’s Day Honour Roll for her outstanding achievements and contribution to the community, and hailed by Limelight Magazine to be amongst ‘10 of the Best Women Conductors in the world’.
Listed in the Who’s Who of Australian Women since 2011, Sarah-Grace received her Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours in 1998, before continuing conducting studies in Russia.
Repertoire
Scherzo from "A Midsummer Nights Dream"
Mars from "The Planets"
Dances of Galanta
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 6
Ensemble Members
FLUTE
Annie Chen
Samuel Lawrence
Charlotte Nunn
OBOE
Alexander Finch
Logan Nutley
CLARINET
Jack Goves
Orlando Holmes
Benjamin Litchfield
BASSOON
Ethan Borg
Honoka Hidai
TRUMPET
Duncan Fraser
Luka Roberts
Ethan Standbridge
Malcolm Strong
FRENCH HORN
Jackson Ainsworth
Alysia-Rose Booth
Tyler Cuttill
John Kho
Angus Long
Ben Montague
TROMBONE
Max Chang
Alex Smith
BASS TROMBONE
Lily Stewart
EUPHONIUM
William Clegg
TUBA
Elliott Cardinal
PERCUSSION
Cade Brown
Shinie Gu
Joyce Wong
VIOLIN
Lyvea Boulton
Eilidh Bowie
William Cameron
Stephanie Chan
Natalia Chan
Chi Tung Chong
Diana Ganibalova
Chloe Hosking
Jeffrey Kan
He-Rou Kao
Hansan Leung
Shawn Lin
Emily Masciocchi
Monique Masciocchi
Vienna Maunders
Layla Mertz
Oscar Murphy
Henryk Neumann
Tiara Ng
Benjamin Nichol
Do Young Park
Nathan Siregar
Ashelynn Song
Derek Tsai
Hanina Ward
Ebbeny Williams-Cherry
Sana Wright
Loren Zajac
Felix Mendelssohn
Gustav Holst
Zoltán Kodály
Jean Sibelius
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
VIOLA
Xanthe Bartholomaeus
Jane Han
Serena Kang
Marval Leung
Iroha Matsui
Audrey Oey
Jonathan Tai
Isobel Troughton
Joshua Weston
CELLO
Oliver Betts
Kira Dawson
Crystal Deng
Joshua Green
Maya Hadar Pagliari
Michelle Huang
Eli Liddell
Tram Thuy Tran Nguyen
Emma Nguyen
Nicholas Penton
Damien Ting
Michelle Tong
Winnie Wong
Jewel Yang
DOUBLE BASS
Lachlan George
Lucas Huang
Jamian Huang
Sam Pankhurst
AHEP STRING ORCHESTRA
Conductor - Loreta Fin AM
Loreta Fin studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has performed regularly in chamber music, professional Australian theatre productions and orchestral concerts and has been the Principal Viola player with the Queensland Pops Orchestra for over 30 years. Loreta worked at Somerville House Girls’ School in Brisbane for 35 years, holding the position of Director of Strings until 2021. She is currently working as a freelance conductor, musician, composer and clinician.
An experienced educator and adjudicator, Loreta has presented at many Australian National Music Conferences, as well as two American String Teachers’ Conferences. She has adjudicated at major events and competitions all around Australia and has composed over 100 works for String Orchestra, which are regularly selected as set works for competitions and distributed worldwide by Alfred Publications. Loreta was accepted as a Represented Pedagogical Artist/Composer with the Australian Music Centre in 2021.
A passionate advocate of community service, Loreta has been involved with the Australian Strings Association for over 30 years, serving as both State and National President. She received a Queensland State Award for services to AUSTA in 2009. In 2021, Loreta was appointed as a Federal Examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board and is currently the State Syllabus Advisor for Strings. She was on the Education Advisory Committee for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for over 10 years. Since 2015, she has regularly conducted the State and National Honours Ensembles Programs throughout Queensland.
Since becoming a freelance educator, Loreta has been invited to conduct the Massed Strings in Education Queensland’s Creative Generations event, as well as many of their Primary and Secondary Days of Excellence. She also conducted the Combined Anglican Schools’ Music Festival at QPAC Concert Hall. Loreta was honoured to receive the Australian Strings Association’s National Award for Services to Music and String Teaching in Australia in 2015.
In the 2024 Australia Day Honours, Loreta was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. Loreta received the award for “significant service to music, to education and to professional associations”.
