Ingrid Martin

Artistic Director & Conductor

Ingrid Martin transforms lives through music.

Her life-long mission: to make classical music relevant, interesting and engaging for everyone.

Insatiably curious, Ingrid constantly asks "Who is it for? Why are we doing this? How could it be better? Her answer usually involves challenging norms and ditching long-held traditions to create meaningful experiences for audiences.

Ingrid's projects forge unlikely connections between music, place and other disciplines - whether it's an orchestra playing Ravel in a pub, or chamber winds playing Kurt Weill amongst modern art.

On the podium, she empowers musicians to uncover and share their unique artistic voices. The result? Deeply human performances that unite musicians and audiences.

2022 saw Ingrid make her debut with the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and continue as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Crosswinds Ensemble and Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra.

As an Orchestra of the Americas Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellow in 2022, she had the opportunity to learn from conductors including Marin Alsop, Simone Young, Alexander Shelley and Carlos Miguel Prieto. She is one of five participants in the 2023-24 Australian Conducting Academy where she will work with all of Australia’s professional orchestras.

Ingrid shares her unique approach to musical leadership through Conducting Artistry, her online learning platform for conductor development.

Nichaud Munday

Flute & Piccolo

Nichaud Munday is a Melbourne based flutist originally from Regional Victoria where she began playing the flute at age 8. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music with Honours from the Australian National University under the tutelage of Virginia Taylor and Vernon Hill.

In 2016 she was accepted into the Artist Diploma course at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the Netherlands, with Thies Roorda (flute) and Dorine Schade (piccolo).

Following her return to Australia she has enjoyed performing in many Melbourne based orchestras, including the Australian National Academy of Music Orchestra, and the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet Orchestra.

Kate Rockstrom

Flute & Piccolo

Kate Rockstrom has worked as a musician in both Melbourne and Sydney and is currently employed as a flautist and piccolo player with the Royal Australian Air Force Band.

Originally from Melbourne she holds two Master in Music Performance as well as extensive performance experience. She was the winner of the Open Piccolo and Ensemble Competitions at the Australian Flute Festival in 2009 and from 2012 she worked regularly with Opera Australia Orchestra, whilst continuing to work with other ensembles such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the NSW Police Band.

In 2019 Kate was invited to be a Guest Solo Artist with the UNE Parramatta Laneways Festival and a guest with the Sirius Chamber Ensemble. And in 2020 she won the North Shore Wind Symphony Concerto Competition to perform the Chaminade Flute Concertino with the NSW Band Championship Winner.

Her return to Melbourne in 2021 has seen her perform in RAAF parades across Australia in her role with the Air Force Band. She has been a specialist Classical music guest reviewer and ‘friend of Readings’ for more than ten years and continues to expand her knowledge through continued study.

Brienne Gawler

Oboe & Cor Anglais

Brienne Gawler is a Melbourne-based oboist, arts manager and educator. Brienne’s  artistic practice has a focus on curating innovative musical experiences rooted in  creativity and collaboration. 

Brienne is a captivating performer and she graduated with her Bachelor of Music  (Honours) with First Class Honours from The University of Melbourne in 2018.  Brienne’s extensive oboe studies and passion for Australian music has led to her  current research interest in creative collaboration in music relating to Australian  contemporary oboe repertoire. Brienne is currently researching this area by  undertaking a Master of Music (Research) degree at The University of Melbourne. In  2017, Brienne was awarded the John Gaitskell Memorial Mensa Prize in light of her  outstanding academic achievements at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. Brienne has  attained her Licentiate Diploma on oboe and her Associate Diploma on oboe and piano  from the Australian Music Examinations Board. 

Brienne has been broadcast on ABC Classic and has appeared in concert with Inventi  Ensemble. Brienne has enjoyed multiple appearances as the Principal Oboist of The  University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra including on their recent Asia tour and  has performed with the Melbourne Conservatorium’s New Music Studio. Brienne was  awarded first prize in the Gilbert Glausiuss Competition at The 11th International  Akaroa Music Festival in New Zealand. 

