Da Vinci's Apprentice 

 

This intimate musical performance for children explores the world of Roberta, a talented girl living in the 16th century Italy, who dreams of becoming an apprentice to the greatest inventor of all, Leonardo da Vinci. 

 

 

Brittanie Shipway - soprano/actress

 

Brittanie Shipway is a recent graduate from NIDA (Dip. Musical Theatre), Brittanie is a musical theatre performer, corporate entertainer and cabaret artist. After studying acting in New York at the Lee Strasberg Institute of Film & Theatre, Brittanie returned home to Australia to make her professional debut at The Hayes Theatre Co with RPG’s Big Fish (The Witch), and went on to perform in Chapel Off Chapel’s Ordinary Days (Claire), as well as making the semi-finals of the Rob Guest Endowment (2017).

 

Other credits include the lead in Funny Girl (Riverside Theatre), Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar (Packemin Productions) and Maggie in the Sydney premiere of Ned Kelly (New Theatre). She has workshopped many original Australian musicals, including Sydney Theatre Company’s Muriel’s Wedding (Rhonda, Bridesmaid), and New Musicals Australia’s Evie May: A Tivoli Story (Evie May).

 

Brittanie has performed at The Hayes Theatre Co season launches, as well as Neglected Musical’s Big River, and New Musicals Australia readings. 

Brittanie has made appearances on Channel 9 on various children shows and The Voice (S3).

 

Since then, she has opened for artists such as Damien Leith (Australian Idol), Marlissa (X-Factor), and Taylor Henderson (X-Factor). Brittanie adores working with children and is very blessed to be playing Roberta in the Da Vinci’s Apprentice.

 

Jenny Eriksson - viola da gamba

 

Jenny Eriksson completed her initial musical studies at the NSW State Conservatorium then studied the viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden at the Rotterdam Conservatorium for three years where she completed postgraduate studies in baroque music. She founded The Marais Project in 2000 with the aim of performing the complete works of the French baroque viola da gamba virtuoso, Marin Marais.

 

Jennifer is widely recognised as one of Australia’s best known and most versatile viola da gambists. She has recorded six commercial CDs and performed in Holland, Sweden, Germany, Singapore, New Zealand and New Caledonia as well as undertaking a residency at the Banff Arts Centre for Arts and Creativity, Canada. Jennifer founded Elysian Fields, Australia’s only electric viola da gamba ensemble, in 2015 and has commissioned more than twenty works for viola da gamba and electric viola da gamba by Australian composers. 

 

The beauty and breadth of Jennifer’s performances – including her 25 + year commitment to presenting up to 80 concerts each year through the Musica Viva in Schools program with her ensemble “Sounds Baroque”, and more recently, “Da Vinci’s Apprentice”  – is bringing the viola da gamba to a growing and appreciative audience.

 

Jennifer’s ensembles The Marais Project and Elysian Fields have just been named Artist in Residence at FM102.5 Fine Music for 2018/2019.

 

John Foster - zink

 

John Foster is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of performance on historical trumpets and cornetto, and is the Artistic Director of the renowned ensemble Australian Baroque Brass. John has also conducted the Sydney based Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St James’.  

 

John was a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2013. John has appeared as soloist at festivals and concert series worldwide and performed as soloist with many leading orchestras and ensembles, including: the Sydney Symphony, Sydney Philharmonia, Queensland Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Norwich Baroque (United Kingdom) among others. In 2011 John also performed  J.S.Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.2 with Belgium's leading baroque orchestra 'Il Fundamento'. John was also a soloist for the launch of the Kammerorchester Basel (Switzerland) 2012 season.

 

John has given master classes throughout the world, including at the Juilliard School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester), the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Northwestern University (Chicago), Indiana University, Bern University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland), and Conservatorio da Belo Horizonte (Brazil) among numerous others.

 

Mr Foster has also enjoyed performing with such orchestras and ensembles as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, English National Ballet (United Kingdom), Concerto Grosso Heidelburg, Kammermusik Potsdam, Hannoverschen Hofkapelle, Berlin Baroque, St Thomas Boys' Choir of Leipzig, (Germany), Le Concert Lorrain (France), Collegium Musicum Grossmunster (Switzerland), Barokorkest Concerto Vivo (Holland), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, New Zealand Baroque Soloists, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Symphonie Orchestra de Macau, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

 

Recently John went to the USA to perform as a soloist for a new CD of previously unrecorded 17th Century works for trumpet, with the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets. In 2013 John was invited to Brasil to perform as soloist and be a guest artist at the early music festival in Belo Horizante. In 2014 John also appeared as soloist with the Adelaide Symphony and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand). Since 2015 John has been the director of the Australasian Trumpet Academy, which annually draws students and guest artist from around the world to Australia.

 

 John has recently had the pleasure of excepting an invitation to become the Artistic Director of period instrument orchestra, Queensland Baroque (www.qldbaroque.com).

 

Shaun Ng - theorbo

Shaun Ng is a teacher and performer of instruments of the violin, viola da gamba and lute families. He received his music training at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Conservatorium of Amsterdam, the University of Western Australia, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied historical performance and musicology.

 

He also participated in many notable seminars and conferences such as Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute, the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute and the Lute Society of America Seminar. As an active freelance performer, he has performed with many of Sydney’s early music ensembles.

 

In 2018, he joins 'Da Vinci's Apprentice', Musica Viva's new education programme bringing early music instruments to schools throughout Australia. In addition, he runs a busy private studio and is a music tutor and ensemble leader at Santa Sabina College.