Previous Guest Artists - 2011
Benjamin Martin
Identified by The Australian as ‘the best young talent for the new millennium’, pianist/composer Benjamin Martin has become known as an artist of exceptional versatility and subtlety of expression. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has been described as ‘the consummate artist’ (The Age), and as a composer, ‘distinctive... arresting in style’ (New York Times).
Benjamin has received numerous awards including the Queen Elizabeth grant, first prize in the Hepzibah Menuhin Memorial Award, the Marten Bequest Scholarship and two scholarships to the Tanglewood Summer Festival (as pianist in 1987, and as compose in 1988), where he participated in classes with Leon Fleisher and Leonard Bernstein.
He has performed throughout Australia, and toured the United States, Europe and Asia, performing solo and duo-recitals with such artists as Alina Ibragimova, Pekka Kuusisto, Richard Tognetti, Dimitri Berlinsky, Janice Martin, Steven Davislim, Boris Baraz, Eiji Oue and the Utrecht Quartet. Benjamin has also given numerous World Premieres; as conductor of a work by Matthew Herskowitz in New York, the New York Premiere of Two Pianos by Morton Gould (associate artist M.Herskowitz) and Brett Dean’s Elegy (with cellist Emma-Jane Murphy).In 1993, John Browning gave the World Premiere of Martin’s Three Portrait Etudes at The Alice tully Hall, NY. His Brazil has been recorded by Matthew Herskowitz for the Canadian label Tout Crin.
Benjamin’s own music has also been performed in Europe and the United States, notably by Kristian Jarvi’s Absolute Ensemble, which toured Australia in 2002. In 2009 Martin toured the United States with outstanding New York jazz musicians Jason Di Matteo (bass) and Greg Gonzales (drums) performing improvisations plus Benjamin’s own music.Closer to home, Benjamin has featured as guest artist for most festivals and concert series in Australia including ten Huntington Festivals, Musica Viva, the Sydney Opera House Mostly Mozart Festival, the Melbourne Festival, the Sydney Festival and the Coriole Festival.
Benjamin features in three critically acclaimed recordings for Tacet Records Stuttgart with the great German violist, Hartmut Lindemann. He is also a recording artist for Chandos and Melba Recordings, and features in an interview in a film titled‘Memories of John Browning’.Benjamin was both consultant editor and recording artist for the most recent AMEB Syllabus release.
In 2009-2010 Benjamin gave a series of talks for 3MBS titled Beyond Measure, whereby he explored certain philosophical and social aspects throughout music’s history. In 2010, Clockface - a large work resulting from a collaboration between Benjamin and the painter-poet Matthew Hooper - received its premiere in the Sydney Chamber Music Festival, featuring Guy Noble as narrator. In September 2010, Benjamin became the new pianist of the Freshwater Trio.
Natsuko Yoshimoto
Born in Japan, Natsuko began playing the violin at the age of three and won a full scholarship to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England when she was eleven. She received direct guidance and teaching under Lord Menuhin and Wen Zhou Li. She continued her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with distinction in 1998.
She has won many prizes in international competitions including the Wieniawski, the Yehudi Menuhin and the Tibor Varga. She received the Gold Medal in both the prestigious 1994 Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Competition and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Award.
In 2007 Natsuko was presented with the Iwaki Award for outstanding achievement as a Japanese artist. Natsuko has appeared frequently at major international festivals throughout Europe, U.S.A, Asia and Australia. As a chamber musician she has collaborated with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Heinz Holliger, Stephen Kovacevich, Brett Dean, Stephen Osbourne and Christina Ortiz. In 1993, she was honoured to perform solo in the presence of the Queen and the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.
Her debut recital at London's Wigmore Hall in 1998 with Freddy Kempf received widespread critical acclaim. In great demand as a soloist, she has appeared with many world renowned orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia (London), Halle Orchestra, Odense Symphony (Denmark), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She has worked with many leading conductors and formed a special relationship with both Yehudi Menuhin and Hiroyuki Iwaki over many years. She performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in July 2009 and with Iwaki Kanazawa's wife, Kaori Kimura in 2010.