Brienne is passionate about transporting both musicians and audiences beyond the  notes by creating meaningful artistic experiences for people of all ages through her  work as an arts manager and educator. Brienne is the Operations and Marketing  Manager of Inventi Ensemble, President of State Music Camp Victoria and a member  of the Australasian Double Reed Society’s Victorian committee. In addition, Brienne is  the oboe teacher at Presbyterian Ladies’ College and at Lowther Hall Anglican  Grammar School.

Susan Batten 

Oboe & Cor Anglais

Susan is a freelance oboist and teacher based in Melbourne, Australia.

She completed her Bachelor of Music Performance from the VCA in 2001, studying with Anne Gilby.

She regularly plays Oboe/Cor Anglais in John Foreman's Aussie Pops Orchestra, Bayside Chamber Orchestra and The Yarra Ensemble. Past productions have included Oboe/Cor Anglais in The Production Company Orchestra for: Ragtime, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon and the Melbourne productions of Mary Poppins (2010 and 2023), Dr Zhivago, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, South Pacific and Wicked. 

Susan has worked as a Woodwind Tutor for the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra and Oboe Tutor for the 2022 State Music Camp. 

Jasper Ly

Oboe & Cor Anglais

Jasper Ly is an Australian oboist based in Melbourne. He is a versatile and dynamic performer who aims to captivate and transport his audience through musical settings ranging from classical to contemporary.

Jasper’s passion for audience engagement has seen him present salon concerts in both Melbourne and regional Victoria. Recent highlights include Colour and Light in 2019, which featured works by Debussy and Ravel; Oboe Salon in 2018, which complemented LYRIC OPERA OF MELBOURNE’s production of Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and in the same year he co-produced ‘Quietus’, a program for oboe, voice and piano presented as part of the WINTERWILD FESTIVAL in Apollo Bay. In 2020, Jasper and the MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE will present a solo concert called Skylines as a part of their ‘Spotlight Series’.

A passionate advocate of new music, Jasper has performed with specialist groups such as ARCKO SYMPHONIC ENSEMBLE, ARGONAUT ENSEMBLE (BENDIGO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EXPLORATORY MUSIC), and the renowned ELISION ensemble. His 2017 solo recital Sonic Landscapes featured a number of scarcely performed works for oboe and electronics.

As an orchestral and chamber musician, Jasper performs with leading ensembles including ORCHESTRA VICTORIA, VICTORIAN OPERA, OPERA AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, MELBOURNE OPERA, SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA and the ROYAL MELBOURNE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA. He has appeared as guest principal oboist of the DARWIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, the MACAO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, and the GREAT BARRIER REEF ORCHESTRA in Townsville. Jasper’s experience also extends to musical theatre; in 2017 he played oboe/cor anglais in the Melbourne season of Disney’s Aladdin.

As winner of the MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC Concerto Competition in 2013, Jasper performed the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2014, he appeared as soloist in the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto with the MELBOURNE SINFONIA. Alongside ORCHESTRA 21, Jasper delivered the Australian premiere of James Stephenson’s Oboe Concerto, Duels and Dances in October 2019.

Kate Stockwin

Clarinet

Kate Stockwin is a Melbourne-based clarinet freelance and chamber music performer, examiner and teacher.

She studied clarinet with Donald Westlake, graduating from the Canberra School of Music with BAMus (Hons) and later, Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL with Distinction).  Kate also pursued lessons in London with Thea King, John McCaw, and Prudence Whittaker of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

After graduation Kate held the position of Principal Clarinet with Orchestra Victoria for over twenty years. Some highlights include performing Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet with the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House, playing on-stage in costume in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Britten, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for the Spoleto Festival and opening Rhapsody in Blue with its famous clarinet glissando.

An important part of Kate’s educator role with Orchestra Victoria was the mOVe program. She contributed with her OV colleagues as instrumental tutors in regional Victorian centres, providing mentoring for young players towards their orchestral performances.

