Strike A Chord Jury

Wilma Smith is Musica Viva Australia’s Artistic Director of Competitions, Second Violinist of the Flinders Quartet, curator/violinist/violist of Wilma & Friends, Guest Concertmaster of orchestras throughout Australia and New Zealand, a regular player with the Australian World Orchestra and a committed teacher.

Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, Wilma studied in the US with the legendary Dorothy DeLay. She was founding first violinist of the Lydian Quartet, winners of the Naumburg Award and prizes at Evian, Banff and Portsmouth International String Quartet Competitions. She worked regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Invited by Chamber Music New Zealand to return home to establish the New Zealand String Quartet, Wilma was first violinist until her appointment as concertmaster of the NZSO and then the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Since retiring from the MSO, Wilma has prioritised her chamber music roots, enjoying old and new collaborations in the US and New Zealand as well as Australia. With her old friend, Victoria Jones, she is Co-Artistic Director of the annual Martinborough Music Festival.

Wilma plays a 1761 Guadagnini violin and occasionally a fine Chinese viola. 

Australian pianist Aura Go is a performer, curator and educator. She performs internationally as concerto soloist in repertoire from J.S. Bach to Sofia Gubaidulina, as recitalist and chamber musician in imaginative programs that interweave old and new music, and as narrator and actor in cross-artform and educational projects.  

Aura has performed as soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Festival highlights include the Edinburgh Festival, PianoEspoo, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 2023 Aura toured nationally for Musica Viva in a critically acclaimed performance as pianist-actor in the stage adaptation of Paul Kildea's Chopin's Piano.

Aura enjoys musical partnerships with Tomoe Kawabata as the KIAZMA Piano Duo, and with Timo-Veikko 'Tipi' Valve (Principal Cellist, Australian Chamber Orchestra). Her discography includes the complete Beethoven cello and piano sonatas with Valve (ABC Classics) and first recordings of works by Lisa Illean (NMC Records), Miriama Young (ABC Classics), Japanese piano duo repertoire (KIAZMA), and four-hand music by Ekaterina Komalkova (Tall Poppies).

Aura is Head of Piano at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, where she leads a vibrant program that nurtures creativity, collaboration and artistic curiosity. 

“A dazzling ability to elicit the multilayered textures” – Rondo Classic 

Rohan de Korte, cellist with the Melbourne Symphony 

As one of the tallest cellists in the world Rohan de Korte has enjoyed an unobstructed view of nearly every conductor he has ever worked with. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the musicians who have to sit behind him.  A graduate of the Köln Hochschule fur Musik Rohan studied cello with Claus Kanngiesser and chamber music with the Alban Berg Quartet. Other teachers include Valter Despalj, Nelson Cooke and Henry Wenig. 

Inspired by a concert given by the MSO in Cologne on their 2000 European tour Rohan returned to Australia. He found work for the next three years playing with the Sydney Symphony, then as the Associate Principal Cellist with Orchestra Victoria before finally joining the MSO in 2009. 

He is also an active chamber musician and has recently performed the Brahms sonatas and the cycle of Beethoven works for cello and piano with Darrly Coote for the team of Pianists. As well as performing in the MSO chamber players series he has been a guest at the Mount Buller chamber camp, AYO national music camp, played with Wilma and Friends, and the Roger Young Collective. Rohan also teaches cello and chamber music at the University of Melbourne and has arranged many pieces for cello quartet, including a very popular Bohemian Rhapsody as well as writing his own music- ‘The Haunted House’ is always a hit with his three sons. 

Francesca Hiew grew up in a household immersed in music. As the second youngest of seven children, she was surrounded by the sounds of her older siblings playing their instruments. At the age of 4, Francesca chose the violin and began lessons at the Stoliarsky School of Music initially with Mark Lakirovich, then with Emin Tagiev for several years. She went on to study at the Queensland Conservatorium with Michele Walsh, before continuing her studies at the Australian National Academy of Music with William Hennessy, who encouraged her commitment to chamber music.  

During this time, Francesca became a member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and was a founding member of the Auric Quartet, which was selected as a finalist in both the Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition and the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition. In 2014, Francesca became a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and 2 years later, she joined the Australian String Quartet as Second Violinist and Co-artistic Director.  

