Kettering Concerts

Kettering Concert 2020-05-17

String Trio
Jennifer Owen (violin), Stefanie Farrands (viola), Jonathan Békés (cello)

String Trio

Sunday 17 May 2020, 3pm
Kettering Community Hall
Tickets available at the door
$15 (cash only)
Stay for the post-concert afternoon tea, meet and chat with the musicians.

Jennifer Owen

Currently Principal First Violin of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Owen has worked professionally as Principal Second Violin of the Houston Symphony (from 1999-2015), previously as Principal First Violin and Acting Associate Concertmaster of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (1996-99) and as Associate Concertmaster of the Richardson Symphony, Texas (1992-93).
She has performed as Acting Principal First Violin with the Melbourne Symphony and as a member of the second violin section for the last two seasons of the Australian World Orchestra. During her time in the United States she played in many summer music festivals including Santa Fe Opera, Grand Tetons Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Bravo! Colorado, Strings in the Mountains, and Park City Music Festival.
Jennifer has appeared as soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony, the Houston Symphony and the Riverside Symphony in New York City. As a chamber musician Jennifer has most recently performed with Virtuosi Tasmania and for the 2016 Dark MOFO Festival. In the US she was a regular guest on Faculty chamber concerts at both Rice University and the University of Houston, and appeared on concerts for the Society of Modern Music, and the St Cecilia Chamber Music Series.

Stefanie Farrands

Violist Stefanie Farrands has been Principal Violist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra since 2015. She has studied in Berlin with renowned Violist Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik, Hanns Eisler Berlin and was the recipient of the Georgina Grosvenor Scholarship studying at ANAM in Melbourne with Alice Waten and Roger Benedict. Stefanie has performed extensively throughout Europe, America, Asia and Australia both as a chamber musician and orchestral player, including playing regularly with some of the world's most renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Camerata Salzburg. She has also been Guest Principal with the Strasbourg Philharmonic in France and Amsterdam Sinfonietta in the Netherlands.
Stefanie plays regularly with Chamber Groups based in Europe such as the Noga Quartet and chamber orchestras such as Spira Mirabilus (Italy) and Le Concert Olympique (Belgium). In 2018 she also performed in the inaugural chamber music concert series `Concerts Sans Frontières' in Paris, performing alongside some of Australia's finest chamber musicians and has also performed at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, USA as well as other festivals around the world. In Australia she has been guest principal Viola with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, guest Principal Viola of the Australian World Orchestra, and is a regular guest with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared as Soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (giving the Australian Premiere of Olga Neuwirth's Viola Concerto in 2011), ACO Collective, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, AYO Young Symphonists (Performing the World Premiere of Natalie Williams' Viola Concerto) and the Orchestra of the Australian National Academy of Music.
Stefs' biggest passion is chamber music and is the founding member of the Hamer Quartet which was successful in winning the Asia Pacific Chamber Music competition, taking the overall First Prize Tony Berg Award, 1st prize for String Quartet and the Audience Prize in 2009. They gave their debut to critical acclaim in 2007 and since then have toured both nationally and internationally and recorded their Debut album for Melba records. Stefanie has performed at many chamber music festivals in Australia including Sanguine Estate Chamber Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Norwich and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Daylesford Chamber Music Festival, Violatag/Hindemith Festival in Berlin and was Artist in Residence at Monash University as a member of the Hamer Quartet. She was also a scholarship holder at the Villa Musica Chamber Music Academy in Germany.
Commissioning new works for the Viola is of keen interest to Stefanie. In 2016 she was the winner of the Freedman Classic Fellowship from which she has commissioned numerous new works for the viola. She has premiered Douglas Weiland's third string quartet with the Hamer Quartet as well as given premiers to numerous solo, chamber and orchestral works as well as workshops and masterclasses on writing for the viola. She has recorded both solo and chamber works for the ABC and is regularly featured of ABC Classic FM and 3MBS-FM, and is currently a member of the Viola Faculty at the Conservatorium of music in Hobart. Stefanie plays a 2016 Viola made by Berlin based luthier Ragnar Hahn.

Jonathan Békés

Jonathan Békés started playing the cello at 10 years old and has studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Australian National Academy of Music. He has learnt with cellists such as Howard Penny, Julian Smiles and Susan Blake and won numerous awards for his performance including the ANAM Director’s Prize, and First Prize in the ANAM Chamber Competition. He is recipient of the 2016 Accenture Australia Scholarship, the Sydney Conservatorium’s Corinna d’Hage String Scholarship, and has attained his AMus and LMus, both with distinction.

Békés is in great demand as a performer, chamber musician and teacher across Australia and has taken his cello across the world, having performed and taught across four different continents. He is member of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the award winning Clarendon Trio and plays regularly with the Australian World Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Békés has performed chamber music alongside such artists as Anthony Marwood, Stephan Dohr, Ole Bøhn, and Timothy Young and has performed in masterclasses for Steven Isserlis, Pieter Wispelwey, Nicholas Aldstaedt and Alban Gerhadt.

Békés has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras around Australia including the Hobart Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Youth Orchestra. In 2011 he played for a full house at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall as part of the HSC ENCORE program.

In his spare time, Békés is a passionate Sydney Swans supporter and a committed Hobart Hurricanes enthusiast. He is a keen squash player, an avid golfer and loves to get outside to go hiking and mountain biking. For more information go to www.jonathanbekes.com.