The Artists
The Arioso Chamber Ensemble brings together the talents and experience of leading specialists in Baroque performance. Formed in January 2014 for the “Music by the Sea” Festival, Sandgate, they have since performed at many festivals and concert series, including Brisbane Lord Mayor's City Hall Concerts, 4MBS Festival of Classics, Caloundra Fringe Festival, New England Bach Festival, Maryborough Regional Arts Council, and Robert Channon Wines. The group aims to present high quality engaging performances and workshops with an emphasis on Historically Informed Practice.
// baroque violin
Margaret Caley studied baroque violin with Lucy van Dael at the Royal Conservatory, The Hague and regularly performs with Arioso Chamber Ensemble, The Badinerie Players, and Austral Harmony. She has performed with many baroque orchestras in Australia and Europe including the Orchestra of the Antipodes.
// harpsichord
Janet Brewer has two Masters Degrees from Qld Conservatorium and has continued Early Music study in Norway and England. She is Artistic Director for the Pacific Chamber Players. Janet performs regularly with chamber ensembles and orchestras in SE Queensland, including with Camerata.
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// soprano
Judit Molnar is a Hungarian born soprano, a Liszt Academy alumna, educator and emerging researcher. She performs as a soloist at recitals, oratorios and operas across Europe and in her adopted country Australia, with orchestras such as the Canberra and Queensland Symphony Orchestras and Opera Australia. Judit began lecturing at Miskolc University in 2008 and held the position of Lecturer in Voice for three years. Based in Brisbane since 2012, Judit was granted a most prestigious Distinguished Talent Visa by the Australian Government as an internationally recognised artist with exceptional and outstanding contributions to the arts. She is also an active chamber musician: in addition of being a founding member and soprano soloist of the 'Arioso Chamber Ensemble' she is the artistic director and founder of her own ensemble 'Fragments'. Judit is a DMA candidate at the Queensland Conservatorium focusing on the vocal chamber music of György Kurtág.
// baroque cello
(2015 - 2021)
Belinda Manwaring has performed with the SSO, ACO and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Having studied baroque cello with Tim Blomfield, Belinda performed with Salut! Baroque in 2015 and performed a Cello Duo concert in Paris in 2016. In June 2017 Belinda attended the Nelson Bach Residency, studying and performing Bach Cantatas with Juilliard 415 and the esteemed Masaaki Suzuki. Since 2020, Belinda has participated in regular online courses and masterclasses with Canadian cellist Elinor Frey.
// viola da gamba
A graduate of Qld Conservatorium of Music, Shannon has recently returned to Australia after living and working in the Netherlands for several years.
// baroque cello
(2014; 2022 )
Dan Curro studied the cello first with Helen Holt and later with Matthew Farrell, Roseanne Hunt and Howard Penny. Dan's musical interests are eclectic and his activities diverse. At the Qld Conservatorium he studied contemporary improvisation under John Rogers and Ken Edie. He has recorded two albums with his contemporary vocal group, Plub and reviewers described him as a "star performer" for a concert he gave with avante-garde/electronic musician Oxford Parker. He has also played baroque cello in many groups including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Badinerie Players. He was a founding member of Arioso Chamber Ensemble before moving interstate in 2014. Dan has performed in many and varied musical configurations and situations, in an abundance of musical styles including baroque/classical, latin, jazz, hip hop, contemporary and what has become his main passion, the historically informed performance of 19th century western art music.