Growing up in Sydney Andrew studied bassoon while pursuing degrees of Economics and Law. After working with KPMG Peat Marwick Andrew received a scholarship to pursue the study of the bassoon in Europe. Andrew subsequently completed studies in the United States. 

Andrew returned to Australia in 1995 where he played for 3 years at Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Andrew was appointed to the distinguished faculty of Indiana University School of Music in 1998 where he taught bassoon and coordinated chamber music. He returned to Australia in 2002 to take up the position of Lecturer of Bassoon and Chair of Woodwind at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Since that time Andrew has been regular principal bassoon with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australia Ensemble and a founding member of the New Sydney Wind Quintet. He has also performed regularly as principal with the Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras and the Queensland Orchestra.

Originally from Switzerland, Alexandre Oguey has been Principal Cor Anglais in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 1997. Since living in Australia, he often gets called “Mr Doherty”, and is not too bothered by this; Diana Doherty (previous principal oboe of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) and he have been happily married for 32 years… They also are the proud parents of two beautiful adult children and a cheeky Sheepadoodle! When he’s not washing the dishes or preparing firewood for his country cottage, he likes playing chamber music: He was a founding member of the New Sydney Wind Quintet for 9 years and loves his “Cor Plus Four” ensemble (Cor anglais, violin, viola, cello and double bass). He has also performed regularly in Australia with the Australia Ensemble and throughout Europe with the prize-winning Wildwind quintet and other Swiss-based chamber Ensembles. Before moving to Australia, he was Associate Principal Oboe in the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from 1990 to 1997. Alexandre was lecturer in oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for 17 years, and is now dedicating more time to his passion of arranging. His arrangements are published by Trevco Music and Hofmeister. His album “Pastoral Fables” with pianist Neal Peres Da Costa of romantic repertoire that he arranged for the cor anglais is available on ABC Classics. Alexandre is a Marigaux artist

Ian Wildsmith graduated from the Conservatorium of Music High School, Sydney, in 2009, studying with Andrew Bain and Ben Jacks. He continued his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, under scholarships provided by Ars Musica Australis, the Zochonis Charitable Trust and the Waverley Fund. Here he studied with Lindsey Stoker, Tim Jackson and Rebecca Goldberg, before graduating in 2015 with BMus Honours.

Whilst in the United Kingdom, Ian was involved in Professional Experience Schemes with the Hallé Orchestra, Opera North and BBC Philharmonic. Consequently, he has worked as an extra musician with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Opera North and the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Between 2013 and 2015 he performed as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, under Vladimir Ashkenazy and Vasily Petrenko.

Ian moved back to Australia in 2016 to continue studies at the Australian National Academy of Music. He has subsequently held positions as the Principal Horn in the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Associate Principal Horn of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as guest principal horn with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Opera Australia Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Oliver Shermacher is a multi-award winning clarinettist known for his virtuosic, unique and eccentric performances. Oliver won the 2022 Aeolus International Wind Competition and received the Audience Award, and now lives between Australia and Germany performing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral clarinettist. He completed his Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium with Francesco Celata and his Masters at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg with Kilian Herold and Anton Hollich.

Oliver is a winner of the Australian Freedman Fellowship and a grand finalist in the ABC Young Performers Award, where he also received the Audience Award. He has performed as a soloist with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Vogtlandphilharmonie, the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, the Apex Ensemble and was Artist in Residence with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, with whom he premiered the Alice Chance Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he is regularly performing at festivals, such as Nicolas Altstaedt's Lockenhaus Festival in summer 2024, as well as the Schleswig Holstein, Kissinger, Rheingau and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festivals. He has played as Principal Clarinet with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Australia Orchestra and the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Bass Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra and SWR Symphony Orchestra. Since the 2024/2025 season, he has been bass clarinettist with the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a soloist, Oliver has commissioned many composers to write pieces for clarinet that combine theater, electronics, dance and movement. Oliver has created many solo performances that combine these elements into immersive theatrical installations. He also works closely with the Australian Youth Orchestra to develop creative education projects, with a particular focus on students with disabilities. He plays klezmer and jazz as well as historical clarinets and in his spare time he enjoys cooking, reading and listening to Cat Stevens and Leonard Cohen.

Flautist and writer Lily Bryant is highly sought after as an orchestral musician, chamber player and soloist. Since completing her studies with Virginia Taylor and Vernon Hill at the Queensland Conservatorium and Australian National Academy of Music, she has gone on to perform with all of Australia’s full-time symphony orchestras, appearing regularly as Principal Flute with the Sydney, Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. She also has a passion for chamber music, and has performed with Arcadia Winds, Inventi Ensemble, Rubiks Collective and Crosswinds Ensemble.

Lily is the 2020 recipient of the prestigious Queensland Conservatorium Medal, and has won first prize in both the Leslie Barklamb Flute Prize and the Australian Youth Classical Music Competition, using her scholarship to undertake study with teachers in both Europe and North America, including notable players such as Christina Fassbender, Robert Langevin, Linda Chesis, and Anne-Catherine Heinzmann.

Outside of the concert hall Lily is an avid writer and arts journalist, and has been published by Limelight, CutCommon and Kill Your Darlings.

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