Competition jury

Charmian Gadd is an internationally acclaimed violinist and violist who has appeared as soloist with the Halle, Vienna Radio, Hong Kong and BBC orchestras. She played with the Bath Festival Orchestra under Yehudi Menuhin and the Academy of St Martin in the Field under Sir Neville Marriner.

Born in Ourimbah, Charmian Gadd has returned to the Central Coast after an extensive career in Australia and abroad. Central Coast Conservatorium is fortunate to have her serve on its Board of Management and recognises the valuable wealth of experience Charmian Gadd can uniquely offer. Whilst her involvement with music is global, her roots are local, and she is devoted to enriching the life of the Central Coast community.

Charmian Gadd has held music professorships at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (10 years) and Western Washington University. She was Head of Strings at both Sydney Conservatorium and Canberra School of Music and Head of the Selective Performance Program at the Australian Institute of Music. She was a founding member of Trio Concertante and Macquarie Trio and Australian Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Through her previous directorship of the Violinery in Sydney she maintains contact with instrument dealers, makers and repairers.

Charmian Gadd foresees the many friendships and connections she has made during her career will continue to benefit music on the Central Coast. She has an ongoing association with music education programs in China, Japan and Europe. As a member of Central Coast Conservatorium Board, she is keen to create new and exciting musical opportunities for students, staff and audiences.

Phillip Shovk is considered to be one of Australia’s foremost concert pianists, chamber musicians, accompanists and pedagogues. After initial lessons with Anatole Mirosznyk, he continued his studies with George Humphrey at the Sydney Conservatorium High School from where he graduated with the Frank Hutchens Prize for being the most promising performer of his year. He then furthered his studies at the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with Professor Valery Kastelsky (himself a student of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus) and graduating as a Master of Fine Arts with highest marks in all musical subjects. In 1987 he became a Laureate at the Vianni di Motta competition in Lisbon and in 1988 at the Sydney International Competition, where he was awarded the Hephzibah Menuhin Prize and the Best Australian Pianist Prize. He was awarded a Best Accompanist prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994.

He has performed to great acclaim in Russia, Georgia, Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Singapore, New Zealand, China, USA, Spain, Norway and the UK.

Phillip Shovk has also adjudicated at many of Australia’s leading competitions including the Sydney International Piano Competition, Sydney Eisteddfod, Yamaha Youth Competition, Hephzibah Menuhin Competition and others. He has also been a jury member of Concours Animato in Paris, the New Zealand National Concerto Competition and the Singapore National Piano Competition and has taught at the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff in Paris, the Australian Institute of Music and Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and is presently Lecturer in Piano and Accompaniment at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

He has released 2 CD’s – Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky on the Master Performer’s label and Mozart Violin Sonatas arranged for 2 pianos with colleague Daniel Herscovitch for Toccata Classics.

As a school student Michael Bardon studied cello, oboe and clarinet performing as a member of the Pacific School Games Symphony, NSW Public Schools Symphony and the Sydney Olympic Marching Band.

Accelerated into university at age 17 he holds degrees from the Musikhochschule Luebeck (Germany), Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz (Germany), University of Newcastle (Australia) and professional orchestral training as an academy graduate of the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany). His principal teachers include Professors Diethelm Jonas, Nick Deutsch and Anthea Scott-Mitchell, and he has received master class and chamber music instruction from international artists including Professors Sabine Meyer, Christiane Edinger, Stefan Schilli, Angela Firkins, Jaques Tys, Jochen Muller-Brinken, Markus Möllenbek and Thomas Brandis.

After basing himself in Germany for almost 7 years he returned to Australia in 2011 having performed as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in countries including Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Poland, Israel, Korea and Sweden.

Michael was a member of the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra Academy, Neues Kammerorchester Bamberg (now Orchester M18), the wind quintet ‘Pentaphonie’, Sydney Symphony Sinfonia and has performed with orchestras including Oper Frankfurt, Sinfonietta Baltica, Neue Philharmonie Hamburg, Mainzer Kammerorchester and the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra. He is a recipient of many awards including a prestigious German DAAD prize, a scholarship from the north German Possehl Foundation and a Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now scholarship.
Additionally he held the University of Newcastle William Bowmore Prize for Postgraduate Studies in Cello and was the 2012-14 Young Ambassador for the Manning Winter Festival.

