It’s out last heats episode of Season 1 and we have two brilliant guest mentors in pianist (and former Season Mentor) Vanessa Sharman and cellist Paul Zabrowarny. Vanessa and Paul will give comments and advice to out two performers. Continue reading to learn more.

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Vanessa Sharman

Vanessa is passionate about creating diverse soundscapes from the piano. She uses experiences from nature and the bird compositions of Oliver Messiaen and Don Kay to inspire improvisations in and around the piano. Performing her first piece with electronics during tertiary studies, Vanessa incorporates reverb and loops to create vast polyphonic soundscapes based on her own performance.

Vanessa studied piano from the age of 5 with celebrated Tasmanian piano teacher Eric Mitchell. During these years, Vanessa gave concerts around Tasmania and New Zealand and won many awards and accolades. She studied at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania under Geoffrey Lancaster and Beryl Sedivka and was awarded a Tasmanian Arts Advisory Council grant to study in Paris with renowned concert pianist Cecile Ousset. Vanessa was awarded University of Wollongong grants to study Olivier Messiaen’s piano works with his widow and concert pianist Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen. Vanessa was invited by Madame Loriod-Messiaen to perform at a Messiaen Music Festival in Paris and went on to lecture on Messiaen’s piano works at various institutions around Australia including presenting at the Australian National Piano Pedagogy Conference in 1999.

Vanessa has performed concerts throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and France and has recorded with Australia’s leading classical music broadcasters. She has a particular interest in Australian contemporary music and has premiered works for solo piano as well as chamber groups, including music of Don Kay, Andrew Schultz, Richard Vella, Houston Dunleavy and Bruce Crossman. In 2010, Vanessa released a CD of the solo piano works of Don Kay, Bird Chants, produced by Belinda Webster on the Tall Poppies label. In 2021 Vanessa released a second CD of Don Kay music titled Blue Sky through Still Trees, also produced by Belinda Webster on the Tall Poppies Label. Vanessa is busy working on a third CD of Australian Composers Lullabies for Solo Piano, with many of the lullabies commissioned especially for the project. Vanessa is also Head of Piano at Wesley College, Melbourne.

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Paul Zabrowarny

Paul Zabrowarny performs frequently as a cellist with Inventi Ensemble and has appeared as a guest musician with Syzygy Ensemble, Quartz String Quartet and the Melbourne Chamber Players. As an orchestral musician, he regularly works with Orchestra Victoria and the Australian Classical and Romantic Orchestra. Paul has performed recitals throughout Australia and Europe and holds a strong interest in contemporary repertoire.

Paul has always been a passionate advocate for musical education and community programs and has designed and implemented programs with diverse communities across Australia. Paul was also the founding cellist of the ACO Inspire String Quartet after being an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

After Paul completed studies at the Elder Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music, he completed a Master of Arts in Music Performance at the Conservatoire de Lausanne, Switzerland specialising in contemporary cello techniques.

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