Marcus Michelsen - violinist

 

Marcus is the concertmaster of the Sydney Youth Orchestra, and being 15 years old, is the youngest musician ever to hold this position, which has previously been held by violinists such as Richard Tognetti (ACO).

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In 2018 Marcus won the Australian Bach Society’s Award for best Bach performance in the Melbourne Recital Hall’s Bach Competition. At the age of 9, Marcus auditioned successfully to participate in the two months long Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) in the USA and has attended this intense classical music camp/festival every year since. There he has been part of the Aspen Festival Orchestra performing alongside musicians from Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonics, New York Philharmonic, featuring soloists such as Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Midori, Augustin Hadelich and Gil Shaham.

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Also at the AMFS, for chamber music, Marcus has worked with members of the Takacs, Pacifica and The American string quartets and for his solo performance training, with his main teacher Prof Paul Kantor and masterclasses with violinist Robert McDuffie.

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While in Sydney, he can often be seen playing solo pieces/chamber music at the Rising Stars (Sydney Conservatorium pre-college program) performance program. Marcus is thrilled when opportunities arise to help inspire/educate young children about music, so he was excited to be part of ABC kids edutainer Jay Laga’aia’s “Jay’s Classic Christmas” project, which took place in the Sydney Opera House leading up to the 2017 Christmas.