An initial teaching position in Hamburg has led to further appointments at Newington College, the University of Newcastle Conservatorium and the Australian Institute of Music. Michael is an enthusiastic pedagogue, with student success including the Music Captaincy of Newington College, scholarship holders at both the Newcastle Conservatorium and Grammar School, frequent high distinction candidates in AMEB examinations and tertiary graduates of the University of Newcastle and Australian Institute of Music. Michael is also employed as an orchestral mentor by the NSW Department of Education and Training for their productions of Star Struck.

Holding performance master’s degrees in both cello (Newcastle) and oboe (Luebeck), Michael maintains a busy career performing, teaching, researching and administrating. He has performed frequently as guest principal cello in the Darwin Symphony, is a regular collaborator with the Australian National College of Dance, has broadcast for ABC Classic FM Sunday Live and in 2016 became a permanent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Orchestra.

Educated at prestigious Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland), he was awarded Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney in 2015 (studying with Natalia Sheludiakova). In 2010, Wojciech was awarded a diploma from the Ministry of Culture of the Polish Government for ‘exemplary achievements in the field of popularising music of Fryderyk Chopin.’

Giving his first performance with an orchestra at the age of 11, throughout his career Wojciech was awarded numerous prizes on various national and international piano competitions, including participation in Sydney International Piano Competition in 2008. His competition performances were released by ABC Classic on 2008 SIPCA Highlights CD (https://itunes.apple.com/np/album/2008-sydney-international-piano-competition-australia/295560983).

Wojciech’s students often obtain highest marks on AMEB and Trinity examinations, compete at national and international competitions, and successfully audition for graduate and post-graduate performance courses in Australia (e. g. Sydney Conservatorium of Music) and abroad.

Nearly twenty years of teaching experience, currently holding position of an Academic Lecturer in Piano at the Australian Institute of Music (since 2010). Given public piano masterclasses in China (Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai), Serbia, as well as Australia.

Wojciech’s book entitled ‘Defining National Piano Schools – Perceptions and challenges’ was published in 2016, and is currently available worldwide (https://nationalpianoschools.com/).

My philosophy of Teaching and Learning excellence is providing equal opportunities to all. This is demonstrated in my teaching and supervising roles by focusing on providing all students with the chance to achieve their maximum potential, and prepare them for careers as professional musicians. I focus on each student’s ability to deliver artistic expression in a professional public setting. I am innovative in my approach to teaching and learning, implementing the most recent academic findings into areas such as memorisation (using various types of memory, memory techniques, with particular attention to suit those techniques to individual students’ capabilities and talents), sight-reading (employing modern technology such as sight-reading with the audio of pre-recorded pieces, video recordings of performances), and using the most up-to-date approach to teaching technique, with particular attention to students’ physical wellbeing (combining some of the research in physiology of a human body in the context of performance, some of the techniques leading to recovery of students who already experience issues with their technique).

Australian violinist Wen Zhu was born in China and began learning violin at age five. In 1996, she was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. This Conservatory is the most prestigious in China and boasts a very high standard.

She has been a prize-winner in many International violin competitions. Since moving to Australia in 2002, she has studied at the Australian Institute of Music, where she was awarded Bachelor of Music Degree First Class Honours. She followed this with a Master of Music under Charmian Gadd, as a full scholarship holder at the Australian Institute of Music. She received the highest scholarship to study at the Tasmania Conservatory of Music for a PhD in Music. In 2010, she studied for her second Master of Music at Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a full scholarship holder under Professor Alice Waten.

Canadian pianist Annie Wong’s performances have been described as “imaginative and evocative” while audiences are thrilled by her “powerhouse” exuberance. She is equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. Having performed across Canada and the United States, notable venues include Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Koerner Hall, Mazzoleni Hall, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and Vancouver Playhouse. Annie was the winner of the Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition, Shenandoah Conservatory Concerto Competition, Bjorn and Lori Hareid Competition, as well as the Vancouver Women’s Musical Society Scholarship Competition.

