Corde Consort is a mixed voice quartet, who are hand picked from Corde to challenge themselves with complex repertoire and receive online coaching sessions with Academy Director in Residence Timothy Wayne-Wright.
Meet the 2026 cohort!
Esme Power
Soprano
Esme Power is a first year Landscape Architecture student. Esme performed with the Sydney Children’s Choir for many years, and also participated in productions by The House That Dan Built and Opera Australia. She joined Corde this year, and she hopes to continue to be a part of it throughout her time at UNSW. Esme also plays oboe in the UNSW Orchestra.
Katya Valentine
Alto
Katya Valentine is a fourth-year Mathematics and Physics student at UNSW. She joined Corde in mid-2025 as an alto and has made incredible memories since then. She also plays piano and cello, and is currently working on pieces by Frédéric Chopin and Edward Elgar. In her spare time, she enjoys writing music, tinkering with embedded systems and sensor fusion. Katya's also an avid camper, loves to snorkel, has two pet mice, two pet scorpions, and some fish.
Oliver Brunsdon
Tenor
Oliver Brunsdon is a recent graduate from UNSW with a Bachelor of Music (Composition Honours) and a Bachelor of Engineering Science (Software). His music background spans multiple different genres and disciplines, with his main instruments being classical piano and voice. Most recently, Oliver has taken up professional beatboxing and since 2020 has competed, judged and performed in both national and international competitions.
During his time at UNSW, Oliver has been the music director and resident arranger for the university's a cappella ensemble, Vocallective, from 2021 to 2025, and has sung with the Corde chamber choir since 2021 as a Tenor 1. During his composition degree, he mainly focused on choral music, being shortlisted for the Willgoss Choral Composition prize on three occasions, and receiving the runner-up prize in the ANCA Choral Prize 2026. He was also awarded the Willgoss Choral Prize for Corde in 2024 for his contributions to the Corde chamber choir and Corde Consort, and the Student Creative Impact Award in 2025 for his contributions to Vocallective.
Oliver is currently working as a freelance composer and piano teacher, and is the founder and co-owner of Beatbox New South Wales.
Luna Wenshuo Bao
Bass
Luna Wenshuo Bao is in her final year of an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering. She is an active member of Corde and Vocallective, UNSW’s a cappella society, and was a member of the Collegium Musicum Choir from 2023 to 2025. Outside of UNSW, Luna also sings with VOX from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
Ever since joining her first choir in first grade, Luna has always enjoyed ensemble singing. She values the collaboration and cohesion in choral music, and even more so the friendships it brings and sense of belonging within the Music Performance Unit. She continues to develop her musicianship through a wide range of performances at UNSW and beyond.
