From 2001-2016, Keith Crellin OAM held the positions of Head of the String Department and Conductor-in-Residence at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music. Since May 2016 he has concentrated on his role as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra which he took up in 2003, as well as further pursuing performing, conducting and composing.
The first violist to win the ABC Young Performers Award in 1972, Keith quickly established himself as one of Australia’s leading soloists and chamber music players. He was appointed Lecturer in Viola and Chamber Music at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, Director and Principal Conductor of the Conservatorium Orchestra and Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra.
In 1985, Keith became a founding member of the Australian String Quartet, based in Adelaide. He held the position for sixteen years, performing with the ASQ in many countries and making numerous recordings. As well, Keith has been conductor of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Young Symphonists and tutor in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Young Australian Concert Artists program on many occasions. He has attended numerous National Music Camps as tutor and conductor and now divides his time between teaching, performing and conducting.
Keith was awarded the Order of Australia medal for his contribution to music and education in 2008.
Born in Adelaide, Kate Mawson graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Jazz) from the Elder Conservatorium of Music (University of Adelaide) in 2004. She gained her education qualifications (Graduate Diploma of Education) from Monash University in Melbourne in 2006.
Kate is a conductor, secondary school teacher of music, arranger, and instrumentalist of over 20 years’ experience. She held the positions of Coordinator of Music (Curriculum) and Coordinator of Bands and Ensembles at Seymour College and currently works for the Department for Education, delivering wind programs to schools in the Southern Flinders Ranges. She has broad experience as musical director in theatre, conducting numerous secondary school productions over the past two decades.
Kate is the conductor of Symphonic Winds (Adelaide Youth Orchestras) and has appeared as guest conductor at the SA State Music Camp in 2021 and 2022.
Born in London, Martin Butler began learning to play violin at the age of 8. At 11, he received a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music. After leaving the GSM, he studied music composition at Surrey University under Reginald Smith-Brindle and Robin Maconie, graduating with First Class Honours and a Master’s Degree. After graduation, Martin played keyboards in a rock band and worked as a violin teacher for the Inner London Education Authority.
In 1981, Martin moved to Portugal, where he was a violinist in the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Lisbon. During his eight years in Portugal, Martin pursued numerous musical interests, including arranging music for various ensembles and playing jazz violin. He was also an assistant teacher with Portugal’s Tibor Varga Academy.
After relocating to Australia, Martin assumed the role of conductor for the Burnside Symphony Orchestra (one of Adelaide’s community orchestras), a position he held for more than twelve years. Locally, he has also conducted at State Music Camp, workshops for the Australian String Teachers’ Association, Suzuki music camps, and many other schools around Adelaide. Martin has conducted his own arrangements for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Proms concerts, and regularly gives pre-concert talks for the ASO Masters concert series.
Martin is the director of the Junior Strings (a part of Adelaide Youth Orchestras), which he founded in 2001 following an invitation to form a string training ensemble from the founding director, Janis Laurs. In addition, Martin is Head of Strings at Concordia College.
Martin was awarded the Order of Australia in 2018, for his contribution to music and education.
Minas Berberyan was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. At the age of 9 he was accepted to the Special Music School in Sofia, where he studied with Joanna Strateva, later continuing his studies at the Bulgarian National Academy of Music, studying under Prof. Josef Radionov.
Minas gained his first professional experience whilst still a student working as a freelance player with both the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bulgarian Radio and Television Orchestra. Soon after graduating, Minas moved to South Africa where he joined the National Chamber Orchestra in the position of Concertmaster. During that period he became actively involved in education and outreach, particularly among disadvantaged children in South Africa.
In 1994 he joined the National Symphony Orchestra of the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Johannesburg as Assistant Concertmaster. He became a regular performer in the local music scene both as soloist and chamber musician and recorded extensively for broadcasting purposes as well as commercial recordings.
Minas taught violin and viola and directed several ensembles including the Johannesburg College of Education, The Alliance Française of Johannesburg, St John’s College and the National school of the Arts.
Towards the end of 2001, Minas together with his wife Erna [also a violinist] decided to move to Australia where he gained a position with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He acted as Co-Concertmaster during the 2003-2004 season including the complete Wagner Ring Cycle.
Jessica Manning is a dedicated Music Director, Conductor, and Music Educator currently engaged in Education and Community Programming at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
She holds a Masters in Conducting from the Royal Danish Academy of Music and a Bachelor of Music Performance (Flute/Piccolo) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales.
Jessica has been teaching for over 10 years and has worked across Australia, the UK, and Europe, sharing her passion for music and nurturing the talents of aspiring musicians and performers.
Outside of her passion and work in music education Jessica has also worked as a musical director and conductor for Musical Theatre and Opera, including assisting at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.
Sami Butler joined the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2022 as Associate Principal Percussion/Timpani, having previously worked with them as a guest musician since 2015. Prior to his appointment at the ASO, he was the Percussion Fellow twice in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2017 and 2018, and completed his Bachelors and Honours degrees at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Amanda Grigg. Sami has also worked with the Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
Sami is the director of the Adelaide Youth Orchestras Percussion Ensemble, a group he is extremely proud of and who continue to inspire him. He also enjoys teaching percussion and drum kit privately. As a soloist, 2023 marked Sami’s concerto debut, performing Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto with the Adelaide Wind Orchestra and Bryan Griffiths, where his performance was noted for its ‘sublime musicality’ and his cadenza reviewed as ‘totally absorbing’.
Born in Adelaide, Sami began his lifelong involvement in music through his parents who were both musicians of the ASO string section. After bringing shame to his hapless family as a young violinist who detested practising, he then added insult to injury by transitioning to percussion at age ten and has never looked back since. Now residing in Fulham Gardens just down the road from where he grew up, Sami is a self-confessed ‘cricket nuffy’ who encourages anyone to engage him in conversation about Ricky Ponting’s pull shot.
Sami is supported by Zildjian cymbals and Vic Firth sticks.