Since leaving OV Kate has performed freelance, touring with ‘Spice Trio’, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Corpus Medicorum (Japan and Europe) as well as performances with Orchestra 21. She has also performed the great clarinet quintets of Mozart, Weber and Brahms with Aequales Ensemble in Melbourne.

Kate is on the music staff of Ruyton Girls' School and Scotch College and is an examiner for both the AMEB and VCE Solo Performance. She particularly enjoys mentoring and teaching more advanced students tackling the clarinet solo repertoire for exams and recitals.  Teaching adult students rekindling their clarinet interest later in life is a passion, as is presenting recitals showcasing the clarinet to community groups. Kate plays on Buffet Prestige Festival clarinets.

Vanessa George

Clarinet

Vanessa is a Melbourne-based musician and instrumental music teacher who graduated from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Solo Performance) on clarinet in 2013 under the tutorage of David Griffiths and Philip Arkinstall. There, she performed in a variety of ensembles including the University of Melbourne Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Classical Chamber Ensembles, as well as the Stage Band, Saxophone Ensemble and World Music Choir.

Vanessa also has a passion for music education and inspiring young people in their pursuit of excellence and self-discovery. She has spent the last decade honing her skills as a highly successful and sought-after clarinet teacher and high school ensemble director. Working in schools across Melbourne in both the private and public sector, and with organisations such as Melbourne Youth Orchestras, Vanessa has toured regionally and internationally as a performer, conductor and music educator. 

Christopher Haycroft

Bassoon

Chris is a Casual musician with the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He is an in-demand teacher in Melbourne and holds a Masters of Music (Orchestral Performance) from the University of Melbourne, a Professional Performance degree from the Australian National Academy of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from Griffith University. Chris is a former Fellow of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Hamble Geary

Bassoon

Hamble Geary is a freelance bassoonist currently based in Melbourne, Australia.

She holds multiple degrees from universities around the world and was the recipient of the Associated Board of Royal Music Schools Scholarship for fully funded tuition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from 2016 – 2018.

Whilst in Scotland Hamble freelanced professionally with orchestras and chamber groups throughout the U.K. such as Birmingham Opera Company, The Chronicles Quintet, and many others.

Hamble is now living in Australia where she is teaching and freelancing in Melbourne and Tasmania.

Lyndelle Newey

Horn

After a long period of not playing the horn, Lyndelle has rekindled her passion for music and her instrument in the past few years.

She spent the early part of her career working as a full time musician and learning a multitude of other skills including arranging, singing and audio engineering. She was even the lead singer in a rock band! Wanting to explore other avenues though, she left music entirely and had a ten year period of not playing or performing.

 Lyndelle is thrilled to have rediscovered her love for the French horn and is excited about the prospect of working in a chamber group setting with other inspiring and like minded musicians. 

Susan Eldridge

Horn

At a time when many organisations are struggling to innovate operational, artistic and educational models, Susan Eldridge has delivered transformation for classical musicians and organisations across the globe.

Susan is renowned for her ability to imagine elegant solutions, apply design and systems thinking to complex challenges.

She is a serial creator of innovative programs that change people. Susan is the creative energy behind:

• IgniteLAB for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

• Career Ventures for the Australian National Academy of Music

• Artist Assembly for the Melbourne Recital Centre

• Accelerando for the Melbourne Recital Centre

• Navigate Well for the Arts Centre Melbourne Wellbeing Collective.

In demand as a speaker and mentor, she regularly appears for the Royal Northern College of Music and is a Specialist Mentor for the Global Leaders Program. Susan also hosts an informal monthly mentoring program for early career classical music administrators.

As a career coach, she has mentored over 1,000 performing artists across music, theatre and visual arts.

With a demonstrated capacity to rally people around a great idea, prior to her work in the arts Susan founded a multi-million dollar technology consulting firm delivering ERP solutions to Fortune 500 clients throughout Europe.

She holds Music Performance degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and maintains an active performance career as a guest artist and freelance orchestral musician.

Susan is guided by the unflappable goal to place the human experience at the centre of her radical solutions.