Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Anna McMichael is an Australian-born violinist who returned in 2010 to live in Australia after 17 years in Holland performing in many of the major European ensembles and orchestras.
In Australia, Anna performed as a concerto soloist with the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She was awarded a Queen's Jubilee scholarship in 1993 to study with Vera Beths at the Royal Conservatorium, the Hague in The Netherlands where she graduated cum laude in 1995. Anna also followed lessons with Alexander Kerr and baroque violin with Elizabeth Wallfisch. As well as her performance studies, Anna has a Master’s Degree in Historical Musicology from King’s College, London and a Doctoral thesis from Sydney Conservatorium of music (2019).
While living in Europe and working as a freelance musician, Anna has been invited to lead many ensembles, such as ASKO Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Maarten Altena Ensemble (Ensemble MAE), Doelen Ensemble, Insomnio, Zephyr String Quartet, and performed with others such as guest assistant leader and first violinist of Amsterdam Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ives Ensemble, Schoenberg Ensemble and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Anna has been concertmaster of a Netherlands Opera production and as both Assistant Concertmaster and Principle Second of the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra (Holland Symfonia). She has also played in England with the London Sinfonietta, lead violin of Ensemble Remix in Portugal and in Germany with the Ensemble Modern and lead violin of MusikFabrik.
Anna has performed with ensembles at Music Festivals in Paris, New York, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin, Geneva, Graz, Lisbon, Huddersfield, London, Rome, Torino, Venice, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Warsaw, Krakow, Barcelona, Strasbourg and Edinburgh.
Anna was guest concertmaster of Orchestra Victoria (Opera and Ballet Orchestra of Melbourne) in 2008 for the Australian Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”. Anna also has been guest assistant leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and leader of one of their contemporary music programs.
In 1999, Anna was awarded the Special Violin Prize of the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition held in Europe.
As a teacher Anna has taught privately in the Netherlands, London and Australia and given solo and chamber music masterclasses and tutored at Conservatoriums in the Hague, Amsterdam, Huddersfield, Birmingham, Utrecht, Budapest, Brisbane, Canberra and at ANAM in Melbourne. Anna has tutored the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Youth Music Orchestra’s Summer School, ANU School of Music’s Orchestra, Canberra and Sydney Youth Orchestras.
Anna has been a member and soloist with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster with the Canberra Symphony, Associate Concertmaster with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, invited to the Australian World Orchestra (2011-18). She has been guest artist and tutor at the ANU School of Music’s Early Music Week, performed and recorded a number of times with Sydney’s Ensemble Offspring, principle second with Pinchgut Opera, invited to Hobart Baroque Festival in 2013 and 2014, Ludovico’s Band, Omega Ensemble and has been guest artist/soloist and leader of orchestral concerts at the Canberra International Music Festival from 2010-2017. Anna is a core member of the early music group Ironwood and performs regularly with them.
Together with the pianist, Daniel de Borah, she has been featured on Sunday Live ABCfm and the Best of Sunday Live, performed throughout Australia and recorded a cd of transcriptions on the Tall Poppies label.
Anna was also a guest artist at the 2012 Port Fairy Music Festival and 2013 Mona Foma Festival in Tasmania with her Lullabies music and video performance together with the pianist, Tamara Anna Cislowska which is also recorded for the Tall Poppies Label, was cd of the week on ABC classic fm and performed at Duneira and the Peninsula Music Festival in 2013.
With composer, Damian Barbeler, Anna has performed in "Sound Bubble", at Vivid and Mona Foma 2018.
A solo violin release in 2014 on the Dutch label, Unsounds, received 4 stars in Limelight magazine.
Anna has been Co-Artistic Direcotr of the Tyalgum Music Festival (2014-2019).
Education/Academic qualification
Music, Doctor of Musical Arts, University of Sydney
Award Date: 6 May 2019
Historical Musicology, Masters, King's College London
Violin, Graduate certificate, Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag
violin, Bachelor Music, University of Adelaide
External positions
Co-artistic Director Tyalgum Music Festival
2014 → 2019
Research area keywords
- Music Performance
- Music - 19th Century
- early music, experimental music, improvisation, artistic research, practice-based research
- Musicology
- Musical Curation
Network
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Climate Notes: national tour of Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Tasmania
9/01/22 → 20/09/23
Project: Research
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Commission "Is this How You Feel?" - Milliken, van Reyk, Barbeler, Blinkhorn
26/07/20 → 30/04/21
Project: Research
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Visiting Eucalyptus: The Bloodwood Series
Devenish, L., McMichael, A., Sheldon, J., Barbeler, D. & Moore, K., 2022Research output: Non-textual form › Composition › Research
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Classical musicians in Australia during the 1850s Gold Rush: the colonial tour of Miska Hauser, virtuoso violinist
McMichael, A. & Healy, J., 2021, In: Musicology Australia. 43, 1-2, p. 40-60 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Violin effects from the early nineteenth century: the extended techniques of Pierre Baillot
McMichael, A., Dec 2021, In: Nineteenth-Century Music Review. 18, 3, p. 565-586 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Open Polar Sea, Solo violin elegy for polar ice
McMichael, A., Blinkhorn, D., Barbeler, D. & Fuhler, C., 2020Research output: Non-textual form › Recorded/ Rendered Performance › Research
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Activating a village through community music-making
McMichael, A. & Tomlinson, V., 2019Research output: Non-textual form › Music Performance › Research
Prizes
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Arts Faculty Teaching Award for Innovation in Learning and Teaching
McMichael, Anna (Recipient), 23 Sep 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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The Bloodwood Series, concert
Anna McMichael (Contributor), Louise Devenish (Contributor) & Jane Sheldon (Contributor)
15 Aug 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Performance/exhibition
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Pinchgut Opera, Medee by Charpentier
Anna McMichael (Contributor)
1 Dec 2022 → 8 Dec 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Performance/exhibition
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Women of the Pieta, Pinchgut Opera, concerts Melbourne and Sydney
Anna McMichael (Contributor)
8 Sep 2022 → 16 Sep 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Performance/exhibition
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Australian Youth Orchestra tutoring and mentoring
Anna McMichael (Organiser)
26 Sep 2022 → 30 Sep 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Backstage Music, performance
Anna McMichael (Contributor)
6 Nov 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Performance/exhibition
Press/Media
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Internationally experienced violinist Anna McMichael
24/02/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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If that diamond ring turns brass. Compilation of lullabies.
28/01/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Review
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Reflections on 2019 Tyalgum Music Festival
10/09/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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