About FIONA SARGEANT, VIOLA
Fiona graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. Further studies included chamber music and viola performance under Hermann Voss, Melos Quartet in Stuttgart. During her time in Germany, she was a Finalist at the Maurice Vieux international Viola Competition.
Fiona has held the positions including Principal Violist of Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Det Jyske Ensemble & Associate Principal Violist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She is a current and founding member of the viola section, Australian World Orchestra, performing under Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle and Alex Briger. Chamber music highlights include performances with Emmanuel Ax and James Ehnes at Melbourne Recital Centre. Festival performances include, The Australian String Quartet, Seraphim Trio at Port Fairy Festival including ‘Harold in Italy’ with Piers Lane. Other festival performances include Schwetzingen Festspiele and the Pablo Casals Festival, Puerto Rico.
Her other pursuits are gardening and stand up paddle boarding (SUP), achieving third place in the women's Marathon representing Victoria at the Australian National titles.
Fiona plays in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the wonderfully lively viola section which happens to have the best and dearest violists in Oz!
FIONA SARGEANT’S CONCERTS AT TEMPO RUBATO IN 2024
MONDAY 4 MARCH 2024, 8PM*
BACH, BRAHMS, STRAVINSKY, FRANCK
*This event was originally scheduled for Monday 12 February, but was postponed due to illness
with special guest Leigh Harrold
PROGRAM
J. S. BACH Suite for cello no. 5 in C minor BWV1011 (arr. viola, original tuning)
Johannes BRAHMS Sonata no. 2 in E flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2
Igor STRAVINSKY Élégie for solo viola
César FRANCK Sonata in A major for violin and piano (arr. viola)
SATURDAY 13TH JULY 2024, 8PM
BACH, BRAHMS, SCHUBERT
with Leigh Harrold, piano
PROGRAM
J. S. BACH Partita no 2 for violin
Chaconne for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 100 (arr. viola)
Johannes BRAHMS Sonata in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1
Franz SCHUBERT Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D. 821 (arr. viola)
SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2024, 8PM
VIVE LA FRANCE
with Wendy Clarke, flute and Melina van Leeuwen, harp
PROGRAM
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU Pièces de Clavecin en Concert no. 5
Claude DEBUSSY Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Jacques IBERT Deluxe Interludes
Claude DEBUSSY Syrinx for solo flute
Maurice RAVEL Sonatine en trio
ABOUT WENDY CLARKE
Wendy Clarke has held the position of Associate Principal Flute at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 1991. Born in Perth, Wendy studied with the late Owen Fisenden at the University of Western Australia, gaining a Bachelor of Music with Honours. Upon completion of her degree, Wendy was appointed Principal Piccolo with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra.
In 1982 and 1984 she studied briefly in England with Peter Lloyd, Principal Flute with the London Symphony Orchestra. Wendy spent several years at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts as a Lecturer in Flute before moving to Melbourne to take up her position with the MSO.
She has performed and recorded as soloist with the WASO, MSO and Academy of Melbourne, enjoys being an active chamber musician and 1996 she was invited to play with the World Symphony Orchestra in Bangkok.
ABOUT MELINA VAN LEEUWEN
Melina van Leeuwen performs nationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer. An avid chamber music artist, she is a founding member of the Chrysalis Trio, formed together with flautist Kiran Phatak and violist Katie Yap. The ensemble was awarded a competitive Australian National Academy of Music Artists title and embarked on a national tour in 2019. Highlights for Melina as a featured soloist have included multiple Sydney Symphony Fellows Concerts in 2022, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 2023 chamber series, the Melbourne Recital Centre’s 2019 Tenth Birthday Gala Concert and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra's opening 2016 concert series.
Performance highlights include the 2016 Helpmann award-winning Australian World Orchestra tour with Sir Simon Rattle, appearing as Principal Harp for the Australian World Orchestra's 2019 National Tour season, the 2014 World Harp Congress; 2023 Four Winds Festival; 2017 Dark Mofo festival; 2018 Mofo festival; Port Fairy Spring Music Festival; Canberra International Music Festival; Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music; the 2013 ARIA-award winning ‘Conversations with Ghosts’ collaborative project of James Ledger, Paul Kelly and Genevieve Lacey; and appearing as a guest soloist for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China.
Melina performs on a 2008 concert grand Salzedo harp by Chicago makers Lyon & Healy.
https://www.melinavanleeuwen.com/
SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2024, 8PM
BACH, HINDEMITH, BRAHMS
with Leigh Harrold, piano
PROGRAM
J. S. BACH Partita for violin no. 3 in E major
Paul HINDEMITH Trauermusik
Johannes BRAHMS Scherzo for viola and piano
Paul HINDEMITH Der Schwanendreher
ABOUT LEIGH HARROLD
Leigh Harrold enjoys a reputation as a “musician of rare talent and intelligence”, and is one of Australia’s busiest and most sought-after pianists. He has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America, Africa and Australia as both soloist and chamber musician, including concerts at Australia House in London, the Royal Academy of Music, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Harare International Festival of Arts, and concerto engagements with many Australian orchestras.
His international reputation as an associate artist has led to collaborations with such luminaries as Thomas Reibl, lecturer in viola at the Salzburg Mozarteum; Michael Cox, principal flautist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Gaede, ex-concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; London flautist Wissam Boustany; New York violinist Charles Castleman; Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling; and British pianist Mark Gasser, to name just a few. Other significant international collaborations have included performance and studies with Andrew Ball at the London Royal College of Music; Sophie Cherrier at the Paris Conservatoire; New York-based pianist Lisa Moore and English composer Peter Maxwell Davies. He has twice been awarded the Geoffrey Parsons Award for Associate Artists, and in 2014 was the recipient of the pianist’s prize in the Mietta Song Competition.