Last Tuesday UNSW Orchestra were joined by very special guests for the sectionals. The string players of the Australia Ensemble UNSW joined our violin, viola, and cello players for an intense two hour session on the music of Beethoven, Bizet and Mussorgsky.

 Violin I Section with Dene Olding

"It was such a privilege to work with a musician with as much experience as Dene - across both chamber and orchestral repertoire. He helped us really master some of the detail in the music, and work together as a section. Also, working with the longest-serving concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, I found the session particularly inspiring and informative for my own development as concertmaster of UNSW Orchestra."

Anastasia is the Concertmaster of UNSW Orchestra and is studying a combined Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Media Studies

Violin II Section with Dimity Hall

"The majority of our sectional was diving into the more complicated passages of our pieces, and Dimity was very kind in sharing her expertise. We also focused on projecting our sound as a relatively small section. Overall, our experience was very enjoyable and we thank Dimity for all her help." - Natalie Liu

Natalie is the Violin II Section Leader and is studying a combined Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science at UNSW.

Viola Section with Irina Morozova

"We really appreciated Irena’s dedication towards homogeneity and musical intent, as her guidance allowed our section to collaborate more intimately. Whilst intense, she offered both long and short term solutions to any issues we had, and was meticulous in the analysis of the part. Overall, it was a very fruitful experience and we would like to offer our thanks for her guidance." - Jason Kong

Jason is the Viola Section leader and is studying a combined Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Engineering at UNSW.

Cello Section with Julian Smiles

"It was an amazing opportunity to work with such musicians of high calibre and experience. During the sectionals, we not only looked at the repertoire for the program but learnt about cellistic fundamentals, as well as the core aspects of intonation. Working with Julian, helped us understand and develop methods for improving our technique and ear, and I hope that we will be able to work with them in the future again!" - Hikaru Fuminashi

Hikaru is the Cello Section leader and is studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering with Architecture)