Mark Bain is a professional trumpet player, music educator, and performance coach based in Hobart, Tasmania. He is currently Tutti Trumpet with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2011, and has performed with leading orchestras across Australasia, Europe, and the Middle East. His work spans orchestral, chamber, contemporary, and commercial settings, and he has performed with a wide range of artists under internationally renowned conductors. 

Mark completed a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours at the Australian National University School of Music in Canberra, followed by overseas study at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.  

Alongside his performing career, Mark is strongly committed to music education. He has held teaching roles at the Australian National University, the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main, and at The Friends’ School and the University of Tasmania in Hobart. He has been a Brass Examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board since 2013 and has also served as a Board Member of Tasmanian Youth Orchestras.  

In 2019, Mark founded Performance Under Pressure, delivering evidence-based workshops and presentations on practice, motivation, Music Performance Anxiety, and performance psychology to schools and organisations across Australia and internationally. 

Nick Russoniello is an acclaimed Australian saxophonist, composer, ensemble leader, and educator. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Conservatorio di Musica “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan, Nick has performed as a soloist or guest artist with many of Australia’s leading arts organisations, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Australian World Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra and The Metropolitan Orchestra. 

Nick’s projects—including Duo Histoire, Golden Age Project, and his acclaimed solo show Air Mass—have been featured by organisations including the Sydney Festival, Royal College of Music (London), Musica Viva Australia, ABC Classic FM, Conservatorio di Milano, Strasbourg Cité de la Musique and Phoenix Central Park. 

Nick was awarded the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and the 2MBS Fine Music Kruger Scholarship. A prolific composer, Nick’s music is frequently performed by saxophonist around the world. 

Nick holds a doctorate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is a Yamaha Australia Artist and a D’Addario Woodwind Artist. He frequently presents workshops and lectures on creativity and composition at institutions such as the University of Sydney, Melbourne Conservatorium, WAAPA and UNSW. 

Dr Nicole Canham is a clarinettist and tarogato player who is committed to the commissioning and performance of new music. In her work as Head of Woodwind at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University, she is dedicated to supporting the next generation of musicians to develop rewarding and sustainable careers in music. 

Nicole’s passion for chamber music has led to performances in Mexico, the USA, France, the UK and Belgium. Orchestral work highlights have included work with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. She has commissioned many works, and her repertoire includes pieces written for her by Aaron Wyatt, Elena Kats-Chernin, Nick Tsiavos, Drew Crawford, Robert Davidson, Su Min Lee, Paula Matthusen, Carlos Lopez and Rodrigo Sigal. 

Nicole is a member of the Monash Art Ensemble, regularly premiering and recording new works by diverse artists at events including the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. She is currently working on a VCE clarinet repertoire project, recording Australian works for clarinet and piano composed after 1990. 

Patrick teaches cello performance and instrumental pedagogy at the University of Queensland’s School of Music and is the cellist of the Tinalley String Quartet, whose recent ABC Classics release of Mendelssohn’s string quartets (opus 44, 80, 81) met with critical acclaim.

Patrick was a founding member of the Tankstream Quartet (2000-2005), laureates of the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and the Melbourne National Chamber Music Competition. The Tankstream Quartet studied intensively with the Alban Berg Quartet, Milan Skampa (Smetana Quartet), Walter Levin (La Salle Quartet) and Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet) and in 2004 performed at the royal wedding of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and Mary Donaldson. 

Patrick’s contribution to the Australian chamber music landscape also includes membership of the Southern Cross Soloists, The Grainger String Quartet, The Sydney Soloists, and Nexus Piano Quartet, with whom he has performed at major Australian and international music festivals.Patrick has worked extensively with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera Orchestra, and the Australian World Orchestra. He studied with cellists Alexander Ivashkin, Gregory Baron, Michael Goldschlager and Rosemary Iversen.  

Sonia Croucher is Principal Piccolo of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and brings a global performing career spanning concert halls from Vancouver to Bergen to Sydney Opera House. 

During 21 years as Principal Piccolo of the 43-nation Malaysian Philharmonic, Sonia performed over 2,000 concerts and collaborated with luminaries including Lorin Maazel, Joshua Bell, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras, and Branford Marsalis. She has since appeared as guest principal piccolo with the Australia World Orchestra, NZSO, and major Australian orchestras. 

