|
|
Kettering Concerts |
Programme:
|
Tobias Chisnall joined the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as a member of the
violin section in 2023. From 2015 - 2023 Tobias was based in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, the
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the
Youngstown Symphony, and the Erie Philharmonic. He was appointed as Associate
Concertmaster of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra in 2017.
He has regularly featured as a guest artist at the Sunflower Music Festival,
Kansas, and the Buzzards Bay Music Festival, Massachusetts. He also held the
positions of Assistant Concertmaster from 2019 - 2021 and Principal 2nd Violin
in 2022 with the Berkshire Opera Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts.
After studies with Tor Fromhyr at the ANU School of Music and Ole Bohn at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Chisnall moved to the United States for
graduate study at Duquesne University with Charles Stegeman.
Maria studied flute in Colombia, France, Belgium, and the United States. In 2023, she
moved to Australia, where she has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Her orchestral career has taken her across Australia,
Europe, South America, and North America; from 2019 to 2023, she was Principal Piccolo of
the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.
As a soloist, Maria has performed with the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lakeside
Symphony Orchestra, and the Duquesne University Chamber Orchestra. She is the winner
of the Colombian National Competition "Serie de los Jóvenes Intérpretes Banco de la
República," the Medellín Philharmonic Concerto Competition, and the Duquesne University
Concerto Competition. She has also received Second Place in the COFFA I International
Virtual Competition (Piccolo Category) and the Australian Flute Festival Piccolo Competition
in 2023, was a finalist in the International Competition "La Flauta Latinoamericana," and was
awarded the distinction of 1ère Mention à l'unanimité from the CRR Conservatoire à
Rayonnement Régional de Paris, France.
Karen Smithies moved to Tasmania from the Central Coast of NSW in 1998. She completed her Masters in Music Performance at the University of Tasmania in 2003, studying with Beryl Sedivka and David Bollard. Upon graduating from Sydney Conservatorium with a Bachelor of music in piano performance and accompaniment, Karen was awarded the “Mollie Neal” scholarship for excellence in Accompaniment. She has appeared as soloist and accompanist with regional orchestras and major vocal ensembles across the Central Coast and in Sydney.
Karen has made several national ABC and 3MBS FM broadcasts with artists such as cellist Christian Woijtowicz, violinists Marina Phillips and Romana Zieglerova, baritones Christopher Richardson and Michael Lampard and the TSO Brass and Friends.
Karen is currently lecturer in Accompaniment at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and has lectured in piano studies at the University of Tasmania since 2000. In that time she has been busy as a repetiteur, and accompanist of undergraduates, postgraduates and visiting artists at the Conservatorium and throughout Tasmania. Karen regularly plays as orchestral and rehearsal pianist for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and repetiteurs for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Karen lives in on Hobart’s Eastern shore with her husband Matthew and four children.
Kettering Concerts provide an email announcement list which will alert you to future concerts. To subscribe to this list, visit the Kettering Concerts email list web page.
| Copyright © 2026 Kettering Concerts. Last updated 24 June 2025. |
|