Natsuko is currently the concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.An ever popular guest artist with the HSO over the past five years, Natsuko is Heidelberg Symphony's "Soloist in Residence".
Thomas Rann 
Born in Adelaide, Thomas Rann commenced his cello studies at the age of ten, entering the
Elder Conservatorium of Music (University of Adelaide) as a pupil of Niall Brown in 1997. In
2000 Rann relocated to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with
Raphael Wallfisch.Winner of the prestigious Muriel Taylor Scholarship for Cellists in 2004 (previous laureates include Steven Isserlis, Raphael Wallfisch and Alexander Baillie), Rann furthered his studies at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne under Professor Uzi Wiesel, where he won the 2005 ANAM Concerto Competition, leading to his successful 2006 debut as soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in the 'Symphony Under the Stars' outdoor concert before an audience of 30,000.
In 2008, Rann made his Wigmore Hall recital debut with pianist Wu Qian and his Queensland Orchestra concerto debut under Vladimir Verbitsky. During the 2008/2009 season he featured as soloist at the Australian Bushfire Victims’ Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of HRH Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, later making his St. John’s Smith Square concerto debut with the London Phoenix Orchestra under Levon Parikian.
Rann’s festival appearances include the Verbier Festival Academy, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Adelaide International Cello Festival, the International Holland Music Sessions , the Israel International Cello Congress, the Kronberg International Cello Festival and the Brighton Festival (UK). He has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (ABC Classic FM Rising Stars), the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Orchestra, the Australian National Academy of Music Orchestra, the Preston Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Sinfonia. Rann’s performances have been broadcast numerous times on ABC Classic FM and the MBS Network.
Currently completing his Masters degree at the University of Sydney supported by the Henderson Memorial Scholarship, Rann was Principal cello of the Camerata Menuhin at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland during the 2009/2010 season, appearing as chamber musician and soloist at venues including the Tonhalle Zurich, Victoria Hall Geneva and the Paul Klee Zentrum Bern .
Jody Fisher
Adelaide musician Jody Fisher first picked up the classical guitar at
the age of seven and has since become recognised as one of Australia’s leading young guitarists. A first class double Honours graduate from the Elder Conservatorium, she is currently completing a Master of Music performance on a full scholarship.
The music of this multi-award winning player has been heard in festivals throughout Australia and overseas; before 21 years of age, Jody had already performed solo recitals in venues such as Wienklang (Berlin), Eschen Convention Centre (Liechtenstein), as well as across Australia and locally in The Adelaide Festival Centre, Elder Hall and SANTOS stadium. She has been a part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Sunday Spectrum, Elder Hall and the Elder Conservatorium’s Lunch Hour, Evening Concert and Emerging artist Spring Concert Series.
As an undergraduate, Jody was the first guitarist in the history of Elder Conservatorium to perform as a soloist with the orchestra and, in 2010, was a featured soloist with the Melbourne Musicians and at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, where her uniquely lyrical playing was acclaimed for its “clarity... full tone and [evincing] a clear understanding of the music”. Jody has also performed with acclaimed Australian musicians including guitarist Dr. Jonathan Paget and pianist Benjamin Martin. This year, Jody has been invited to Italy to further her career with guitar maestro Eduardo Fernandez.
As well as performing in concert, Jody has provided entertainment at
major charity events such as the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life and
Catherine House’s VIP Silent Auction. She has been broadcast on MBS and the ABC, most recently performing for the TV show Q&A. Scholarships include the prestigious Dame Ruby Litchfield Award for Performing Arts, a Director’s Award from the Elder Conservatorium, multiple prizes from Recitals Australia, the Michael Robert Poag Scholarship for guitar (two-time recipient), Allan’s Music recital prize, Helpmann Academy Optus Mentorship and, most recently, nomination for a Channel 9 Young Achiever Award (Arts).