String Quartets
SchuberT, Haydn & Justin Williams Opus 1
Sunday May 2nd Kangaroo Valley Hall at 2 pm
Arts in the Valley presents a distinguished quartet drawn largely from SSO players offering you a set of String Quartets as well as the opportunity to hear one of Violist Justin Williams’ compositions.
We heard Andrew Haveron and Umberto Clerici from this group play at the last Festival in 2019; they were wonderful players, and equally outstanding at engaging with their audience.
We should expect the same high quality in this concert of Schubert, Haydn and Justin Williams Opus 1.
Tickets are $70 or purchase weekend Saturday & Sunday concert ticket for $125
Meet the players
Andrew Haveron (violin)
Andrew Haveron joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Co-Concertmaster in 2013, arriving in Sydney with a reputation as one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation. With his unrivalled versatility, he is highly respected as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster.
As a soloist, he has played concertos with conductors such as Colin Davis, Roger Norrington, Jiří Bělohlávek, Stanisław Skrowaczewski and John Wilson, as well as David Robertson, performing a broad range of well-known and less familiar repertoire with many of the UK's finest orchestras.
As first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Brodsky Quartet (1999-2007), his work included collaborations with artists ranging from Anne-Sofie von Otter and Alexander Baillie to iconic crossover work with Elvis Costello, Björk, Paul McCartney and Sting. He recorded more than 15 albums with the quartet, many of which won awards such as Diapason d'or and Choc du Monde de la Musique. He has also appeared with numerous other chamber groups, such as the Nash and Hebrides ensembles, the Logos Chamber Group, Kathy Selby, and the Omega Ensemble.
Andrew Haveron is in great demand as a concertmaster and director, and has worked with all the major symphony orchestras in the UK and many others around the world. In 2007 he became concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and in 2012 he joined the Philharmonia Orchestra. He also led the World Orchestra for Peace at the request of Valery Gergiev, and he has been the leader of the John Wilson Orchestra since its inception.
Born in London in 1975, Andrew Haveron studied at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music and in 1996 was the highest British prize winner at the Paganini Competition for the past 50 years. In 2004 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent for his services to music.
Lerida Delbridge (violin)
Violinist Lerida Delbridge began learning the violin at the age of three and at fifteen, commenced her undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, during which time she pursued further study in The Netherlands and in Switzerland at the International Menuhin Music Academy. She was the first violinist and string player awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Melbourne.
In 2003, Lerida co-founded the Tinalley String Quartet, winners of the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition and the 2005 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition. Together with Tinalley, Lerida has performed in the world’s most renowned concert halls, including Vienna’s Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Berlin Konzerthaus. The Quartet appears regularly at Australia’s premier chamber music festivals and has released several critically acclaimed recordings with DECCA Classics Australia and ABC Classics. In its formative years, the Tinalley Quartet was mentored by such esteemed artists as the Takacs, St Lawrence, Keller, Brentano and Tokyo Quartets at various international institutions including the Banff Centre for the Arts and Yale and Stanford Universities.
Outside of the Tinalley Quartet, Lerida performs as Assistant Concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony, a position she has held since 2013. She has also appeared as a guest Principal with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonic and Orchestra Victoria. In 2015, Lerida was honoured to perform as Associate Concertmaster in the 2015 Season of the Australian World Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.
Originally from the rural town of Kangaroo Ground, just outside of Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Lerida resides in Sydney with her husband, violist and composer Justin Williams and a thoroughly spoilt Golden Retriever. Lerida plays on a 1793 Joseph and Antonius Gagliano violin, a gift from her father.
Umberto Clerici (cello)
With a career spanning more than 20 years as a gifted cello soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and now emerging conductor, Umberto Clerici is swiftly gaining a reputation as an artist with a diverse and multifaceted career.
Umberto began his cello studies with the Suzuki method at the age of five, later continuing with Mario Brunello, David Géringas and Julius Berger. Umberto received several international prizes including the Janigro Competition in Zagreb, the Rostropovich in Paris and, in 2011, the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow making him only the second Italian cellist ever being honoured in the history of the prize, after Mario Brunello.
As a cello soloist, Umberto debuted at the age of 17 performing Haydn’s D Major cello concerto in Japan, and has since appeared with an array of renowned orchestras internationally including the Philarmonia Wien, St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic, Russian State Orchestra of Moscow, "I Pomeriggi Musicali” (Milan) and Zagreb Philharmonic. In 2003 he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival and in 2012 he performed Tchaikovsky's “Rococo variations” conducted by Valery Gergiev. Umberto has performed on the stages of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Musicverein, the great Shostakovich Hall of St Petersburg and Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.
In 2014 Umberto was appointed as the Principal Cello of the Sydney Symphony after four years as Principal Cellist of the Teatro Regio of Turin. Umberto has continued his solo appearances with orchestras in Australia including the Sydney Symphony with an interdisciplinary project centred on Strauss' Don Quixote (2017) and the Brahms’ Double Concerto (2018); Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Youth Orchestra.
As a conductor, Umberto made his debut in 2018 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. He has conducted the Izmir and Istanbul State Orchestras, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Orchestra d’Aosta and future highlights in Australia will include a series of concerts and tours with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, including Mahler 4th Symphony, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony and the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Umberto also enjoys his position as the Artistic Director of the Sydney Youth Orchestra Chamber Ensemble. Umberto plays a 1722 Matteo Goffriller and a 1758 Carlo Antonio Testore.
Justin Williams (viola)
Justin Williams holds the position of Assistant Principal Viola with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and is the founding violist of the Tinalley String Quartet (TSQ). Justin has performed as Principal Viola with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (AOBO), Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Australia ProArte. Between 2006 and 2015 he was a core player of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and he is currently a member of the Australian
World Orchestra. As a member of Tinalley String Quartet, Justin shared in the experience of winning the 2005 Australian Chamber Music Competition and the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition. He has toured
extensively throughout Australia, Europe and North America, and has enjoyed performing in many of Europe’s renowned concert halls, including Vienna’s Musikverein; Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Berlin’s Konzerthaus; the Alte Oper in Frankfurt; Musee d’Orsay, Paris. With TSQ he has performed in many of Australia’s major festivals and has released several recordings with Move Records, Decca Australia and ABC Classic. He has also had the pleasure of performing with Australia Ensemble, Australian String Quartet and the Muir String Quartet.
A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Justin holds a Bachelor of Music with Honours and a Master
of Music Performance under the tutelage of William Hennessy, Caroline Henbest and Brett Dean. As a
member of TSQ, he has had the privilege of studying with many of the world’s pre-eminent chamber
musicians, including members of the original ASQ, and members of St Lawrence; Tokyo; Emerson;
Schoenberg; Keller; and Takacs quartets.
At present, Justin spends more of his time focused on composing, and in 2020 he released his
‘Movement for String Quartet’. He is currently working on a piece for symphony orchestra.