Conductors

Ronald Prussing

Ronald Prussing graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 1974. Having begun his studies in piano with the trombone as a second instrument, he soon found the trombone had become his major study. His early teacher was Alan Mann, a long-time Principal Horn of the Sydney Symphony. Ron also studied with Geoffrey Bailey and Baden McCarron, a former Symphony second trombonist.

In 1970, after having studied the trombone for only twelve months, Ron was chosen to tour with the Australian Youth Orchestra to Japan for Expo '70. He subsequently gained much experience playing in many orchestras as a causal musician, including the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.

He was appointed Principal Trombone with the Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra (now the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra) in 1978, a position he held for two years, after which time he was appointed to the position of Associate Principal Trombone with the Sydney Symphony. He was appointed Principal Trombone in 1986 - a position that he still holds.

In 1983 Ron was the first Australian trombonist to be invited to present lectures and give recitals at the annual Seminar of the International Trombone Association, held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ron has appeared as soloist on a number of occasions with the Sydney Symphony, and has recorded concertos and other pieces with the Sydney Symphony. He has recorded a highly acclaimed solo album - 'Classics for Trombone' - with the Melbourne Staff Band of the Salvation Army. Ron is a regular recitalist.

He has been conjoint lecturer in Trombone at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, and Lecturer in Trombone at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. During these appointments, he was responsible for not only the individual teaching of the trombone students, but was also responsible for conducting orchestra repertoire classes and instrumental masterclasses. He was also the Musical Director of Waratah Brass - one of Australia's leading Brass Bands. This band is based in Newcastle. This fine group celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2004. Ron relinquished this position at the end of 2005, to take up the Musical Directorship of the Sydney Youth Orchestra (SYO).

In 2006 he conducted the SYO on their very successful tour of Spain and Portugal. During his time as Musical Director of the Sydney Youth Orchestra, several newly commissioned works had their world premiere performances. These included Roger Smalley's 2nd piano concerto with John Chen as soloist, and Peter Sculthope's Elegy for Viola and String Orchestra. The orchestra also played a great variety of repertoire, including music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Elgar, and Mahler.

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Carolyn Watson

Carolyn Watson graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education (Honours) degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before accepting a place at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary. Carolyn spent two years in Hungary where she also studied violin at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. For the duration of her time in Hungary Carolyn was the recipient of a Hungarian Government Scholarship for postgraduate research. After graduating with an Advanced Diploma, Carolyn moved to Dresden, Germany, where she studied violin at the Musikhochschule Carl-Maria-von-Weber and played with various freelance orchestras.

Carolyn is Strings Co-ordinator at Sydney Grammar School where she conducts a wide range of ensembles, teaches violin and tutors chamber music. As a violinist Carolyn has appeared as a soloist with The Occasional Performing Sinfonia, The Beecroft Orchestra and The Mosman Symphony. Carolyn has written education programmes for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and had articles published in various music education journals. Active in the development of young musicians Carolyn has worked at the Sydney Conservatorium Open Academy, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Western Youth Orchestra and Lane Cove Youth Orchestra.

As a conductor, Carolyn is rapidly developing an international profile. She has been awarded the Nelly Apt Conducting Scholarship for studies at the Israeli National Opera in 2009. Carolyn recently conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as part of the Orkney Conducting Course and performed for the Pope with the World Youth Day Orchestra. In 2007, she attended the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School where she studied with David Zinman. Carolyn has conducted the Willoughby, Mosman and Strathfield orchestras and is currently preparing a production of Faust for Rockdale Opera. Carolyn teaches conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she is studying a PhD in conducting under Maestro Imre Palló.

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Steven Hillinger

Steven Hillinger graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1992 from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying French Horn with Anthony Buddle and received the Richard Merewether Memorial Scholarship for French Horn in 1991. Steven has performed with orchestras including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra.

In 1993 Steven completed a Graduate Diploma in Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium, studying with Henryk Pisarek. In 1994 Steven was offered a place in the Master of Music course, graduating in 1997, with John Hopkins as his teacher. This was the first time a Masters in Conducting had been offered.

In 1993 and 1994 Steven was awarded the Alan Bellhouse Memorial Scholarship for Conducting.

