JEFFREY CRELLIN
Principal Oboe of the MSO since 1977 and oboe artist at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) since 1997, Jeffrey Crellin also held the position of Artistic Director (Music) of the Monash University Academy of Performing Arts from 2006 to 2011 and has taught at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts since 1977.
Born in Brisbane, Jeffrey Crellin was the 1973 Commonwealth Winner of the ABC Concerto and Vocal competition (now ABC Young Performers), and in 1974 received a two-year Churchill Fellowship which took him to Freiburg in West Germany to study with the renowned oboe virtuoso, Heinz Holliger. While in Germany he won first place in the Freiburg Musikhochschule Oboe Competition, returning to Australia in 1977 to take up his current position with the MSO. He has made over 100 concerto appearances with orchestras in Germany, France, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, including performances with the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Tasmanian and Adelaide symphony orchestras, the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. A keen chamber musician, he founded the Australian Chamber Soloists in 1984, touring regularly for Musica Viva, and in 1989 undertook an Australian tour as guest artist with the Reger String Trio from West Germany. He has performed regularly in Japan in both solo and chamber music capacities in Tokyo, Osaka, Ogaki, Kyoto and Kanazawa. He was invited by TÅru Takemitsu to appear at the 1989 Takemitsu Ginza festival in Tokyo, and in early 1993 spent two months as guest soloist and Principal Oboe with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.
His discography includes Distance and Entre-temps by Takemitsu with the Arditti String Quartet; Riccardo Formosa’s Dedica, written especially for him, with Patrick Thomas and the MSO for Vox Australis; Takemitsu’s Vers, l’arc-en-ciel, Palma with guitarist Norio Sato, conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki and the MSO for ABC Classics; Images with flautist Prudence Davis and guitarist Peter Lynch, and Pictures at an Exhibition as soloist and conductor with the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra for Move records.
As conductor, he has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Geminiani Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Choir, and the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra (now Melbourne Chamber Orchestra), which he founded in 1990, holding the position of Artistic Director for 17 years from 1990 until October 2006.
Principal Oboe of the MSO since 1977 and oboe artist at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) since 1997, Jeffrey Crellin also held the position of Artistic Director (Music) of the Monash University Academy of Performing Arts from 2006 to 2011 and has taught at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts since 1977.
Born in Brisbane, Jeffrey Crellin was the 1973 Commonwealth Winner of the ABC Concerto and Vocal competition (now ABC Young Performers), and in 1974 received a two-year Churchill Fellowship which took him to Freiburg in West Germany to study with the renowned oboe virtuoso, Heinz Holliger. While in Germany he won first place in the Freiburg Musikhochschule Oboe Competition, returning to Australia in 1977 to take up his current position with the MSO. He has made over 100 concerto appearances with orchestras in Germany, France, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, including performances with the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Tasmanian and Adelaide symphony orchestras, the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. A keen chamber musician, he founded the Australian Chamber Soloists in 1984, touring regularly for Musica Viva, and in 1989 undertook an Australian tour as guest artist with the Reger String Trio from West Germany. He has performed regularly in Japan in both solo and chamber music capacities in Tokyo, Osaka, Ogaki, Kyoto and Kanazawa. He was invited by TÅru Takemitsu to appear at the 1989 Takemitsu Ginza festival in Tokyo, and in early 1993 spent two months as guest soloist and Principal Oboe with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.
His discography includes Distance and Entre-temps by Takemitsu with the Arditti String Quartet; Riccardo Formosa’s Dedica, written especially for him, with Patrick Thomas and the MSO for Vox Australis; Takemitsu’s Vers, l’arc-en-ciel, Palma with guitarist Norio Sato, conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki and the MSO for ABC Classics; Images with flautist Prudence Davis and guitarist Peter Lynch, and Pictures at an Exhibition as soloist and conductor with the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra for Move records.
As conductor, he has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Geminiani Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Choir, and the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra (now Melbourne Chamber Orchestra), which he founded in 1990, holding the position of Artistic Director for 17 years from 1990 until October 2006.
