Sunday 30th April 2017

“Celestial Fantasies”
Ensemble Aspherical
Janet Webb (flute), Marina Marsden (violin), Justine Marsden (viola)
& Louise Johnson (harp)

Janet Webb Janet Webb - Former Principal Flute, Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Janet has had a distinguished career in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, holding the Principal Flute position from 1985-2016.This was preceded by the Principal Flute position in the Singapore Symphony. She has also appeared as guest principal with most Australian orchestras.
Janet graduated with an Arts/Music Degree from the Canberra School of Music and later studied in France.
She has performed as soloist with many orchestra including the Sydney and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. Of note was a performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no 4 for 2 flutes with Sir James Galway and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 Janet premiered the Liebermann Flute Concerto in Australia with the SSO.
Janet regularly performs recitals and masterclasses, both live and on radio, Australia- wide, and also in South Korea. She has performed chamber music regularly as a member of the Sydney Soloists and the former Australian Wind Virtuosi.
Janet has taught for the Singapore, Sydney, NSW and Tasmanian Universities, and has been instrumental in the development of the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute in Tasmania.
In 2010 she was invited to be one of 11 international jurors for the prestigious international Nicolet Flute Competition held in China.
Janet has released two CDs for flute and piano -"Tango and All That Jazz" and "Romantic Bon Bons". Janet also features in a CD of chamber works by the Australian composer Horace Keats -" Movement" released in Nov 2015.
For more information on Janet, see website www.flutesites.com/janetwebb
 
Marina Marsden Marina Marsden (violin)
Marina has been the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Principal Second Violin since 2006 having joined the orchestra in 1995 as Assistant Concertmaster.
Marina studied violin at the Sydney Conservatorium with Alice Waten and from 1985, assisted by several scholarships, studied for a Performer's Diploma in Vienna with Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet). In 1990 Marina became a Concertmaster of the Bruckner Orchestra in Austria and Melbourne Symphony's Associate Concertmaster from 1992 until 1994. As soloist, she has performed with the Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Canberra Symphony and Adelaide Chamber Orchestra. In 1997, Marina travelled to Austria and the USA on a Churchill Fellowship.
Marina is an active soloist and chamber musician, appearing frequently in Sydney Symphony Chamber Players series. As a founding member of the Linden String Trio, she performs regularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Marina has recorded for Tall Poppies, Move Records, Wirripang Publications, ABC Classics labels and the AMEB, and was the1999 recipient of an Australian Music Centre National Award.
She travelled to Europe in 2013 for advanced study in violin playing and mentoring, assisted by a Sydney Symphony Michael and Mary Whelan Trust Scholarship. In 2015 she appeared as soloist with the SSO and performed in the AWO Southern Highlands Chamber Music Festival.
 
Justine Marsden Justine Marsden (viola)
Justine has been a member of the Sydney Symphony since 1990. Before taking up this position, she pursued post-graduate studies in Berlin for four years with Wolfram Christ, assisted by several scholarships. During her Berlin years, Justine played as a casual member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Berlin Ensemble Oriol. She performed as soloist with the Baden-Badener Orchestra and as Principal Guest Violist of the Berliner Kammeroper Orchestra. On her return to Australia in 1989, Justine joined the Australian Chamber Orchestra, on occasion acting as Principal Viola and played as both member and soloist with the Brandenburg Orchestra. In 2004, Justine was awarded a Sydney Symphony Friends and a Michael and Mary Whelan Trust Scholarship to further her viola studies with Wolfram Christ in Germany and to research issues relating to musicians' health at the Kurt Singer Institute in Berlin.
Over the past two decades, Justine has been an active chamber musician, a former member of the Novalis Quartet and guest artist with the Ku-ring-gai Virtuosi and the Grevillea Ensemble. She is presently a member of the Linden String Trio. Justine has recorded a CD of works by Margaret Sutherland with her violinist sister, Marina Marsden (Sydney Symphony Principal Second Violin) and has recently recorded for Wirripang.
In 2013 Justine traveled to London and North Germany for further study and research on musicians' health and performance-related matters.
 
Louise Johnson Louise Johnson (harp)
Louise Johnson began her harp studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School at the age of 12. She began her professional career at age 15 and at 18 was appointed Principal Harp of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She lived in London between 1983 and 1985, performing regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra as Guest Principal Harp and Second Harp.
Louise Johnson has performed with all the major Australian Symphony and Opera and Ballet Orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australia Ensemble and has toured Australia with companies such as the Bolshoi and Sadler's Wells Ballet Companies and the Bolshoi Opera. Giving her first performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14, she later joined the orchestra as a permanent member, and was appointed as Principal Harp in 1985. A position she still holds today.
She regularly appears as soloist with the Sydney Symphony. She performed the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto with James Galway, the Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, the Ginastera Harp Concerto and Spohr's Concertante for Violin and Harp. In 1996 she performed the Ginastera Harp Concerto in Seattle for the World Harp Congress and performed again for the WHC in 2014, giving the world premier of Bracegirdle’s, Legend’s of the Old Castle, under the baton of Simone Young at the Sydney Opera House.