Brendan Joyce’s leadership of Camerata has been described by The Australian as dynamic and by Limelight as indefatigable. An alumnus of the original version of Camerata that played to high critical acclaim 1987-1997, he frequently appears as soloist with the group, has led for milestones including its first recordings, tours, broadcasts, many collaborations and world premieres, and in acclaimed performances at the Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide, Tyalgum, Orange Chamber Music, Qld Music and 4MBS Festivals and at five seasons of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In consultation with his colleagues, Brendan curates Camerata’s renowned programming, including its 2016 and 2019 Helpmann Award-nominated concerts, Home and Sara Macliver with Camerata, as well as the 2014 APRA/AMCOS Best Performance in Queensland for its role in Natalie Weir’s When Time Stops for Australasian Dance Collective (then Expressions Dance Co). During his leadership, the ensemble received the Queensland Luminary Award at the 2024 Australian Art Music Awards, recognising the group’s presentation and promotion of Australian music, particularly in regional Australia over the previous 15 years. In demand as a guest leader and concertmaster, Brendan has led the Orchestra of the Antipodes for many Pinchgut Opera Company productions (Sydney) and was a long-time member and regular guest Concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, performing as soloist in their acclaimed world premiere performances on period instruments of Max Richter’s hit work, Vivaldi Four Seasons Recomposed. During his student days, Brendan was Concertmaster of both the Queensland and Australian Youth Orchestras. Brendan holds music degrees from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Maryland USA (UMD). His teachers and mentors included Joyce Crooks, Lyn Darveniza and Stephen Frewen-Lord as a schoolboy in North Queensland. A significant and ongoing mentor has been Elizabeth Morgan AM, with whom he commenced studying while at UQ and who invited him to take up the leadership of Camerata. For his graduate studies at UMD, he studied with Gerald Fischbach and chamber music with David Salness and the members of the Guarneri String Quartet. Brendan has played for many orchestras and ensembles, including the Bartok Quartet cycle with the Kurilpa Quartet, the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, the Queensland and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and as a guest violinist with the Australian String Quartet and with Tasmania’s Van Dieman’s Band, and the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra.

After juggling work life as a pharmacist and musician, Jonny Ng happily hung up his lab coat 13 years ago to solely follow his passion – music. Jonny is a leading Brisbane-based performer and music educator. He is currently Principal Second Violin, Education Manager and Artistic Associate of Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Strings Coordinator, upper strings/piano/theory teacher and accompanist at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, AMEB Examiner (strings), violin tutor and audition panel for Queensland Youth Orchestras, runs a private teaching studio, regularly appears as guest conductor and accompanist for programs like Australian/State Honours Ensemble Program and Anglican Schools Music Festival, adjudicator, string workshop technician, violinist, pianist, violist, composer and arranger, and guest lecturer at the QLD Conservatorium of Music. Jonny’s eclectic career has seen him perform with Camerata under the Tree Of Knowledge in Barcaldine, create and perform live an entire soundtrack for silent film Man With A Movie Camera at Australian Cinémathèque, perform with recording artists such as Bruce Springsteen, The Cat Empire, Lior and Neil Finn, play in the pit for musicals My Fair Lady (directed by Julie Andrews), The Lion King, Wizard of Oz and for Queensland Ballet productions, improvise with Tibetan monks and Tenzin Choegyal at the sunrise ceremony at Woodford Folk Festival, and accompany his St Margaret’s string orchestra on cajón at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. In his spare time, Jonny enjoys long walks along Brisbane River or the off-leash dog beach at Coolum with his dog Falkor, doing laps in the pool, a thought-provoking book, a captivating TV series, going to a live performance, baking, an epic film at the cinema, and visiting an exquisite art exhibition.