A Queensland Conservatorium dual-medal graduate in flute and piano, Sonia understands intimately how chamber collaboration shapes complete musicians. Her passion for nurturing young talent runs deep: from mentoring hundreds of MPO Youth Orchestra musicians, to her current teaching at the University of Western Australia, and delivering masterclasses at ANAM, Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Conservatoriums. Her 2025 Australian Flute Festival presentation on audition success drew capacity crowds. 

Her adjudication experience spans national and international panels, including Australian Youth Orchestra auditions, the Lyrical Flute International Championship, and WA state competitions. 

With her famous keen eye for detail, background in performance psychology, and genuine belief that music-making should be joyful, Sonia is thrilled to support Strike A Chord's mission of inspiring the next generation of chamber musicians. 

Concertmaster of Orchestra Victoria, violinist Sulki Yu enjoys a vibrant career as a chamber musician, orchestral leader and soloist. A prize-winner at the 2006 Yehudi Menuhin and 2007 Szigeti-Hubay International Violin Competitions, Sulki studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under David Takeno, before furthering her studies with Augustin Dumay at the Chapelle Musicale Reine 
Elizabeth in Brussels.

Sulki has appeared as a soloist with numerous prestigious orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Lille, Budapest Symphony, Moscow State Academic Symphony, and Royal Wallonie Chamber Orchestras, collaborating with conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Herreweghe and Mark Gorenstein. 

She has made her debut recitals at both the Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre to critical acclaim and has frequently appeared on BBC Radio 3. As a passionate chamber musician, Sulki has been invited to many international chamber music festivals and is the founding member of the award-winning Fournier Trio. Until 2020, Sulki served as Principal First Violin at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. 

Future engagements include guest concertmaster appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

An internationally acclaimed musician, educator, and neurodiversity advocate, Celia Craig is recognised as one of the world’s leading performers with synaesthesia.  Celia’s career spans five continents and includes performances across Europe, the Americas and Asia; recording at Abbey Road Studios; playing for the Royal family; for Doctor Who; touring Australian schools improvising as Colours of Home duo with electric guitar.

Following diagnoses of ADHD and anxiety disorder in addition to her innate synaesthesia, Celia is classed as a Twice Exceptional (2E) musician: with rare insight into the intersection of creativity, leadership, and neurodivergence, combining lived experience with evidence-based understanding and compelling storytelling. An EMCC-qualified coach, Celia’s ability to connect with audiences was shaped early through personal coaching by Leonard Bernstein. 

As a Chairman of London’s flagship BBC Symphony Orchestra, Celia helped deliver the world’s largest classical music event, Last Night of the Proms, to an audience of approximately 40 million. She has held senior educational, curatorial, and advisory roles nationally and internationally. In 2026, 
Celia is a Biennial Artist through CreateSA in Australia’s UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide, Associate elected by the Royal Academy of Music (1997) and Visiting International Lecturer, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.

Contact Celia Craig: celia@celiacraig.com.au Please direct all marketing, communications and public relations enquiries to: hello@celiacraig.com.au www.celiacraig.com.au

Melbourne/Naarm based violinist Madeleine Jevons enjoys a vibrant freelance career, and is a founding member of the Penny Quartet. Melding her passions for music-making, curation and community, she inhabits a varied space in the Australian music scene. 

She studied at the former Victorian College of the Arts and the Australian National Academy of Music, receiving multiple chamber music and achievement awards throughout, including a Freedman Fellowship nomination in 2019. She has toured throughout Europe, to the United States and across Australia. 

As a sought-after chamber musician, Madeleine collaborates at festivals and as a guest musician in many leading arts organisations. She is a lover of all musical genres, and appears regularly on contemporary recordings and live performances. She has performed extensively in many of Australia’s symphony and chamber orchestras, and is a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra Collective. She has featured as a soloist with ACO Collective and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. 

In 2025-6, Madeleine is undertaking the Musica Viva FutureMaker fellowship and  is Artist In Residence with Liza Lim’s ARC project, working with community on Barkandji Country.