Repertoire
Five Australian Scenes
Serenade for Strings Finale
Lacrymosa
Fugue from Requiem
Transylvanian Tango
Lyric Metal
Vanishing Pointe
Pizzicato Blues
I Crisantemi
Adagio for Strings
Martin Lass
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
W.A. Mozart, arr. Loreta Fin
W.A. Mozart, arr. Loreta Fin
Zach Wallmark
Brian Balmages
Richard Meyer
Darren Mitchell
Giacomo Puccini
Samuel Barber
Ensemble Members
VIOLIN
Olivia Ashley
Stuart Bamber
Natascha Bryant
Leah Choi
Clare Chung
Saho Hiroe
Renita Ho
Astrid Kahler
Elijah Kang
Tobias Kim
Jay Lin
Anneliesa Martinese
Alessandro Martinese
Lana Moffatt
Kady Myo-oo
Sofia Bella Perez
Ching Hei (Kurtis) Sham
Gordon Tang
Lily Wong
Elliott Xu
Kyrie Xu
Lisa Yonekawa
VIOLA
Elizabeth Blackler
Alexandria Dinnis
Ariel Jiao
Agasa Okita
Omar Saro
Amy Seo
Luke Sim
Andy Tran
CELLO
Harmony Chen
Louis Hagemann
Iluka Horn
Isaac Kuang
Minh Thuy Tran Nguyen
Miranda Shum
Julius Taylor
Theodore Yevdokimov
DOUBLE BASS
Charlotte Fargher
Alex Griffs
Isaac Rankin
Conductor - Astrid Jorgensen
Astrid Jorgensen is a Brisbane-based choral conductor, composer, and presenter who is teaching the world to sing. Co-founder and director of ‘Pub Choir™’, and its online adaptation ‘Couch Choir’, Astrid has become one of the most recognisable faces in the world of community music making. Armed with a quick wit and an unquenchable enthusiasm for singing, Astrid has delivered her unique music lessons to over 300,000 people worldwide since Pub Choir’s inception in March 2017.
Astrid’s work has been endorsed by the likes of Mariah Carey, KISS, The Cranberries, Richard Carpenter, and she has shared stages with such music heavyweights as The Rolling Stones, Neil Finn, Paul Kelly, Ben Lee, and Meg Mac. Astrid’s ability to enchant audiences and guide untrained singers to musical greatness has been featured extensively in world media including the BBC World News, the New York Times, Australian Story, and Vogue Magazine. Additionally, under Astrid’s leadership Pub Choir has raised over $300,000 for charity since 2018, for which Astrid was nominated for 2020 QLD Young Australian Of The Year. Astrid is also a co-creator and co-owner of ‘Australia’s Biggest Singalong!’, a 2 hour, worldfirst TV broadcast in which she simultaneously taught a live audience, and viewers at home around Australia to perform in 3-part vocal harmony, live on SBS Television on June 5th, 2021.
Accompanist - Justine Favell
Justine is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with the awards Bachelor of Music and a Graduate Diploma in Piano Performance, with teachers Stephen Savage and Oleg Stepanov.
Since it began in 1995, Justine has had the honour of being the Principal Accompanist for the Voices of Birralee, enjoying many experiences through the vision of Julie Christiansen. For the same length of time, Justine has also been the accompanist for the Brisbane Chorale, allowing her the opportunity of playing for many national and international orchestral and choral conductors.
Currently, Justine also directs choirs and teaches piano and voice at Padua College, along with conducting and accompanying several primary school choirs. She is regularly asked to conduct massed school events for the Department of Education.
Repertoire
Famine Song
Can't Buy Me Love
Radio Song
My Rose
Running Up That Hill
Shivna
Sing Me To Heaven
Ensemble Members
SOPRANO
Jessica Arden
Chloe Baker
Ellen Brayne
Poppy Derbyshire
Sarah Dixon
Holly Dowell
Rebecca Hodgson
Katie McDuff
Madeleine Mullins
Chloe Ourari
Maclyn Scarborough
Isabel Schuring
Georgina Sweasey
Ivy Tuxworth
Luka Wall
ALTO
Bella Beer
Harper Bilinski
Miranda Brown
Georgiana Buckett
Sarah Elton
Lucinda Gabb
Mary Gregg
Matilda Kelly
Emma Lindsay
Claudia Mewing
Georgianna Reisinger
Marifeil Rose Romero
Stella Tomkins
Lily Vera
Dominique Wilkes
VIDA , arr. Matthew Culloton
King's Singers, arr. Keith Abbs
Esperanza Spalding
Beyonce
Kate Bush
Bill Whelan
Daniel Gawthrop
TENOR
Tobias Burbidge
Isaac Cain
Noah Carter
Charlie Dunn
Ziggy Dutfield
Callum Goldfinch
Alex Ma
Sidney Marshall
Sioeli Ma'u
Jaryn Oliphant
Benjamin Sarnyai
Colby Whale
BARITONE
Santo Archie
Darcy Bemelmans
Hayden Ellis
Fionn Espiner
Remy Hare
Henry Kerwin
Oliver Kim
Samuel Leighton
Lachlan Miller
Daniel O'Donnell
Noah Oxenford
Benjamin Thrush
Parker Toomey
Harry Van Winden
AHEP WIND ORCHESTRA
Conductor - David Law
David Law is a passionate supporter of community music-making in Brisbane. He studied Euphonium at the Queensland University of Technology and has been playing piano since the age of eight. In addition to conducting the Queensland Wind Orchestra, David also conducts the Queensland Youth Orchestra Wind Ensemble. David has also conducted seasons for the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, Ignite Choir and various community-based ensembles, including over twenty years with the Westside Orchestra. 2024 is David’s 20th year as President of the Queensland Wind Orchestra. David has been an invited clinician, consultant and conductor for Queensland Music Festival’s Cape York Instrumental Program, has been a guest conductor with Griffith University’s State Honours Ensemble Program across Queensland, the Australian Honours Ensemble Program in Brisbane, and has been a sectional lecturer with the University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra. David has been a presenter and guest-panelist at the Australian National Band and Orchestra Association (ANBOC) conferences in Brisbane and Melbourne where he has spoken about developing diverse and inclusive school-aged and community level band programs.
