Valerie Lang

Valerie Lang is an experienced musician with a diverse musical background. As an undergraduate, she specialized in piano and piano pedagogy at the UWA School of Music where she was awarded a UWA prize for Chamber music in her final year of studies. Valerie went on to complete a Master of Music Education degree and a Graduate Diploma in Music Practitioner Studies at UWA.

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Further piano performance experiences include her selection to attend Master classes by the Bulgarian pianist Nicolai Evrov in Sydney and then studying fortepiano performance and 18th Century performance practices with Bart Van Oort in The Netherlands, and with Geoffrey Lancaster in Perth. 

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In the early years of her career Valerie was a piano tutor at UWA, and a piano and theory examiner for the AMEB. Valerie has also been an ATAR piano panel member and has adjudicated at various piano festivals and eisteddfods in Perth. She maintained her performance work through accompanying students and performing with a group of early keyboard specialists.

 

 

After completing her Diploma of Education (Music) at ECU in the early 2000s, Valerie was as a music specialist at Perth College (K – 12) before becoming the Academic Development Officer at the AMEB for four years. Currently, Valerie has a successful piano studio, mentors new and experienced piano teachers and continues to examine and adjudicate at festivals. She has presented workshops and papers at several piano and music education conferences, most recently the Western Australian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Perth in July, 2025.

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She has also presented Professional Learning sessions for piano teachers through WAMTA and for AMEB examiners through the AMEB. 

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As a piano teacher Valerie aims to develop essential musical and technical skills in her students to enable them to connect the expressive needs of the music with the physical and technical means required to produce the desired sounds. 

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Vanessa O'Connor

Concert pianist, academic, and piano teacher, Vanessa O’Connor is a passionate musical artist and educator. As a soloist, Vanessa regularly performs the  standard concert repertoire while also exploring works by Australian and Italian composers, and uncovering lesser known repertoire for the piano. Most recently, she has been performing in Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe while also lecturing as a Professor in Piano and English at Modena and Reggio Emilia Conservatories in Italy.

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Vanessa enjoys collaborating with other artists and has performed with both opera singers, and instrumentalists as well as in chamber music formations. She has formed two duo partnerships with pianists Giuseppe Modugno and Mariangela Ciuffreda to perform the piano 4 hands repertoire and works for two pianos.

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Vanessa is a lecturer of both Piano and English (for musicians) at the Modena Conservatory and lecturer of English at the Reggio Emilia Conservatory and teaches piano privately at her studio in Perth, Western Australia. When she lived in Italy full -time, she held the position of Head of Piano in the Modena Conservatory Junior School.

Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Melba Conservatorium in Melbourne where she studied with Dr.Elyane Laussade, a Masters degree of piano from the Modena Conservatory where she studied with Prof. Giuseppe Modugno and a Master of Teaching from the University of Tasmania. Vanessa attended post graduate studies at the ‘C.U.B.E.C’ in Modena studying to be an opera repetiteur with Paola Molinari and Mirella Freni.

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Having studied and performed in both Australia and Italy has given Vanessa a unique and diverse cultural and professional experience which is both valuable and rare. It has also given her access to Masterclasses from acclaimed artists in both countries such as Elyane Laussade, Katherine Day, Sonia Lifschitz, Giuseppe Modugno, Bruno Canino, Antonio Ballista, Alberto Miodini, Oleg Poliansky, Matteo Napoli, Zsuzsanna CSászár, Jana Kovar, and Robert Curry.

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Vanessa is the founder of ‘Maestria Productions’, a Perth based arts management company. Dividing her time between Australia and Italy,  Vanessa continues to pursue her passion for performing, adjudicating, and teaching while also indulging other interests such as learning languages,  the arts and culture.

Grace Ah-Quee

Sarah Ryan is a very passionate and enthusiastic violinist and teacher. She has over 30 years of experience as both a performer and educator. Sarah graduated from WAAPA in 1993 with a Bachelor of Music Performance. The following year, she successfully auditioned for a position in the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She has now performed for over 3 decades as a professional violinist in the WA Symphony Orchestra, QLD Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Perth Pops and QLD Pops, as well as being concertmaster of the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra.

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She has taught in many top prestigious schools both here and in QLD, as well as running her own private studio from home. Currently, she is an AMEB examiner, a tutor for Wayachamp, and also teaches at the UWA Junior School of Music.

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Teresa Tan

Teresa Tan, Music Director of the Chung Wah Chinese Orchestra, is a conductor, concert producer, guzheng musician, piano accompanist, and pharmacist. Born in Hong Kong, she completed high school in Canada and graduated from Curtin University in Western Australia. She has been playing the guzheng for over 40 years and has more than 20 years of teaching experience. She has participated in numerous music festivals and cultural performances. Her passion for “broadening cultural exchanges and preserving musical heritage” has been her driving motivation for many years. Since 2020, she has been dedicated to directing and organising the annual WA Chinese Guzheng Festival and WA Festival of Chinese Music, which brings together over 200 performers and staff.

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Teresa has taught guzheng at Methodist Ladies’ College, Kennedy Baptist College, and Chung Wah Chinese School Leeming. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Secretary General of the HuaXing Arts Group, a committee member of the Australian Chinese Musicians Association, WA Guzheng Ensemble, and Chung Wah Choir. Additionally, she is a member of the Chinese Culture and Artists Association of WA and Hui Huang Cantonese Opera Society, and a former member of the Yi Sheng Choir and Miracle Band.

Geoffrey Bourgault du Coudray

Geoffrey Bourgault du Coudray grew up in WA, attending Churchlands SHS and then going on to study clarinet at the Conservatorium of Music and at UWA's School of Music. He spent the following 8 years performing with various ensembles, including the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), and teaching the clarinet at a number of schools.

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In 2003 Geoffrey took up the position of Associate Principal clarinet/ E flat clarinet with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO), and two years later moved to the principal chair. During his period playing for the ASO, he also taught clarinet at the Elder School of Music, at the University of Adelaide and played as guest principal clarinet with The Queensland Orchestra and The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. 

 

In 2012 Geoffrey moved to Bridgetown with his wife Sally Boud and son Louis, and in 2013 he and Sally took over the direction of the Blackwood River Chamber Festival.

Since then his engagements have included performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the WA Philharmonic Orchestra and WASO, playing the Bruch double concerto with Sally Boud and the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra, and chamber music performances with the Darlington Ensemble.

Lisa Harper-Brown​

British born, Lisa Harper-Brown, grew up and studied in Perth and recently returned home after living and working overseas for 23 years. The recipient of many prizes in the fields of performing and academia, she successfully divides her time between her two great passions: Performing and Teaching. As a performing artist, Lisa has appeared throughout Australia, New Zealand and Germany, as well as Italy, Spain, Netherlands and the UK. She possesses a vast concert repertoire, and is recognised for her ability to cross genres and styles. Most recently, Lisa made her debut with Freeze Frame Opera, in performances of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Having taught for over 35 years across three continents in a huge variety of educational settings, Lisa’s extensive ‘on-stage’ experience, technical understanding and knowledge of languages, make her a highly sought-after Voice Teacher, Choral Trainer, Conductor, and Adjudicator. 

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She is very proud to be sharing her knowledge and experience and providing support for those with a passion to explore their voice and its potential.