Steven has conducted many orchestras including the Willoughby, Penrith, Mosman and University of New South Wales Symphony Orchestras, the Ku-ring-gai and East-West Philharmonic Orchestras, the Cove Chamber Orchestra, The Occasional Performing Sinfonia, the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, and in 1994 was shortlisted to audition for the position of Assistant Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In 1995 Steven participated in a conducting masterclass given by David Porcelijn, and in that same year conducted at the Sixth Sydney International Spring Festival. Steven was a finalist the 1997, 1998 and 2000 Westfield Young Conductor of the Year Awards with the Queensland, Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras respectively and was awarded a TOAN Conductor in the Community Fellowship on each occasion.

In 1998, Steven was awarded a Queen's Trust grant to visit Europe to continue his research into music repressed by the Nazis.

Steven was the conductor of the Lane Cove Youth Orchestra through 1998, Fisher's Ghost Youth Orchestra between 1998 and 2000, Sydney Youth Brass in 2000, Shore School Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2006, and was Musical Director of the City of Sydney Wind Ensemble from 2001 to 2006. Steven has also worked as Assistant Conductor with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In January 2003, Steven toured to Eastern Europe with the North Sydney Girls High School Symphony Orchestra and in March 2005 took the Symphony and Wind Orchestras on a tour of China. In September 2005 he undertook a tour of Eastern Europe with the Ascham School Symphony Orchestra.

At present, Steven is conducting the Sydney Youth Orchestra's Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Ascham School Symphony Orchestra, North Sydney Girls High School Symphony Orchestra, Wind Orchestra and Concert Band, University of New South Wales Concert Band and the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

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Rowan Harvey-Martin

Rowan graduated violin with honours from the ANU School of Music and has also studied at the Eastman School of Music, New York. She is Principal Violin with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and has had extensive orchestral experience with the Eastman Virtuosi in New York, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and as Associate Concertmaster with the Australian production of Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon.

Rowan is Co-Artistic Director and Concertmaster of The Haydn Bande which completed a subscription concert series with Geoffrey Lancaster in June, August and September of 2006. Recently Rowan has worked with Sonic Art Ensemble (formerly The Seymour Group) in Sydney and has a series of chamber music concerts planned with her brother and sister, Dominic Harvey and Bernadette Balkus.

Rowan studied choral conducting with Michael McCarthy at the Canberra School of Music and orchestral conducting with Donald Hunsberger at the Eastman School of Music. She is Musical Director of The Llewellyn Choir and Oriana Chorale in Canberra. With The Llewellyn Choir she conducted Mozart's Requiem in D minor in May 2006 and John Rutter's Requiem in September 2006. In 2007 Rowan took part in Symphony Australia's Conducting Development Program with Christopher Seaman conducting the State Orchestra of Victoria and the Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. Also in 2007 she has been assistant to conductor Nicholas Milton for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. With The Llewellyn Choir and the Haydn Bande she has performed Haydn's Nelson Mass and in 2008 she will conduct Bach's St. John's Passion and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.

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Presenters

Patrick Thomas MBE

Noted Australian conductor, Patrick Thomas made his first solo broadcast as a flautist for the ABC in Brisbane at the age of 12. His subsequent career in the performing arts has extended over sixty years and for much of that time, he became a familiar figure on Australia's music scene. For 22 years he held directional appointments with no fewer than four ABC Orchestras and the ABC's Radio Chorus (The Adelaide Singers). Overseas, he appeared in 12 countries as Guest Conductor of such orchestras as the Moscow Philharmonic, the Halle, Bavarian Radio, Polish National Radio and Television, Munich Philharmonic, BBC, CBC, Prague Radio, and many others in New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and South Africa. Other facets of his diverse career included those of concert, radio and television presenter and interviewer.

As a writer, his later work has included an autobiography, several hundred poems, a booklet of career anecdotes, a published reference text (Overture to Conducting), as well as articles and scripts for 2MBS-FM and also ABC FM. Throughout his life, he has remained a consistent supporter of new music and, in particular, Australian creative and performing talent. He was made a Life Member of the Fellowship of Australian Composers in 1998, a 'first' for an Australian conductor, and is also a Patron of the Music Teachers' Association of NSW.

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Paul Byrnes

Paul Byrnes has been a film critic for The Sydney Morning Herald for fifteen years. He was director of the Sydney Film Festival for ten years, and has programmed exhibitions of Australian cinema for venues in Berlin and New York. His educational DVD looking at the politics and propaganda of immigration film, co-written and directed with Penny McDonald, won the 2005 Focal International award for best use of archive footage in a digital medium. In September 2007, he was awarded the Geraldine Pascall prize for critical writing, the highest award in the Australian media for critics in any genre.