QYO Conductors
John Curro AM MBE
Director of Music
Conductor, Queensland Youth Symphony
John Curro is both the founder (1966) and Director of Music of Queensland Youth Orchestras (QYO). He has conducted QYO’s premier orchestra, the Queensland Youth Symphony, for 40 years. John established QYO’s annual National Youth Concerto Competition, the nation’s premier competition for young string players, hosted by QYO every year since 1976.
John is in demand as a conductor and tutor at youth music festivals throughout the world. He has toured overseas as conductor of the Bavarian Youth Orchestra and the Australian Youth Orchestra.
John regularly conducts professional orchestras and he has held the position of Guest Conductor with the London Virtuosi, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted many of Australia’s professional orchestras, including the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Queensland, Melbourne, Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. He has conducted many opera seasons in Australia, has worked regularly with the Queensland Ballet. He has also conducted opera and ballet performances for the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts.
John received the 2002 Don Banks Award and the 2001 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award for his outstanding contribution to music in Australia. He has also received the 2001 TOAN (The Orchestras of Australia Network) Lifetime Achievement Award, the Queensland Premier’s Millenium Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2000 and the 4MBS/Perform Magazine Award for Best Music Director in 1999.
John was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 1995 for his significant contribution to music in Australia. He also holds the honour of Member of the British Empire and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland and Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. In August 2003 he was awarded the Australian Music Centre’s “Queensland Award.”
Sergei V Korschmin
Conductor, 2nd Queensland Youth Orchestra & QYO Chamber Orchestra
Sergei completed studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance. Sergei’s conducting debut came at age seventeen, conducting Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony, with the Moscow Composer’s House Orchestra. In the same year he was the Conductor and Production Director of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. Sergei later conducted a cycle of works by Beethoven.
As the recipient of the Internal Travel Fellowship from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Sergei participated in music classes at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris (France); the Academy of Music, Weimar (Germany); the Southwest Texas University, (USA), and many master classes. Since moving to Australia, Sergei has lectured at several universities in Queensland. He has held the position of Artistic Director of the Mackay Youth Orchestra, and Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mackay Symphony Orchestra. Sergei is regularly invited both as a conductor and teacher, to tutor and direct vacation workshops and master classes.
Sergei has been guest conductor with the Queensland Youth Symphony and Western Australian Youth Orchestra and in 2003 he was appointed conductor of QYO2.
Bradley Voltz
Conductor, 3rd Queensland Youth Orchestra
Bradley has conducted the Third Queensland Youth Orchestra since 1998. He holds a Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Other post-graduate studies include a Graduate Diploma of Music (Performance) (QCM), Graduate Diploma in Further Education and Training (USQ) and a Graduate Certificate in Music Technology (GU). In 1988 he was awarded the prestigious Hugh Neville Smith Scholarship for overseas study. The following year Bradley attended conducting master classes under Sergio Celibedache in Germany and studied with Ezra Rachlin in London.
Bradley has performed as a freelance pianist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Youth Choir and for the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in productions of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, The Pirates of Penzance and The Sound of Music. He has appeared as both conductor and soloist for the University of Queensland Musical Society and the St Lucia Orchestra.
Bradley was Instrumental Coordinator at St Laurence’s College from 1991 to 1997. In 1998 he was appointed Director of Music at Cannon Hill Anglican College, a position he held for six years. Bradley is currently Head of Music at St Joseph’s Nudgee College.
Bradley is a sessional lecturer for the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music and a member of the Board of Examiners of the Australian Music Examinations Board.
Warwick Potter
Conductor, QYO Wind Symphony
Warwick Potter is one of Australia’s leading conductors. In 2010, he has three return engagements with West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) as well as debuts with both Queensland (QSO) and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. Professional highlights have included Australian premieres of Hindson’s “Dangerous Creatures” with WASO and Takemitsu’s “How Slow the Wind” with Darwin Symphony Orchestra. He conducted WASO in February in a concert with “The Panics” which was recently broadcast on Triple J. In addition, he has been asked to conduct Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” at the prestigious Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival in June this year. Warwick will adjudicate for Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition in the UK in 2011 and continues to be contracted to Australian Music Examinations Board to help re-write the bassoon syllabus for its mainstream release in 2012.
As a bassoonist, Warwick trained at Royal College of Music, London and won every bassoon prize available to him including an Exhibition Scholarship. Subsequently, he enjoyed a successful freelance career in the UK prior to moving to Australia where his appointments included Principal Bassoon, English Festival Opera. In Australia, he has played Guest Principal Bassoon for both QSO and WASO and between 2003 and 2005 he toured nationally on multiple occasions with Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Despite only moving to Brisbane in January 2010, he is already Musical Director - Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor - University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Conductor - Queensland Young Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra in addition to his QYO duties. Warwick is delighted to work with QYO Wind Symphony in 2010 - an ensemble genre which he has close to his heart.