Allana is a violinist of Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. She completed her Master of Music Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, having been awarded an International Experience Incentive Scheme Grant by the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University. Allana completed a Bachelor of Music with Elizabeth Morgan, AM. Allana is based in Brisbane and regularly performs with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She was born and raised in Cairns and feels immensely privileged to have learnt her instrument as part of the Far North Queensland state music education system. Allana is also a former student of Stella Massey, OAM. Allana is a keen reader, and a fair Scrabble player. She is a not-so-keen gardener. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Theology through the University of Divinity.

Currently Artistic Associate at Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and core member of Ensemble Q and Ensemble Trivium. Anne Horton established her career as a member of the Australian String Quartet (formerly the Tankstream Quartet which won several prestigious awards including First prize in the Cremona and Osaka International String Quartet Competitions). She has released albums for ABC Classic FM including works by Debussy, Ravel and Schubert. Anne is a Teacher of Violin at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. Born in Perth, Anne holds a Master of Music Performance from The Australian Institute of Music in Sydney under the tutelage of Alice Waten and studied an Artist’s Diploma with the Alban Berg Quartet at the Cologne Hochscule for Musik. Anne has performed nationally and internationally throughout Europe and Asia, where she has enjoyed successful artistic collaborations with many highly acclaimed performers

Claire Litwinowicz is a multidisciplinary violinist from Magandjin/Brisbane whose creativity consists of music performance, sound art, improvisation and composition. Driven by the power of connection, Claire aims to highlight the voices of those who aren’t always heard, while continuing to expand her musical horizons, and has a curiosity for new and boundary-pushing music. As a classically-trained violinist, Claire has extensive experience as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician and in 2025 she was appointed to Artistic Associate with Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. She is an avid chamber musician, and in the past few years she has played with groups such as Southern Cross Soloists, Australian Youth Orchestra, Bang On a Can All Stars, Momentum Ensemble, Nonsemble, and Yirinda and has appeared at Woodford Folk Festival, Brisbane Festival, Mackay Chamber Music Festival, Bowral Autumn Music Festival and Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Claire feels most at home in contemporary music spaces, where she can explore the voices of living composers and the outer limits of her music-making. A defining moment for Claire was being part of the Dots+Loops Fellowship program back in 2021, it was here that she first learned about electronics and improvisation and was truly inspired by the Dots+Loops team to follow her musical curiosity. Since then, Claire has been developing her solo electro-acoustic violin project with which she has performed as part of Dots+Loops: PLAYBACK festival, Dots+Loops: IN REGOLITH and at local independent gigs. Claire was also selected to attend the Bang On a Can Summer Music Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts, a festival dedicated to adventurous contemporary music, where she developed her new music “chops”, premiering multiple new works and collaborating with composers such as Joan Tower and Andy Akiho. Claire’s current creative outputs exist in grey areas between classical and contemporary music realms, whether that is chamber music, electro-acoustic compositions, improvised performance or playing with local bands. She is continuing to hone her skills across disciplines and is excited to keep finding the intersections between her creative pursuits.  

Clare’s love of music was nurtured by her musical family in the Blue Mountains of NSW where, as one of five children, she was never short of people to play music with. Playing with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and Australian Youth Orchestra helped to fuel Clare’s passion for music and encouraged her to pursue music as a career. This prompted her move to Queensland, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music with Distinction from Queensland Conservatorium and Graduate Diploma from the University of Queensland studying under Michele Walsh and Adam Chalabi. Clare has a deep love of Chamber Music and has performed at numerous Chamber music festivals in the US and Australia. As co-artistic director of Ensemble Cherubim she enjoys curating concerts and events, and is an active freelancer career performing with QSO, Australian Session Orchestra, Momentum Ensemble, Prospero Arts and Topology. Recent performance highlights outside of Camerata for Clare include performing Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Opera Australia’s 2023 QPAC production, performing as Soloist with Brisbane Concert Orchestra, Pirates of Penzance with Prospero Arts and touring with Topology. Clare rarely misses a week of parkrun and when she isn’t on the stage you would most likely find her running a marathon or an ultramarathon. One of her favourite parts of being a violinist is touring, having the opportunity to explore new places, particularly the beautiful nature that Australia has to offer.

