ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

Co-Artistic Directors
Rachael Beesley
Nicole van Bruggen

Artistic Advisor
Professor Neal Peres Da Costa

Founding Artistic Director
Richard Gill †

ARCO MUSICIANS

  • Rachael Beesley
    Jared Adams
    Ben Adler
    James Armstrong
    Helen Ayres
    Marlane Bennie
    Zoe Black
    Matthew Bruce
    Ben Castle
    Peter Clark
    Meg Cohen
    Natasha Conrau
    Doreen Cumming
    Lerida Delbridge
    Ben Dollman
    Madeleine Easton
    Stephanie Eldridge
    Alice Evans
    Rafael Font
    Julia Fredersdorff
    Stephen Freeman
    Leanne Fromhyr
    Annie Gard
    Briar Goessi
    Matt Greco
    Natalia Harvey
    Caroline Hopson
    Cameron Jamieson
    Madeleine Jevons
    Jos Jonker
    Brendan Joyce
    Jen Kirsner
    Jakob Lehmann
    Skye McIntosh
    Anna McMichael
    Susannah Ng
    Jennen Ngiau-Keng
    Lucas O'Brien
    Jessica Oddie
    Sarah Papadopoulos
    Holly Piccoli
    Bianca Porcheddu
    Alison Rayner
    Lynette Rayner
    Dan Russell
    Julia Russoniello
    Jaso Sasaki
    Elizabeth Sellars
    Veronique Serret
    Catherine Shugg
    Simone Slattery
    Claire Sterling
    Ioana Tache
    Joseph Tan
    Frances Thé
    Kirra Thomas
    Miki Tsunoda
    Isabelle Watson
    Elizabeth Welsh
    Emma Williams
    Robin Wilson
    Elise Wright
    Clare Zabrowarny

  • Alexandru-Mihai Bota
    Heidi von Bernewitz
    Deirdre Dowling
    James Eccles
    Nicole Forsyth
    Stephen Freeman
    Tor Fromhyr
    Simón Gangotena
    Caroline Henbest
    Gabrielle Kancachian
    Suzie Kim
    Stephen King
    Wen-Chuan Lin
    Heather Lloyd
    John Ma
    Darrin McCann
    Simon Oswell†
    Christian Read
    Jane Rogers
    Karina Schmitz
    Nicholas Tomkin
    Bernadette Verhagen
    Anna Webb
    Steve Wright
    Katie Yap
    Marianne Yeomans
    Galina Zinchenko

  • Anthony Albrecht
    Rachel Atkinson
    Anton Baba
    James Bush
    Anthea Cottee
    Michael Dahlenburg
    Anita Gluyas
    Rosanne Hunt
    Louise King
    Natasha Kraemer
    JiEun Lee
    Cassandra Luckhardt
    Rowena Macneish
    Alex Nicholls
    Ruben Palma
    Anna Porkony
    Rosemary Quinn
    Kim Worley
    Mime Yamahiro-Brinkmann
    Danny Yeadon
    Paul Zabrowarny

  • Maxime Bibeau
    Joseph Bisits
    Jacqueline Dossor
    Marian Heckenberg
    Miranda Hill
    John Keen
    Philippa Macmillan
    Max McBride
    Kirsty McCahon
    Rob Nairn
    Rosemary Ponnekanti
    Stuart Riley
    Chloe Smith
    Emma Sullivan
    Chloe Ann Williamson

  • Georges Barthel
    Georgia Browne
    Kate Clark
    Pablo Sosa del Rosario
    Melissa Farrow
    Megan Lang
    Jessica Lee
    Lamorna Nightingale
    Mikaela Oberg
    Dóra Ombodi
    Sally Walker

  • Andrew Angus
    Vinciane Baudhuin
    Emma Black
    Diana Doherty
    Jane Downer
    Adam Masters
    Ingo Müller
    Brendan O'Donnell
    Amy Power
    Stephen Robinson
    Georg Siebert
    Eduard Wesly
    Tatjana Zimre

  • Nicole van Bruggen
    Andrew Doyle
    Craig Hill
    Lisa Klevit-Ziegler †
    Nahoko Mitsue
    Ashley Sutherland
    Owen Watkins
    Emily Worthington

  • Niels Coppalle
    Lisa Goldberg
    Jane Gower
    Ben Hoadley
    Brock Imison
    Takako Kunugi
    Kamila Marcinkowska
    Peter Moore
    Jackie Newcomb
    Robert Percival
    Marc Vallon
    Simone Walters

  • Bart Aerbeydt
    Sarah Barrett
    Stefan Blonk
    Doree Dixon
    Emma Gregan
    Darryl Poulsen
    Graham Nichols
    Roman Ponomariov
    Cinzia Posega
    Anneke Scott
    Lisa Wynne-Allen

  • Helen Barsby
    Alex Bieri
    Richard Fomison
    Callum G'Froerer
    Matthew Manchester
    Owen Morris
    Rainer Saville
    Leanne Sullivan
    Louisa Trewartha

  • TROMBONE

    Ros Jorgensen (alto)
    Nigel Crocker (tenor)
    Brett Page (bass)

    OPHICLEIDE

    Nick Byrne

  • TIMPANI

    Joshua Hill
    Brian Nixon
    Brent Miller
    Rick Miller
    Scott Weatherson

    PERCUSSION

    Jess Ciampa

  • HARPSICHORD

    Anthony Abouhamad
    Benjamin Bayl

    FORTEPIANO

    Neal Peres Da Costa

    ORGAN

    Michael Fulcher

    THEORBO

    Simon Martyn-Ellis

YMS FACULTY

BOARD

Frances Carlile, Chair

Frances has over 20 years leadership experience in arts management and the public sector. Strategic reform, programs of excellence, good governance and sustainability are core values.

