Roger Benedict: Principal Viola

ROGER ALLEN & MAGGIE GRAY CHAIR

Roger Benedict has worked as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, teacher and conductor. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester (where he was later a professor), and the International Musicians’ Seminar, Prussia Cove. In 1991 he was appointed Principal Viola of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and in 2002 Principal Viola of the Sydney Symphony. He is also Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony’s Fellowship program, and performs as guest principal with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

As a soloist he has appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Japan. He has recorded several concertante works for BBC Radio 3, including Michael Berkeley’s Viola Concerto, of which he gave the premiere, and he is frequently heard on ABC Classic FM. His new recording of music by Koechlin and Jongen, Volupté, is available on Melba Records.

He has performed Strauss’s Don Quixote many times, and with the Sydney Symphony he has performed Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante, Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, Ford’s Unquiet Grave  and Vaughan Williams’ Flos campi. His chamber music partners have included such musicians as Lorin Maazel, Simon Rattle, Louis Lortie and Leif Ove Andsnes.

Roger Benedict plays a Carlo Antonio Testore viola made in Milan in 1753.

Anne-Louise Comerford: Associate Principal Viola

Anne-Louise Comerford began playing the violin and piano at the age of five. She attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School and completed her degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Robert Pikler.

She was a founding member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and won a scholarship to study with Joseph De Pasquale at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. During this time she attended the New York String Seminar with Alexander Schneider, and also worked with the Stockholm Ensemble in Sweden.

In 1980, she began studies with Bruno Giuranna at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie in Detmold, Germany, and took part in his masterclasses at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy.

Anne-Louise Comerford returned to Australia to join the Sydney Symphony in 1987. She has previously held the position of Principal Viola in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as guest principal viola with many other Australian orchestras. She is also active as a chamber musician and has performed with the Australia Ensemble and the Sydney Soloists as well as appearing for Musica Viva, and recording for ABC Classic FM. Anne-Louise Comerford has recorded the viola works of Miriam Hyde and is a regular guest at the Kowmung Music Festival in Oberon.

Anne-Louise Comerford plays a Domenico Degani viola made in Montagnana in 1860.

Yvette Goodchild: Assistant Principal Viola

Yvette Goodchild studied with Winifred Durie at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and graduated with merit in 1991. She subsequently undertook postgraduate studies in London with David Takeno and in Karlsruhe, Germany, with Madeline Prager.

As a chamber musician she has participated in masterclasses with the Melos, Tákacs, and Borodin string quartets, and was awarded First Prize in the Dorothy Adams Quartet Competition in London. She has also taken part in concert tours throughout Europe and Asia with the European Community Chamber Orchestra.

Yvette Goodchild has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and has also held the position of Associate Principal Viola with the Staatstheater Darmstadt.

In Australia, she has performed as a guest violist with the Goldner String Quartet and as Guest Principal Viola with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In 2000, she was invited to perform at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville.

Yvette Goodchild was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal Viola with the Sydney Symphony in 1997.

Robyn Brookfield: Viola

Robyn Brookfield was born in Sydney and studied with Robert Pikler at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and with Cecil Aronowitz in London.

Following her studies, she worked in Melbourne with the Elizabethan Theatre Trust Orchestra and subsequently with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She travelled to Europe and studied at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, before settling in England for more than a decade.

In the UK, Robyn Brookfield was a member of the Royal Ballet Orchestra and later the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra in Manchester. During this time she maintained a strong interest in chamber music, singing and Scottish fiddle music, and also taught violin and viola. From 1977, she worked as a freelance musician with orchestras such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, and Oxford Pro Musica.

Active as a chamber musician, Robyn Brookfield also plays viola with The Glenaeon Ensemble. She performs on an A. E. Smith viola made in Sydney in 1952.

Robyn Brookfield joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1991.

Sandro Costantino: Viola

Sandro Costantino was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Italian parents. He began his musical studies on the violin and joined the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional when he was 17.

In 1980, he moved to Portland, Maine, to study with the Portland String Quartet. It was during his studies with Julia Adams and the Portland Symphony Orchestra that he turned his attention to the viola.

Sandro Costantino moved to Italy in 1982 and studied with Armando Burattin at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. Following his studies he worked with the Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali, the RAI Orchestra of Milan, and at the Teatro alla Scala.

In 1987, he moved back to the USA to undertake postgraduate studies with Walter Trampler and Louis Krasner at the New England Conservatory in Boston. While in Boston, he auditioned for the New Zealand String Quartet, and subsequently moved to Wellington. He spent the next few years performing with the NZSQ before returning to Italy where he worked with the Angelicum Orchestra of Milan and later with I Solisti Veneti in Padua.

In 1991, he returned to Wellington and joined the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He moved to Sydney in 1995 and joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra the same year.

Sandro Costantino plays an Arturo Fracassi viola made in Cesena in 1933.

Jane Hazelwood: Viola

Jane Hazelwood studied at the Sydney Conservatorium with Alexandru Todicescu.  From 1983 to 1986, she furthered her studies with Wolfram Christ in Berlin where she played regularly as a casual with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. 

In 1986 Jane returned to Australia to become Principal violist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.  From 1990 to 1995 she was Lecturer in Strings at the Victorian College of the Arts.  She is currently a member of the Sydney Symphony and plays as a guest artist with various chamber music ensembles.

Justine Marsden: Viola

Justine Marsden began piano studies at the Sydney Conservatorium with Nancy Salas, followed by violin studies with Alice Waten. She attended the Conservatorium High School, where she studied viola with Winifred Durie and Alex Todicescu, and completed her Bachelor’s degree with Merit at the Sydney Conservatorium in 1984.

From 1985, she continued postgraduate studies in Berlin for four years with Wolfram Christ. During her time in Berlin, she played as a casual member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and was a member of Ensemble Oriol Berlin. She performed as soloist with the Baden-Badener Philharmonie and as principal guest violist of the Orchestra of the Berliner Kammeroper.

Justine Marsden returned to Australia in 1989 and joined the Australian Chamber Orchestra, with whom she occasionally acted as Principal Viola. She has also worked as both a soloist and orchestra member with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. From 1991 to 1993, she was a member of the Novalis Quartet and has performed as guest artist with the Ku-ring-gai Virtuosi and the Grevillea Ensemble. She has recorded music by Margaret Sutherland with her sister, violinist Marina Marsden, with whom she also performed Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with Orchestra 143 in 2004.

Justine has been a member of the Sydney Symphony since 1990, acting as Associate and Assistant Principal Viola on occasion. In 2004, she was awarded a Sydney Symphony Friends and Michael and Mary Whelan Trust Scholarship to further her viola studies with Wolfram Christ in Germany and to research issues relating to musicians’ health at the Kurt Singer Institute in Berlin.

Mary McVarish: Viola

Mary McVarish grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, where she played viola and French horn in youth orchestras and bands. She studied viola with David Dawson and Georges Janzer at Indiana University School of Music. Following her graduation she travelled to Australia for a two-year adventure and subsequently settled here permanently.

Her first appointment in Australia was with the Music Branch of the Education Department of South Australia. She taught string classes in Whyalla, Mt Gambier, and Adelaide. While teaching violin and music history at Elizabeth Community College, she studied viola with John Gould and was employed on a casual basis with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Mary McVarish moved to Sydney to play in the ABC Sinfonia and studied violin with Christopher Kimber and viola with Alex Todicescu. She has been a member of the Sydney Symphony since 1981 and is the longest serving violist currently playing with the orchestra. Mary McVarish is the Vice President of the Sydney Symphony Benevolent Fund and a representative on the Occupational Health and Safety Committee.