Jason has been playing the violin for over twenty years and also enjoys playing the piano and Otamatone usually with mixed results (find a video of someone playing Otamatone, you won't regret it!). When Jason is asked the popular tricky question, who’s your favourite composer?, he answers with, Most of the ones with whose last names start with 'B'. In his spare time he enjoys bicycle riding, swimming, picnics, hanging around with friends, and trying all kinds of food from other cultures.

Japanese violinist Ryoko Arai has performed in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and the US as a soloist and chamber musician. After graduating from high school, she moved to the US and earned her undergraduate degree, studying with Barbara Barber and Katie Lansdale. She completed both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance at Stony Brook University under Ani Kavafian and Philip Setzer. During this extensive study, Ryoko also studied chamber music with artists such as Gilbert Kalish, Pamela Frank, Colin Carr, Christina Dahl, and the members of the Emerson String Quartet. With her passion and expansive interests towards chamber music, Ryoko has also performed various concert series in Japan, including collaborations with visual art, dance, theatre, and traditional Japanese instruments, which have brought a cross-cultural experience to the audience in a wide range of generations. Prior to her relocation to Brisbane in 2022, Ryoko has served as a faculty member of Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Junior Program.

Sally-Ann is a Scottish violinist and pianist who studied at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire (Glasgow) with Warren Jacobs, Royal Academy of Music (London) with Clarence Myerscough and the Queensland Conservatorium (Brisbane) with Carmel Kaine. Career highlights include playing violin with the European Community Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, a touring season of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with the National Theatre and 5 years as 2nd violinist with the Bingham Quartet (London). In 2020 she won an Arts Queensland grant to present the complete Opus 20 String Quartets of Joseph Haydn. Since 2009 she has been an Artistic Associate of Camerata, Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, with whom she has performed many orchestral solos as well as presenting a Nordic Recital as part of their bespoke recital series in 2023. Sally-Ann performs with a wide variety of freelance groups in Australia and UK, including co-concertmaster of the Queensland Pops Orchestra and enjoys frequent chamber music collaborations with colleagues.

Tiana Angus began playing the violin at age four with the Suzuki Method after being inspired by seeing Itzhak Perlman playing on Sesame Street. Her passion for playing violin has never wavered. At the age of 13 Tiana began studying with the renowned pedagogue, Ms Elizabeth Morgan AM, who is regarded as one of the finest violin teachers in Australia. As Tiana grew up in Bundaberg, her Mum drove her 5 hours each way for these weekly lessons in Brisbane. Under Elizabeth Morgan’s guidance, Tiana completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours in Violin Performance and a Masters of Music majoring in Violin Performance and Pedagogy at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. During her time at the “con” Tiana was awarded the Patience Thoms Honours Scholarship which is awarded for academic excellence to one student from Griffith University studying any degree. Tiana dreamed from an early age of performing in a Chamber Orchestra when she graduated after profound experiences when her school’s string ensemble won Fanfare and when Tiana attended MOST. As a chamber orchestra in Queensland didn’t exist in Brisbane at the time, Tiana talked to Elizabeth Morgan about this instead of having a violin lesson one day and the spark to reform Camerata was again lit after hours of dreaming together. Tiana Angus has been an Artistic Associate in Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra since it reformed in 2005 and absolutely loves performing with her “Camerata Family.” With Camerata, Tiana can be found on the stage at QPAC playing really interesting repertoire; in the pit performing with the Queensland Ballet; playing various corporate gigs or even creating recordings that are broadcast on ABC Classic FM national radio. Tiana loves playing the diverse chamber music repertoire with Camerata - from music commissioned by living Australians to the great composers of the chamber music repertoire. While performing as a violinist in this ensemble Tiana has had the privilege of performing with soloists Lior, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Lea Salonga, the Goldner String Quartet, Jack Liebck and the Australian String Quartet. In her spare time Tiana loves spending time with her husband and two young children. Together as a family they love to go on long walks in the bush, swimming at the beach, playing board games and eating tacos on Tuesdays.

