Professional Immersion – Orchestral

Josephine is currently training at the Australian National Academy of Music with Principal Clarinetist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, David Thomas. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium, where she studied with renowned clarinetist and composer, Paul Dean and Principal Clarinetist of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Irit Silver.

After a successful audition into the Sibelius Academy’s exchange program, Josephine spent a semester in Finland studying with internationally esteemed clarinetists Harri Mäki, Fàtima Boix Cantó, and Christoffer Sundqvist. She has received masterclasses from multiple world class clarinetists, including Andrew Marriner, Michael Collins, Tuulia Ylönen, Oliver Shermacher, Benjamin Mellefont and Yehuda Gilad, at the XVI International Clarinet Seminar in Spain.

As a soloist, Josephine has appeared with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and Indooroopilly Chamber Orchestra. She was selected as a finalist and won the Milan Kanter prize in the 2025 Great Romantics competition, competing in the Elizabeth Murdoch Hall in the Melbourne Recital Centre. She was also awarded Third Place in the 2022 Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition along with the “Most Promising Woodwind and Brass Player”.

As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions and the Auckland Philharmonia. She has performed regularly and toured internationally with the Australian Youth Orchestra and Queensland Youth Symphony, performing in prestigious venues such as the Musikverein, Concertgebouw, and Sydney Opera House. A dedicated chamber musician, she has worked with Ensemble Q, Elision, and the Australian String Quartet. When not playing the clarinet, Josephine enjoys swimming, playing piano and reading with a good cup of tea.

Ami Humphreys started playing the fife at age 8, then learned the flute, saxophone and oboe before commencing their tertiary studies in flute at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2021. This degree has guided Ami’s musical development under the tutelage of James Kortum and Emma Sholl and provided the opportunity to study flute and piccolo abroad, at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, with Ulla Miilmann and Russell Itani. In Copenhagen, they had the pleasure of performing solo flute and piccolo recitals, along with chamber music performances, and participating in the Academy’s orchestra school program.

Ami has been a participant in SYO programs, playing principal flute with the philharmonic orchestra, and on occasion, flute, piccolo and alto flute with the SYO. Ami looks forward to their first time playing with AYO and is keen to revisit Europe on the 2025 international tour.

The Principal Flute Chair is generously supported by Suellen Enestrom. 

Bailey Ireland studied with Jane Kircher-Lindner at the University of Western Australia, graduating with a Bachelor of Philosophy with Honours in 2024, with a second major in mathematics. He has performed on bassoon and contrabassoon with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Australian Youth Orchestra, as well as having been principal of the Western Australian Youth Orchestra and Western Australian Wind Symphony. Bailey was awarded the Royal Schools Music Club’s Anniversary Scholarship in 2022 and spent a semester on exchange at the University of York working with Laurence Perkins. Bailey has appeared as a soloist with Allegri Chamber Orchestra and Collegium Strings.

The Principal Contrabassoon Chair is generously supported by The Hon. Dr Andrew Lu AM & Professor Geoffrey Lancaster AO. 

Based in Brisbane, Rio Kawaguchi is studying classical double bass at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, guided by the Principal Bass of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Phoebe Russell.

Growing up in Tasmania, Rio spent her school years studying with Stuart Thomson, the Principal bassist of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, while performing as a principal double bassist with the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra.

Rio has been a dedicated member of the Australian Youth Orchestra since 2019, participating in the Momentum Ensemble, Seasons, and Music Camp programs over the years. 

Her recent highlights are performing with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as part of the AYO professional immersion 2024, touring with the Australian Youth Orchestra Momentum Ensemble led by Jack Liebeck in 2023 and Touring with the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra as an Emerging Artist in 2022. She has also taken part in the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy in 2020.

She has performed in many venues across Australia including the Sydney Opera House, Museum of Old and New Art, Sydney Recital Centre and Melbourne Recital Centre.

Rio is looking forward to the 2025 Australian Youth Orchestra International tour which she has been recently accepted for.

Noah is a dynamic young musician from Bendigo, Victoria, on Dja Dja Wurrung country. He has performed side-by-side with most of Australia’s professional orchestras and as an artist at the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival and Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. As a soloist, he has performed with the Percy Grainger Youth Orchestra and twice with the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra. Having completed three years of study under Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music, he is looking forward to taking up the position of Fellow with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2025. Noah started his journey with the AYO in 2018 at Young Symphonists and continued on to National Music Camp, Seasons, Chamber Players, and all of AYO’s programs throughout the years. Music for Noah is all about connection, and he is thrilled to have the opportunity to do so again with the AYO in 2025.

The Associate Principal Cello Chair is generously supported by Carolyn Fletcher AM.

Sterling Rieck, born and raised in Adelaide, began playing violin at age six and transitioned to viola in high school with support from Martin Butler OAM. He is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Music Advanced, Classical Performance degree at the University of Adelaide under the tutelage of Stephen King.

Previously he has studied at the University of Queensland with Professor Patricia Pollett. During his studies he was the recipient of the Howard and Gladys Sleath Scholarship as well as the St Leo’s College Music Achievement Scholarship.