Additionally, David has adjudicated at state and national competitions including the West Australian Schools’ Concert Band Festival, the Queensland Catholic Music Festival, Queensland’s MusicFest, Education Queensland’s Fanfare, and many regional eisteddfodau across Queensland. He has worked as Music Director, Conductor and Pianist with various musical theatre organisations in Brisbane and has trained in Music Direction at the multiple-Tony-Award-winning Goodspeed Musical Theatre Institute in Connecticut, USA.
Repertoire
Masada
English Folk Song Suite Porgy and Bess
Death By Tango
Vulnerable Joy and so, i wove you a lattice to dance upon Dances for the Muse, Terpsichore Superman March
Ralph Hultgren
Vaughan Williams
Gershwin, arr. James Barnes
Edward Fairlie
Jodie Blackshaw
Dale Schlapoff
Carol Brittin Chambers
John Williams, trans. Paul Lavender
Ensemble Members
FLUTE
Indigo Barrett
Maria Brereton
Saskia Calder
Yuna Cho
Sophie Guan
Alexander Hewitt
Katie Hu
Lauren Huber
Rania Khan
Rosalia Ma
OBOE
Liam Bourke
Lucinda Turunen
SOPRANO CLARINET
Tsz Tung Evana Tsang
CLARINET
Natalie Alexnder
Ciara Clunies-Ross
Leah Degenhardt
Jasmine Douglas
Henry Geise
Samuel Hardy
Lachlan Kempthorne
Kawon Kim
Taoshi (Rocky) Liu
Isabella Mead
Annabel Ott
Gabrielle Penaluna
Dwight Ramsay
Charlie Stewart
Zachary Thorne
Trevor Tsai
ALTO CLARINET
Lily Maughan
BASS CLARINET
Matilda Costigan
Andy Dai
Maddison Hoffmann
BASSOON
Ellis Hogan
Amelie Howard
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Dante Caballero
Isabelle Cryan
Marilyn Li
Maren Nealon
Charles Spink
Devin Tran
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Olivia Ekert
Christian Nguyen
Ethan Patterson
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Lillie Hills
Advait Raman
Riley Sandbo
TRUMPET
Dominik Beveridge
Charlie Crocker
Merannen Gatien
Camillo Lanzafame
Griffin Light-Law
Lucas Madin
Joel Offerman
Lara Oya
Camilo Suarez
FRENCH HORN
Charlie Cran
Amelie Eberspaecher
Ava Gall
Aidan Hewett
Jin Nishio
Zimu Wang
TROMBONE
Darcy Cook
Dana Day
Jefferson Dinnis
Samuel Macdonald
Jack Saltmere
BASS TROMBONE
Elliott Sternberg
EUPHONIUM
Ezra Birchard
William Clegg
Ryan Rose
Olive Whalen
TUBA
Nicholas Ironside
William Machen
Hugh Morley
PERCUSSION
Liam Andrews
Parker Cobb
Grant Dolbel
Makoa Lewis
Daphnie Liu
Harry Ran
Hue Tan
CREDITS
Director, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
Professor Bernard Lanskey
Head of Ensembles, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
Professor Peter Morris
Manager - Open Conservatorium
Jason Budge
Executive Officer - Engagement
Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox
Executive Support Officer - Conservatorium Academy
Kevin Edwards
Administration Officer - Open Conservatorium
Lisa Dart
Administration Officer - Honours Programs
Michelle Stewart
Administration Officer – Marketing
Hannah Morrison
Administration Support Officer – Conservatorium Academy
Bianca Murphy
Administration Support Officer – Honours Programs
Stephanie Williams
Administration Support – Conservatorium Academy
Jack Gawith
Baxter Melrose
Project Coordinator
Sharelle Guest
Russell Sullivan
Project Support
Samuel Bertolone
Linley Chai
Emma Crocker
Amy Kubler
Meg McWilliams
Thomas Quelhurst
Sana Rane
Jasmine Smith
Peter Smith
Hannah Waterfall
Open Conservatorium (07)3735 6337 open-conservatorium@griffith.edu.au
Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work, and pays respect to the Elders, past, present and emerging.