Alice Buckingham made her first musical sounds on the violin when she was 7 years old, but discovered her true voice on the viola at age 15. Alice holds a Bachelor of Music (Music Performance) with Honours Class IA and a Master of Philosophy in Music Performance, both from the University of Queensland under the tutelage of Patricia Pollett. As an Artistic Associate on viola with Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, Alice has relished the opportunity to explore multi-disciplinary performances with dancers, theatre practitioners, and artworks, and one of the highlights of her career so far was performing in the production of When Time Stops with Expressions Dance Company. Alice is equally passionate about string pedagogy and performance, and is very thankful that she has the opportunity to do both. She has enjoyed developing material for Camerata's education programs and teaching online lessons in the ROAD program. Alice was also a founding member of DeepBlue orchestra and spearheaded the development of their youth engagement program, YoungBlue, which continues to inspire young musicians through workshops and holiday programs. Alice is a strings teacher at All Hallows' School, has conducted the Queensland Conservatorium's State Honours Ensemble Program in the Brisbane metropolitan and Capricornia areas, and is a regular guest at the Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Viola Day. She also enjoys historical performance and was selected to participate on baroque viola at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto, Canada, in 2013. Alice is mama to two gorgeous daughters and wife to a spectacular husband, and in her opinion, it is always time for a cup of tea. Outside of the "classical" realm, her most-streamed tunes include music from Dave Matthews Band, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, and the musicals Wicked and Rent.

Elizabeth began her time with Camerata, Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra in 2009 on violin, while completing her studies with Camerata’s founder, Elizabeth Morgan AM. After some gentle nudging, she picked up a viola and promptly fell in love with the instrument and it’s role in ensembles. One of the things Elizabeth values the most about Camerata, is the commitment to bringing music and performances to a wide range of audiences, including in regional areas, to young children and the elderly. Having grown up in a small country town, the opportunity to share music outside of city centres is close to Elizabeth’s heart. When not playing her instrument, Elizabeth’s life is full of other roles including small-scale farming, veggie growing, and being mum to two young children. She is a passionate educator and enjoys encouraging young musicians along their journeys. She teaches in Toowoomba, and regularly guest tutors various youth ensembles.

Sophie is an FNQ born and raised violist who loves to perform. She has always felt at home in the symphony orchestra, but enjoys exploring all avenues and genres of music. Since completing her degree at the Queensland Conservatorium under the tutelage of John Curro AM MBE, she regularly performs in the Brisbane freelance scene. Sophie broke into professional chamber music in 2020 as one of Camerata's Upbeat Emerging Artists, and was appointed Artistic Associate in 2025. She adores the intimacy of chamber music, especially in an ensemble of close friends. She also performs with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Cherubim, and works as a session violist for artists such as The Jungle Giants. Additionally, Sophie plays in her folk duo Old Semeil, who have been together since 2016, releasing several singles and two albums.

Alison Smith O’Connell studied cello in Brisbane, Melbourne and Bremen, Germany, before moving to Kuala Lumpur to become a member of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. During her 8 years there, Alison enjoyed travelling around Southeast Asia, eating street food and exploring the jungle. Now based in Brisbane, she performs regularly as an Artistic Associate with Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber orchestra, and as a casual member of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She is just as happy on the stage as she is in the orchestral pit, performing for ballets, operas and musicals. Alison loves performing chamber music with friends and travelling around Regional Queensland on tour with Camerata. She enjoys working on interesting performance projects, such as the award-winning short film “Sex, Drugs and String Quartets”, and performing and recording with Muses Trio on their album “The Road Not Taken”, celebrating music written by women, performed by women. Alison is very passionate about climate action, spending time with her 3 daughters, and transforming her suburban backyard into an edible oasis.