David Law
Conductor, QYO Wind Ensemble
2010 is David’s second year as the conductor of the Wind Ensemble. David began his journey with Queensland Youth Orchestras in 1997 as a member of the Wind Ensemble, and from 1999 to 2003, held the principal euphonium chair in the Wind Symphony. This began his passion and enthusiasm for community music. David studied Euphonium at the Queensland University of Technology under the tutorage of Greg Aitken, and participated in conducting courses with Ralph Hultgren under whom he also played in the Q.U.T. Wind Symphony. While David is a euphonium player at heart, he also has performance and teaching experience on Trombone, Tuba, French Horn and Trumpet.
With Ignatians Musical Theatre Society, David worked as Conductor for CATS, as well as repetiteur for Les Misérables, West Side Story and CATS. He has been Musical Director and Conductor for the successful ShowStoppers concert series and in 2008, for their acclaimed production of Steven Sondheim’s Into the Woods. More recently, David has been Musical Director and Pianist for Songbirds and Songbirds II. This year, David worked with Harvest Rain Theatre Company, conducting their 25th Anniversary Concert at QPAC’s Concert Hall, and will be Musical Director for Oscar Theatre Company’s production of [title of show] at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Currently, David conducts Brisbane’s Westside Orchestra and has been the principal euphonium player and president of the Queensland Wind Orchestra since its inception in 2004. During this time he has worked under, and been inspired by, Craig Dabelstein, Philip Davis, Dr Peter Morris, Patrick Burns and many more of Brisbane’s finest band directors. As Performance Music Coordinator at Redeemer Lutheran College, David accompanies a number of ensembles while also directing, amongst others, the Chamber String Ensemble and the College’s premier vocal ensemble, the Senior Singers.
Chen Yang
Conductor, QYO Junior String Ensemble
Chen Yang has had a long association with Queensland Youth Orchestras. He first joined as a violinist in 1975 and was concertmaster of QYS from 1978 to 1980, touring with the orchestra in 1980 to Europe, including the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aberdeen, Scotland. Attributing these positive QYO musical experiences as a major influence in choosing music as a career, Chen studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and graduated with distinction in violin performance.
As his first professional musical undertaking, Chen was the Concertmaster of the Queensland Theatre Orchestra (later renamed the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra), working under the distinguished Maestro, Georg Tintner. In 1981 Chen joined the Queensland Symphony Orchestra where he played in the first violin section until 1989.
Deciding on a change, Chen spent the next spent two years as musician-in-residence on Dunk Island Holiday Resort in North Queensland where he led a string quartet and performed as a cabaret violinis. He continued as a freelance musician throughout the early 1990s, performing in show orchestras for many major musical productions at QPAC.
Chen is the leader and conductor of The Sinfonia of St Andrew’s orchestra and is the string teacher and conductor at St Hilda’s School, Southport. He adjudicates regularly for eisteddfods and competitions and is also a prolific arranger of string music for the Junior String Ensemble. Chen was the conductor of QYO3 from 1983 to 1988 and since 1991 has been the conductor of the Junior String Ensemble.
Burke Turner (replacing David Coit in 2010)
Conductor, QYO Big Band
Burke Turner is passionate about music and his favourite sounds are found within the big band genre. Originally from Perth, Burke was heavily involved with the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO) led by Australian jazz legend, Graeme Lyall. As a member of WAYJO, Burke performed alongside some of the finest exponents of the Jazz idiom including Frank Foster (Count Basie Orchestra) and Ronald Carter and Terrell Stafford, Artists in residence from the Jazz@Lincoln Centre in New York.
Moving to Brisbane in 2004, Burke continued his Big Band education under the direction of guru John Hoffman (Buddy Rich, Woody Herman) and now leads his own band, the Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra. Having toured internationally and much of Queensland, Burke is kept busy as a freelance trumpet player. Local performance highlights include The Boy From Oz, Pete Murray, Tommy Tycho, and many others. His love of performing is shared with his desire to encourage others to reach a level of excellence in the Big Band style.
David Coit (on leave in 2010)
Conductor, QYO Big Band
David started piano at the age of four and trumpet at eight, focusing his study on jazz trumpet in high school. After leaving Brisbane State High School where he was lead trumpet and lead tuba he became principal tuba with the QYO Wind Symphony and continued his studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music majoring in jazz performance (trumpet) under John Hoffman.
Since leaving the Conservatorium, David has pursued his playing professionally and has taught in private and state schools. In 2004, he completed Post Graduate Studies in Music Studies at the Queensland Conservatorium with Ralph Hultgren and plans to further his study in jazz education in the future. He has toured internationally to America, Canada, Asia and New Zealand and has played with bands such as Oskar, Lush, Planet Funk, Hot Mambo, La Gran Salsa, Swing Force, Decahedron, James Morrison, Delta Goodrum, Venetta Fields and The Bass Note Big Band. David is the Performance Music Director at Sheldon College and he plays lead trumpet with the Royal Australian Navy Band Brisbane. He also directs his own quintet, plays with other small groups and in session work.