Aside from performing, she is an active pedagogue, currently holding the position of Academic Lecturer at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney as well as Piano Faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. In the past, she served as Instructor of Piano and Music Theory at Shenandoah University, and Piano Faculty at the Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy in the United States. Annie has taught master classes, presented workshops, coached chamber ensembles, and adjudicated competitions, festivals, and auditions. She is a member of the College of Examiners for RCM Examinations across North America.

Annie received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Shenandoah University in Virginia, USA on a full scholarship, studying with esteemed pianist Dr. John O’Conor, and graduating with The Outstanding Performance in Piano Award. She was twice the recipient of the prestigious Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award in recognition of her exceptional academic achievements. Prior to that, she received her Master of Music degree along with the Dean’s Award from the Mannes School of Music in New York City as a student of Professor Irina Morozova. Her musical and academic accomplishments were lauded as she was awarded her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada as a student of Professor Jane Coop and Dr. Terence Dawson, graduating at the top of her class. In addition to working with her principal teachers, Annie has performed in master classes for internationally renowned artists such as Alfred Brendel, Richard Goode, Jon Kimura Parker, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Craig Sheppard, Robin McCabe, Hiromi Okada, Prisca Benoit, Eve Egoyan, and Ieva Jokubaviciute.

Having had the privilege to gain precious musical experiences through such a multifaceted array of settings and roles, Annie instills in her students a lifelong passion for music-making. She is deeply dedicated to the development of artistry in today’s pianists.

American Violinist Zuo Jun was born in a musical family in China. Hailed as one of the most gifted Chinese violinists of his generation, Zuo has been a prizewinner in prominent national and international competitions, including the silver medal of the National Violin Competition of China in 1984, the special prize for the best performance of Chinese work, and the first prize in the China National Violin Competition in Shanghai in 1986. Also, he was awarded prizes in the Kingsville International Music Competition in 1990, the Audience prize of the American Music Teacher’s National Association Competition in 1989, and the Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition in 1989. In 1984, Zuo Jun was invited by the China Ministry of Culture to perform in Beijing’s People Conference Hall to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. In the same year, he gave a solo recital as part of “Spring of Shanghai” music festival.

Zuo began violin studies at age six and is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied with Professors Shen Guan En and Zheng Shi Sheng. In 1988, Zuo Jun’s talent was noticed by Fredell Lack and he won the full scholarship to study with her at the University of Houston and subsequently with Berl Senofsky and Ariana Bronne.

Zuo has been a first violinist of world-class symphony orchestras–Houston Symphony and San Francisco Symphony for more than eleven years. Zuo has also appeared as soloist with many renowned symphony orchestras, such as Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Jupiter Symphony Orchestra (New York), Julius Grossman Orchestra (New York), Shanghai Ballet Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra (Colorado), Shanghai Radio Orchestra, San Antonio Youth Symphony, the Shanghai Opera Orchestra, Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, and New Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Macau Symphony, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic.

Critics have praised Zuo Jun’s performances for his musicality and technical brilliance. He was featured on “Good Morning America” (ABC) in 1990, interviewed by NHK in 1987, and he has been invited for interviews and live performances by the Public Broadcast Station of Houston (United States) in 2008 and 2010, Zuo was invited by former Defense Minister of Singapore to perform in Victoria Concert Hall, and live performance on Singapore National Television channel in 1986, and he was interviewed by the Channel 8 “Good Morning Singapore” in 2004 and Singapore’s classical music radio station 92.4FM. Zuo recorded “the Inspiration” solo CD which was released in late 2010. This CD features the works of Sarasate, Ravel and Tchaikovsky and others.

Zuo Jun currently is an associate professor and the head of violin studies of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, he also is a guest Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory. Zuo became a permanent faculty member of the Texas Music Festival in 2007, he is also invited as a faculty member of the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy since 2010 and Saarburg International music festival, Germany. In 2016, as a founder and artistic director, he has established the 1st Yilan International Music Festival in Taiwan. He has been invited as artistic director of 1st Qing Yuan International Music Festival in Guangzhou, China.

Yang Xi Nan is a violinist at Hubei Symphony Orchestra and she was recognised and one of the top-tier national violinist in China. She is also a member of Hubei Musicians Association and the Certified examiner for the National Art Talents of China.

Duan Yi Ke si a Pianist and Conductor. He is appointed as the Ass. Professional of Han Jiang Conservatory of Music and Professor of Bei Er Man Music Institution.