Cellist Katherine Philp’s work ranges from the classics to cutting edge contemporary art music, as well as session recording, improvisation, arranging and composing. She is particularly interested in chamber music, projects that engage in respectful intercultural collaboration, and actively supports the generation and performance of new works by women and non-binary composers. Katherine has a special interest in interpreting new and experimental music, and has undertaken study with Rohan de Saram and Lucas Fels (of Arditti String Quartet) as well as performing and studying contemporary music across San Marino, Germany, Austria and France. Katherine’s performances and arrangements have been broadcast live and recorded for ABC classic FM and Radio National. She is currently the principal cellist of Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, plays with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, appears with Southern Cross Soloists, is a mum of two munchkins, and maintains a busy and eclectic freelance career. Some favourite moments include playing at the Dawn Ceremony on New Year’s Day at Woodford Folk Festival, and the delightful job of recording on the albums and episodes of Bluey.

After completing his musical studies in Marseille, France, Nathan has enjoyed a diverse musical career. His eclectic musical tastes have led him from baroque musique to contemporary art music and everything in between. Nathan has been an associate with Camerata for over 10 years and is blessed to have found in Camerata a musical home where such eclecticism is a shared foundation. In parallel, Nathan enjoys a lively career as an educator with students coming out of his ears. More recently Nathan has taken a keen interest in protecting his expensive cello from the curious but not so gentle hands of his two very young sons.

In 2023, Rory joined Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra as an Artistic Associate. He is Co-Artistic Director of the Brisbane based chamber group: Ensemble Cherubim and regularly performs with Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Hailing from the Sunshine Coast, Rory picked to learn the cello in Grade 5 because his brother said “it sounded cool”. Less than 10 years later he decided to pursue a career in music, completing a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) in 2019 under the tutelage of Patrick Murphy and later from Hyung Suk-Bae. Whilst at university, Rory took part in internships with Southern Cross Soloist’s and Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and received Masterclasses from the Australian String Quartet, Tinalley String Quartet and Howard Penny. Rory was invited to participate in the Virtuoso e Belcanto festival in Lucca, Italy and enjoyed learning from esteemed Pedagogues such as Peter Bruns, Istvan Vardai and Xenia Jankovic. Rory enjoys travelling and is always planning his next overseas trip (but mostly dreams about being back under the Tuscan sun with a glass of wine.)

Shannon is a freelance cellist and teacher who balances performing with teaching. She has been a long-term member of Camerata and has performed with many other ensembles including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Luzerner Symphony Orchestra, Luzern International Music Ensemble, Contemporary Ensemble - Collusion, Queensland Pops Orchestra and the Aarth Operetta Orchestra. Over her career within several of these chamber ensembles she has recorded for various different labels and performed at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Bangalow and Tyalgum Classical Music Festivals, Musica Viva Country Wide and Musica Viva in Schools, as well as professional musical productions for their Brisbane Season. Shannon is currently the Head of Performance Music at St. Aidan's Anglican Girls School and enjoys inspiring the next generation of musicians.

Marian moved to Los Angeles after completing her BMUS at the University of Qld, to study with renowned bassists Paul Ellison, Dennis Trembly at USC and later with François Rabbath in Paris. Marian gained enormous orchestral experience during this time and loved the frantic recording studio scene and chamber music opportunities. Upon returning to Australia, she started her freelance career with the QSO, MSO, ASO, WASO, Orchestra Victoria as well as touring internationally the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Marian is a dedicated teacher/educator and is proud to be a co-founder of the Big Brisbane Bass Day, an annual event that brings together over 100 Australian bassists. Over her eclectic career Marian has performed and travelled with numerous musical theatre productions such as Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Dr Zhivago, Westside Story, American in Paris, Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz, Les Miserable, The King and I, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Ladies in Black. Her most rewarding role is as principal bassist with Camerata, Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. She feels enriched by vibrant experiences and supported by the unique camaraderie!