ELIZABETH LAYTON
Elizabeth Layton was born in London and studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Juilliard School, New York with Dorothy DeLay. At the age of twelve, she was invited to join Hephzibah and Yehudi Menuhin for a chamber music concert to celebrate the latter’s Golden Jubilee, broadcast from the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Elizabeth made her UK concerto debut with the Philharmonia, also appearing as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Bournemouth Symphony, English Sinfonia, Calgary Philharmonic, City of Barcelona Symphony, Lahti Symphony and many others. Festival appearances include Bath, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Cheltenham, Valencia, Gstaad and numerous music societies.
Chamber music has always featured prominently in her work, and after touring worldwide with the Nash Ensemble, she went on to record the complete piano trios of Beethoven (nominated for a Gramophone Award) and violin and piano works of Schubert (Daily Telegraph ‘CD Choice’). Other recordings include chamber music by Ravel, Schubert, Brahms, Faure and Shostakovich for DG, Hyperion, BIS and Chandos.
Elizabeth was Associate Leader of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and later became Concertmaster of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She regularly directed the orchestra from the violin, also guest directing the Scottish Ensemble, Manchester Camerata and Ambache Ensemble.
A commitment to contemporary music has seen the BBC broadcast a number of solo performances, including a critically acclaimed CD of Jonathan Harvey’s ‘Scena’ with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov.
Elizabeth moved to Australia with her family in 2010 and collaborates regularly with many leading musicians, including Selby&Friends and the Australian String Quartet. She broadcasts frequently for the ABC, appearing recently in recital for Sunday Live and as soloist in Raymond Hanson’s Violin Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
A regular guest Concertmaster with leading orchestras in Australia and New Zealand, she has given many recitals in Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra.
Elizabeth is Senior Lecturer in violin and Head of Strings at the Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide.
KEITH CRELLIN OAM
From 2001-2016, Keith Crellin OAM held the positions of Head of the String Department and Conductor-in-Residence at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music. Since May 2016 he has concentrated on his role as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra which he took up in 2003, as well as further pursuing performing, conducting and composing.
The first violist to win the ABC Young Performers Award in 1972, Keith quickly established himself as one of Australia’s leading soloists and chamber music players. He was appointed Lecturer in Viola and Chamber Music at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, Director and Principal Conductor of the Conservatorium Orchestra and Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra.
In 1985, Keith became a founding member of the Australian String Quartet, based in Adelaide. He held the position for sixteen years, performing with the ASQ in many countries and making numerous recordings. As well, Keith has been conductor of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Young Symphonists and tutor in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Young Australian Concert Artists program on many occasions. He has attended numerous National Music Camps as tutor and conductor and now divides his time between teaching, performing and conducting.
Keith was awarded the Order of Australia medal for his contribution to music and education in 2008.
SIMON COBCROFT
Cellist Simon Cobcroft enjoys a diverse life as a performer of solo, orchestral and chamber music in Australia and further afield. Since 2014 he has been Principal Cello with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and has also held the positions of Associate Principal Cello with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (2012-2014), and Sub-Principal Cello with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (2003-2011). He is a founding member of the Lyrebird Trio, winner of the Piano Trio and Audience prizes at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition, and previously resident at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and at the Center for the Arts in Banff, Canada.
Simon is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium (2000) and the Australian National Academy of Music (2003). Since that time, he has been a frequent guest performer with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, Denmark’s Esbjerg Ensemble, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and as guest principal with the Tasmanian and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. He has performed as principal cello and chamber musician at, among others, the Aldeburgh, Pacific and Salzburg Music Festivals.
In 2016, Simon was awarded the Adelaide Critics Circle Prize for his performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Michael Stern. He made his first appearance as soloist with the ASO in 2015, and appeared again in 2018 performing Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in A Minor. In previous years he performed as soloist with the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Queensland, Sydney’s Metropolitan Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.
Simon is passionate about education, and has taught at the Elder Conservatorium and the Queensland Conservatorium. He studied with Matthew Farrell, Janis Laurs, Alexander Baillie, David Strange and Michael Goldschlager. He plays on a beautiful English cello made in 1840 by Thomas Kennedy. In his spare time, he loves to cook.