Songs for day
The Art Songs of Aristéa Mellos
Aristéa Mellos, composer
Aristéa Mellos is an Australian composer and pianist. A winner of the 2014 Gallipoli Song Competition, Aristea is a recipient of grants from the Presser Foundation, the Earle Brown Foundation, the Australia Council for the Arts, and the American Australian Association.
A represented artist of the Australian Music Centre, her music is regularly broadcast by ABC Classic and has been recorded by Tall Poppies, NPR, Fine Music, and the Xenofone label.
Aristea holds a Doctorate (DMA) and Master's (MM) in Composition and Piano from the Eastman School of Music where she was the Paul Sacher Fellow. In 2010, she graduated with Honours Class I from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney).
Helen Zhibing Huang, soprano
Helen Zhibing Huang is a Chinese-born soprano with a wide range of musical interests, spanning from baroque to the present day. Her 2019-2020 season includes Singa Loh in the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, Henrietta Wong in Steward Wallace’s Harvey Milk with Opera Parallèle’s, Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw with Nashville Opera, in as well as making concert and operatic debuts in Europe and Australia.
A strong advocate for new music, she has participated in workshops for operas including Prestini’s Gilgamesh, Wachner’s REV. 23, and Kirchoff’s Friday After Friday. Miss Huang’s other operatic credits include Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Serpetta in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Clorinda in Rossini’s La cenerentola, Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, la fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina, and Carolina in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto.
Her concert credits include Messiah, Creation, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Symphony No. 4, and Earl Kim’s Where Grief Slumbers. In her spare time, Miss Huang enjoys cooking traditional Chinese dishes, traveling, and making new friends.
Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery, piano
Born in Chicago, prize winning pianist Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery works as a freelance musician in New York City. She has performed extensively throughout the USA in venues such as the Grainger Ballroom at Symphony Center, the Chicago Cultural Center, Bennett- Gordon Hall at Ravinia, BargeMusic, and Spectrum New Music (NYC). An active chamber and solo musician, pianist Ada Jeon has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Current projects include her duo with oboist Erin Lensing, commissioning new works by female composers, and recording the complete vocal works of Australian composer, Aristéa Mellos.
Past projects include performances with Contemporaneous, Julia Adolphe’s one act opera Sylvia at Bargemusic and collaborations with cellist Mariel Roberts.
Ada received both Bachelor and Master degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Piano Performance and Literature. Ada resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Jane Bishop, flute
Jane Bishop (née Duncan) holds a Master of Music degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she studied with Geoffrey Collins as well as a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London.
Jane’s interest in the performance practice of contemporary music has lead her to research and perform newly composed works for the flute. She has performed with Sydney Chamber Opera, Chronology Arts, Kammerklang, Trois and Strelitzia ensembles as well as appearing on two albums released by composer-performer collective Sideband.
Jane also collaborates regularly with composers on new works and enjoys performing on alto and bass flute.
James Larsen, cello
Cellist James Larsen completed his studies with David Pereira at the Australian National University
School of Music and the Australian National Academy under Howard Penny. As a student, he was awarded the Ruth Pfanner undergraduate scholarship, the Wesley Music Scholarship, Canberra Symphony Orchestra String Scholarship, and The Margot Lewin Prize for The Most Outstanding Cellist.
As a member of the Geist String Quartet, one of Australia’s preeminent young chamber ensembles, James has made appearances at festivals and masterclasses in Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Canada, and the U.S.A.
Performing together for the past five years, the Geist String Quartet has been awarded the Westheimer String Quartet Fellowship, Ernest V. Llewellyn Memorial Fund Award, and the Mary Vallentine Prize.
Currently based in Sydney, James performs with the SSO, is in demand as a chamber musician, conductor, and teacher.
