ABOUT DUO CALORE AND FRIENDS
FRIDAY 20TH NOVEMBER 8PM

Rollin Zhao, violin/viola

Rollin is currently a contract First Violin with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and frequently performs with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) Collective. Previously a violinist in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, he is also a casual violist with Orchestra Victoria. Rollin is a graduate of the Australian National Academy of Music and University of Queensland where he studied with Robin Wilson. He was a 2017 ACO Emerging Artist and a 2018 Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellow. As a performer-educator, he is a tutor for the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy and Melbourne Youth Orchestras, as well as a strings teacher at Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College.  

Josef Hanna, violin/viola 

Josef is an accomplished and versatile violinist/violist who holds a Masters degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and completed training at the Australian National Academy of Music. He has studied with some of Australia's leading pedagogues, including Robin Wilson, Alice Waten, and Sophie Rowell, and has worked closely with and been mentored by the Schumann Quartet in Munich. Currently on contract with the First Violin section of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, his also plays casually with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Josef is a key member of Affinity Quartet who have performed together in Germany, Finland, and Japan.

Caleb Wong, cello

Caleb grew up in a musical family in rural NSW. He studied cello with Uzi Wiesel, Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music, and Richard Narroway at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He completed his studies with a Masters degree under Hans Jensen at Northwestern University. During his studies, he won the concerto competition at all three music institutions. He has been a soloist with The Australian Ballet, performing at the Sydney Opera House with orchestra, and performed concertos with the Queensland and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. Caleb has toured with the Australian Youth Orchestra in Europe and Asia as principal cellist, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as guest principal. He has been a cellist in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2023.

Rowan Swarbrick, double bass

Rowan is a double bassist, conductor, composer and baritone based in Melbourne. Hailing from Perth, Rowan worked extensively with the Giovanni Consort and was in high demand as a choral singer and director. Since relocating to Melbourne where he is completing a Master of Music in Orchestral Performance, he freelances with Orchestra Victoria and the Melbourne Opera Company. As an emerging performer in Melbourne’s chamber music scene, Rowan has been a guest artist with Ensemble Liaison, Bendigo Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series, and worked closely with Australian String Quartet’s Dale Barltrop. He is currently the Director of Music at St. John’s East Malvern.

Chai Jie Low, piano

Chai Jie is a tutor, guest lecturer, and accompanist at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. She made her concerto debut performing with the Queensland Pops Orchestra at the age of 16, before moving to Melbourne to study at the Conservatorium with a full merit scholarship. In 2022 - 23, she was awarded a scholarship to undertake postgraduate piano study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is a recipient of the Athenaeum Club Instrumental Soloist Prize, Catherine Grace McWilliam Prize, Mary Elizabeth McComas Scholarship, Phyllis Judd/Therese de Kretser Scholarship, John Hellyar Piano Scholarship and DW Gardiner Memorial Award. As a soloist and collaborative pianist, Chai Jie has enjoyed performances in Europe, UK, USA, and around Australia.