  • In her 13-year career at Opera Australia Frances was central to and managed the Company’s Government relations, education and community partnerships. This included successfully managing the Company’s $23 million annual government funding relationships, and establishing the new area of community partnerships including more than 25 new project partnerships with arts and community organisations with which the Company had no previous contact in its 58 year history.

    Throughout her professional career Frances has been involved with many Boards and Committees including the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust Board, the University of Sydney’s National Centre for Cultural Competence Establishment Committee, and the Australian Opera Conference Partnership involving the national company and three professional state opera companies. 

    In a voluntary capacity Frances has served as the co-founder and Director of the Very Small Opera Company, and on the committee of the Newcastle Vocal Eisteddfod. Frances was born in Newcastle, NSW and is a proud Novocastrian with a strong commitment to regional access, inclusion and opportunities.

Nicole Strohfeldt, Deputy Chair

Nicole Strohfeldt is an experienced educator, double bassist and arts advocate who is passionate about championing music in Australia.

  • She is currently the Immediate Past National President of the Australian Strings Association and Director of Co-Curricular Cultural Activities at St Luke's Anglican School in Bundaberg. Nicole is the bassist for the string quintet Bella Canna, a group who works to raise the profile of living Australian composers and to cherish the works of the past.

 

Jane Oswald, Secretary

Jane Oswald is a seasoned legal professional with 3 decades of experience specialising in media and entertainment law. Jane is currently serving as the Head of Legal & Business Affairs for a television production company. 

  • Jane’s background includes a strong focus on intellectual property, employment law, and corporate compliance. In her spare time Jane is a keen supporter of the arts, enjoying attending musical and theatre performances.

Mark Oliver, Treasurer

Mark is a seasoned financial services executive with over 30 years of experience across Australia and the UK. Most recently, he served as Chief Distribution Officer and Key Management Personnel (KMP) at Insignia Financial Ltd. (ASX: IFL), an ASX-listed diversified wealth manager.

  • In this role, Mark oversaw Sales, Client Relationships, Product, and Investment Governance, playing a key role in driving significant growth in Insignia’s superannuation business and integrating several large, complex corporate acquisitions.

    In 2023, Mark was appointed Head of Superannuation for Insignia, where he supported multiple fiduciary boards and led an extensive strategic review and rectification plan. This included initiatives to improve organizational culture, governance structures, and regulatory compliance.

    Prior to Insignia, Mark held senior executive roles at Credit Suisse Asset Management (Australia) and BlackRock Australia. At BlackRock, he served as Managing Director, driving substantial growth in their iShares business and establishing it as a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Australia.

    Mark is committed to enhancing client outcomes, driving business growth, and fostering strong governance and workplace culture. His extensive experience in managing large teams and navigating complex and highly-regulated environments has earned him a reputation as a trusted leader in the financial services industry.

 

Nicole van Bruggen, Board Member & General Manager

Nicole van Bruggen has worked in arts management alongside her career as a performing musician since 1997. Nicole is the General Manager and Co-Artistic Director of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra.

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Stephen King, Member

Violist Stephen King is a chamber musician and creative who has performed with ARCO since 2023, and was a member of the Australian String Quartet from 2012-21. Prior to this, he was a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 2003.

  • Stephen has always been passionate about new Australian music and recording it, projects with First Nations artists, innovative cross-artform collaborations and founding and building the ACO Emerging Artists program and ACO Collective.

    Growing up in Canberra, Stephen studied the violin but as an architecture student fell for the darker world of the viola. From 1997 Stephen was violist of the Coolidge String Quartet in Washington D.C. He holds a Doctorate in Chamber Music, having worked closely with the Emerson and Guarneri Quartets. Stephen was also the Associate Principal Viola of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and member of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project while on the faculty of NEC Prep Division in Boston.

    Stephen is currently Senior Lecturer in Viola and Chamber Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, Adelaide University and teaches for the Open Music Academy. He is principal viola of the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra and violist of Ironwood ensemble. He has been a regular guest principal of the TSO, CSO and plays with the Auckland Philharmonia and AWO. In any spare moments Stephen designs and makes sculpted timber furniture and art.

Operations & MARKETING

General Manager & Development Manager 
Nicole van Bruggen

Operations & Communications Manager
Rosemary Ponnekanti

Communications Consultant
Yvonne Frindle

Designer
Josh Murray Design

AUDIO/VISUAL & STAGING

  • Jeff Cheah
    Nico Jonker
    Panagiotis Karamanos
    Patrick Mullins †

  • Haig Burnell
    Thomas Grubb
    Nico Jonker

  • Robert Catto
    Nick Gilbert
    Panagiotis Karamanos
    Ken Nakanishi
    Shane Reid
    Oscar Smith
    Peter Wallis
    Marcus Ward Curran

  • James Browne

  • Lisa Goldberg