Sterling achieved his AMusA in 2021, winning the AUSTA String Award, and has won various AMEB grade prizes and Adelaide Eisteddfod prizes.

He has been a member of the Adelaide Youth Orchestras for over 10 years and has participated in multiple AYO National Music Camps. He was a member of the Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra and has held principal positions in both the Elder Conservatorium Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.

He is a founding member of the Piruli String Quartet, which won the Flinders Quartet mentorship prize in Musica Viva’s 2021 Strike a Chord competition, leading to an interstate tour in 2022. Sterling has also participated in a masterclass with Dr Robin Wilson.

Lili is a passionate violinist undertaking her first year at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) under the tutelage of Adam Chalabi. Beginning her musical journey at the age of four, Lili’s love and enthusiasm for music have continued to flourish. She began her tertiary studies at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2021, studying for a Bachelor of Music (Honours), where she received the Kinnane Music Scholarship. Throughout her study at UQ, she has been awarded the Pollett String Prize in 2022 and 2023, the Sleath String Prize in 2023, as well as a Dean’s Commendation of Academic Excellence for 2023. Lili takes great pride in participating in the Australian Youth Orchestra programs, including the National Music Camp, Seasons programs and the Momentum ensemble in 2023 as part of the Amiti String Quartet in which they completed a residency at the Coffs Harbour Conservatorium. This year, Amiti participated in the Chamber players program, and Lili also participated in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Professional Immersion program offered through AYO. These programs have been invaluable to her in forming friendships, professional connections and learning experiences. She is incredibly excited to participate in 2025 AYO programs, including the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra fellowship, Summer Season and the International Tour.

Photography: Pia Johnson

Harry moved to Sydney from Toowoomba in 2022 and is completing a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium under Alex Henery. He is the 2025 Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellow and has performed with the orchestra on a casual basis. Harry has been involved in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s seasons since 2023 and was a member of the orchestra on the Sydney Conservatorium’s 2022 European tour. He has also performed casually with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, including as a soloist in his own composition. As a composer, his music for bass ensembles is regularly commissioned by the Big Brisbane and Toowoomba Bass Days.

Hayden Mears discovered his passion for the bassoon in high school when he stumbled upon the instrument in his school’s storage room and hasn’t put it down since. He began learning bassoon under Karen Ruprecht before continuing his tertiary studies at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University with David Mitchell, Associate Principal Bassoonist of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. During his studies, Hayden received the 2023 Peter Musson Memorial Prize and the 2024 Joyce Campbell Lloyd Scholarship for Overseas Study. Hayden has performed with the Queensland Youth Symphony, Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Q, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, he served as Principal Bassoon for the QYS International Tour to Singapore, Austria, and Germany, performing in renowned venues such as Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, and Salzburg’s Mozarteum Great Hall. Hayden has participated in lessons and masterclasses across Europe, including a week-long intensive with world-renowned bassoonist and pedagogue Dag Jensen. He is currently pursuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, where he studies under Professor Volker Tessmann.

Leah’s percussion journey commenced at the age of 10, previously learning cello and piano. During school she competed in the Australian Percussion Eisteddfod receiving 1st place in Junior High Timpani (2015), Intermediate 2-Mallet (2017) and Intermediate Snare Drum (2017). In 2018, she achieved a Distinction for the Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) Diploma in Percussion Performance. During 2017 and 2018, she was the principal timpanist of the Melbourne Youth Orchestra.

Leah went on to study a Bachelor of Music with Honours at the University of Melbourne, learning from Brent Miller (Head of Percussion) and Rob Cossom. During her studies she was awarded the Wright Prizes Award for ‘Proficiency in a Musical Instrument at the Assessment of the Second Year’ (2021) and placed 1st in the MSO Snare Drum Award (2022).

Leah is a casual musician with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She has played with orchestras including the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Geelong Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Opera and the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic. In 2023, she was principal percussion with the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Leah is currently studying with MSO Principal Percussionist Shaun Trubiano.

Photography: Lisa Maree Williams

Adelaide-born clarinettist Lewis Blanchard has been captivated by the clarinet’s expressive capabilities since the age of eight. He completed his Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium under the tutelage of clarinettist and composer Paul Dean, and did his Honours at the University of Melbourne, studying with David Thomas, Principal Clarinet of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He received multiple scholarships from both universities, most recently the Elizabeth Grace Woodwind Prize.

Lewis has been principal clarinet of the Adelaide, Queensland, and Australian Youth Orchestras, and has performed with AYO’s Momentum Ensemble. He has also performed casually with the Adelaide, Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras.

Notable performances include a tour of Germany, Vienna, and Singapore with the Queensland Youth Symphony in 2023, where he was featured as soloist for Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. In 2021, Lewis performed a solo recital with internationally acclaimed pianist Konstantin Shamray. He has also participated in masterclasses with Phillipe Cuper, Antonio Saiote, Boris Allakhverdyan and Yehuda Gilad.

In his spare time, Lewis loves an occasional hit of tennis and playing card games with his grandparents.

Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams

The Principal Clarinet Chair is generously supported by Rosie Williams & John Grill AO.