Hye-Won Yoon Shin - Soprano - St Cecilia Mass 2010
Born in Seoul, Korea, Hye-Won Yoon Shin moved to Australia after graduating from university with a Bachelor of Political Science. She recently completed her honours Year at VCA, having learned from Stephen Grant and Raymond Connell.
Hye-Won has performed Schuman’s Spanische Liederspiel at the Iwaki Auditorium and at 3MBS in a live broadcast under the direction of Philip Mayers, J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at St John’s Southgate, VCA production at South Melbourne Town Hall singing the role of First Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate at the Korean Uniting Church, solo performances at St Paul’s Cathedral, St Michael’s Uniting Church, Collins Street Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria, and many others.
She regularly sings as a soloist at the Korean Uniting Church in Malvern and performs at various charity concerts and festivals. Hye-Won is also working with the Korean Children’s Choir as its conductor.
Stephen Grant, bass-baritone - St Cecilia Mass 2010
was born in Montreal, Canada. He studied organ and voice in Canada before moving to Germany in 1987 to begin singing professionally. There he established working relationships with some of Europe's best-known early music ensembles — Sequentia, the Ferrara Ensemble, Ensemble Organum de Paris and others, concertizing widely and making over 20 CD recordings. His interest in varied repertoires has led him to perform a broad range of music including opera ( Cosi fan tutte, Orfeo, La Serva Padrona, Pimpinone, The Emperor of Atlantis), premiering contemporary works by Saariaho (Paris), Fritsch (Bonn), Staub (Göteborg & Saarbrücken), as well as lied and oratorio repertoire. Stephen, in Melbourne since 1997, is founder director of e21 and is currently Convenor of Voice of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne.
TIMOTHY JAQUES - St Cecilia Mass 2010
A student of Roger Howell and graduate of Melbourne University’s Faculty of Music, Tim has just completed his final year of study at The Opera Studio Melbourne, where he has been honing his craft as a performer. This course has seen Tim perform the roles of Narrator (Coffee Cantata), Franz (Tales of Hoffman), Monostatos (Magic Flute) and the Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Damon (Acis and Galatea), as well taking lead, ensemble and cover roles in various other Opera Studio projects.
Tim’s experience as a singer has seen him workshop and perform world premiere Opera and Musical Theatre, and has also seen him take character and chorus roles with OzOpera and Victorian Youth Opera, respectively. He has also amassed a strong level of experience on the concert platform, having performed as soloist for various choral organisations around Melbourne, taking tenor solos in works ranging from Handel to Saint-Saens.
Tim is also on staff at Lygon Music School, where he has had the privilege of teaching voice and beginner piano for the last three years to a wide variety of people, ranging from ex-wrestlers, to former professional dancers.
JANET GIBBS Mus.B, FRCO, FTCL, LRSM, ARCM (Hons)
Janet was born and educated in New Zealand and emigrated to Melbourne in 1998. Since early childhood she has been passionate about music and began playing piano as soon as she could reach the keys. Initiation into the pipe organ world occurred in early teens.
In New Zealand Janet led an active musical life as an organ recitalist and accompanist for numerous choirs in Wellington and around the country. Janet was Director of Music at St James Church, Lower Hutt for ten years and rehearsal pianist for the Orpheus Choir of Wellington for fifteen years. She was also Contract Organist with the NZ Symphony Orchestra for ten years. In addition Janet was a teacher of piano, organ and theory, and a free-lance accompanist for singers and instrumentalists. A highlight of her NZ career was the opportunity to act as rehearsal pianist for the Australian performances of Verdi”s Requiem for Pavarotti's visit in 1992.
In Melbourne Janet has gained recognition as an organist, piano accompanist, choir director and teacher. She has been regular accompanist for Maroondah Singers, Victoria Chorale, Ashton-Smith Singers and Melbourne University Faculty Choir. She is a teacher, accompanist and chapel organist at Scotch College and frequently plays for countless other churches, choirs and schools for concerts and services. She is now accompanist for Heidelberg Choral Society and the ACU Faculty choir.
Janet is Associate Organist at St John's Church, Toorak and plays periodically at Christ Church, South Yarra, and Trinity College Chapel.
A highlight for Janet was to be an accompanist for over two years at Melba Conservatorium where she indulged her love of accompanying singers.
In January 2009 Janet was appointed Director of Music at St Mark's Church Fitzroy where she directs a chamber choir and organizes periodic concerts. She is an examiner for St Cecilia School of Music. Recently she has begun producing a series of accompanying CDs to assist student learning.
In her spare time Janet is an amateur photographer, amongst many other interests including theatre, fine arts, natural therapies, and travel.
Roger King - St Cecilia Mass 2010
Roger King studied Medicine at King’s College Cambridge. He also studied composition at Hull University and obtained a PhD at London University. He was in the Medical Faculty at Monash University for 25 years, teaching, researching and being a medical practitioner.
He has published several hundred original research publications. He is now in full time medical practice. He plays piano, flute, piano accordion and guitar, sings, and has played and/or sung in bands, pop groups, folk groups, classical orchestras, choirs and other ensembles.
Since 2000 he has accompanied and sung in over 700 concerts with the Monash Aires, a voluntary group that entertains in and around Melbourne, in hospitals, day care centres, hostels, nursing homes and senior citizens clubs. He was accompanist for the South Eastern Philharmonia Choir for a number of years, and now accompanies the Monash Chorale.
