Congratulations to all the String players who recently performed in the String Division.
2024 String Division Program Guide
2024 String Division Program Guide updated 23 May 24
2024 String Division Timetable
2024 Syllabus
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2024 Adjudicators
Edith Salzmann
Edith Salzmann is a German/NZ cellist with an extensive career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She began her studies at the Music Academy in Detmold in Germany at the age of fourteen and went on to study at Indiana University, Bloomington (USA), where she studied with Janos Starker. She was a member of the Tibor Varga Chamber Orchestra, the Corda String Quartet, the Musikfabrik Duesseldorf, and various other New Music ensembles and has performed extensively all over Europe, America, Asia, and Australasia. As a chamber musician and soloist, she has performed in major European concert halls, such the Berlin Philharmonie, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Cologne Philharmonie, Gasteig Munich, the Barbican London, and the Tonhalle, Zuerich with, amongst others, Heinz Holliger, Christoph Poppen, Eduard Brunner, Gustav Rivinius, Menahem Pressler, Nobuko Imai, Erick Friedman, Luba Edlina, Clio Gould, Hansjoerg Schellenberger, Michael Endres and others.Her discography includes releases on Naxos, Stradivarius, EMI Germany, Atoll, and Rattle records. Edith is a highly successful teacher, with many of her former students now having careers in professional orchestras or as chamber musicians. From 2001 – 2012 she was Director of Performance and Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury (NZ), and in 2013 she accepted a Senior lecturer position at the University of Auckland. Since 2019 she teaches at the University of Melbourne. She is in demand for masterclasses and regularly teaches in Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland. In 2005, she founded the Pettman National Junior Academy, a privately sponsored scholarship program for highly talented young musicians. To date, this program has been going from strength to strength, with multiple international prize winners coming out of its ranks. Edith is the artistic director of the International Akaroa Music Festival, a chamber music and masterclass festival in Akaroa, NZ, and the Director of the Pettman Open Chamber Music Program, a concert career-development program for young musicians. She regularly tours with the Pettman Ensemble, the Jade String Quartet, and the Dorrit Ensemble. In 2021, Edith took on the Program Coordinator position for the newly founded Melbourne Conservatorium Young Artists Academy and in 2024, she accepted the position of lecturer for cello at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide.
Helen Ayres
Helen Ayres is a Doctoral graduate of the University of Melbourne and current violin teacher at the Open Music Academy, University of Adelaide. She is a founding member of Seraphim trio, resident leader of the Adelaide Hills Chamber Players Hendrickson Strings ensemble and has appeared as guest leader with numerous Australian ensembles. As a founding member of Seraphim, Helen has commissioned new works by Brett Dean, James Ledger and Jakob Jankowski and has performed at various Australian festivals with musicians Paul Kelly, Lucinda Collins, Konstantin Shamray and Elizabeth Layton. Helen’s chamber music concerts are regularly broadcast on ABC and MBS-FM radio stations and she has also presented for Radio 5MBS-FM in Adelaide. In 2019, Seraphim’s Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds with Paul Kelly, James Ledger, and Alice Keath won the ARIA award for Best Classical Album. Other albums include Trio Through Time, The Trout, Beethoven Piano Trios and most recently Women in Music. Helen held a permanent position with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has since performed in England, Scotland, Germany, Austria and China with the BBC Scottish Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Helen is passionate about increasing performance opportunities for young Australian musicians. To this end she is appears on the board of Recitals Australia and has convened the String and Ensemble Divisions of the Adelaide Eisteddfod Society.
Paris Netting and Hamish Netting
Paris Netting (née Williams) completed a Bachelor of Music (Advanced) with First Class Honours at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in 2021, where she studied violin under the tutelage of Dr Elizabeth Layton. Over the course of her studies, Paris received the Marnie Cowan Music Scholarship, The Franz and Catherine Anders Prize, and the John Robert Mitchell Violin Prize. She held the position of Concertmaster of the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal and Associate Principal roles in the Elder Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra. Paris performs regularly as a chamber and orchestral musician, playing as a casual violinist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and performing with ensembles including Adelaide Baroque, the Adelaide Festival Orchestra, Adelaide Cantata Band and Adelaide Hills Chamber Players. Paris is the violinist and a founding member of Eurelia Trio, who have performed in Adelaide and interstate to critical acclaim. She performed as a member of the Adelaide Youth Orchestras and Australian Youth Orchestras for a number of years. Paris has been honoured to perform for the Governor and Premier of South Australia on several occasions, as well as for Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. As a music educator, Paris teaches violin and viola at St Andrew’s School, and has taught at Seymour College and the University of Adelaide’s Open Music Academy. She is passionate about sharing the joy of creating music with young people and has helped to facilitate a number of creative music workshops and schools tours. She is a regular tutor at State Music Camp and conducts and tutors ensembles and immersion programs in schools.
Hamish Netting completed his undergraduate studies in 2020, receiving First Class Honours in Classical Performance at the Elder Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Simon Cobcroft. As part of his studies, Hamish served as Principal Cellist of the Elder Conservatorium’s Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and in 2018, he participated in a study tour to London. He has performed in masterclasses as a soloist and chamber musician for Peter Wispelwey, Pei-Sian Ng, Umberto Clerici, Daniel de Borah, Natalie Clein and Nicole Panizza. Whilst completing his secondary education at Concordia College, Hamish went on a number of overseas study tours, performing in China, Hong Kong, France, Belgium, and Japan. Hamish was a dedicated member of the Adelaide Youth Orchestras from 2009-2016 and has participated in several of the Australian
Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp programs. Hamish is the cellist and a founding member of Eurelia Trio and performs regularly in duos and quartets with his wife Paris. As an educator, Hamish teaches Cello at St Andrew’s School, and has previously taught at Pulteney Grammar School and Hills Christian Community School. He also tutors regularly at State Music Camp of South Australia.
String Division Convenors: Paris and Hamish Netting
