Helen Carvolth - violin
Raised in the Lockyer Valley, and Ipswich, Her studies were undertaken with Professor Patricia Pollett and Spiros Rantos, and in 1996 she was awarded The University String Orchestra Prize. Helen completed a Master of Music (Performance) degree in 1999, and has since freelanced with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Qld Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Pops Orchestra and Qld Festival Philharmonic, amongst others She was Concertmaster of Ipswich City Orchestra from 2016 to 2022. Helen is a highly respected educator and ensemble conductor.
Alex McPherson - cello
Alex began studying the cello at the age of five, and his tertiary studies were undertaken at The University of Qld, where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honours. While under the tutelage of Gwyn Roberts, he discovered a strong passion for orchestral and chamber music, leading the UQ Symphony Orchestra in 2005 and forming a string quartet, twice performing in Malaysia and twice winning the Sid Paige Memorial Chamber Music Prize. In 2008 he commenced studies at the University of Tasmania. He has played the Hobart Baroque Ensemble, The Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and in 2014 played in Azerbaijan with the Australian String Virtuosi.
Alys Rayner-McPherson - viola, violin, composer
Alys Rayner is a Brisbane-based composer in love with the music of the spoken voice. She was the 2020 Composer in Residence for The Australian Voices. Growing up in Albury, NSW, Rayner studied violin and viola in Canberra and Brisbane, with special interest in Early Music. A member of Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Youth Orchestra, she turned her focus to composition for a Bachelor of Music at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Her teachers include Michelle Walsh, Gerardo Dirie and Gerard Brophy. In 2019 her work Out of Time was selected in Concept’s call for scores, and she wrote Conscious Arc for the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp ensemble. Her works for The Australian Voices have been performed across Australia including at Woodford Folk Festival, Fremantle Town Hall, and the Festival of Voices in Hobart.
Shannon Luk - viola, lever harp, bass theorbo
Shannon Luk is a diverse instrumentalist, specialising in early instruments including baroque violin, viola, cello, viola da gamba and theorbo. He began his studies on viola with Patricia Pollet, cello with May lee Stocker and double bass with Marian Heckenberg at the Queensland Conservatorium and completed postgraduate studies on viola da gamba with Michael O’Loghlin. Shannon continues to explore music genres having recently begun studies on jazz bass at JMI.
Having worked throughout Australia, China and Europe; Shannon is deeply inspired by the varying tastes in sound and styles across the globe. Shannon has performed in masterclass for Kenneth Weiss at the Mornington Peninsula Music Festival, Johannes Pramsohler at the Festival de Musique du Périgord Noir and played with Ensemble Diderot, Paris; Belsize Baroque, London; Queensland Baroque, Opera Queensland, Canberra Bach Ensemble, toured China extensively, and is a regular fiddler at the Woodford Folk Festival.
Previous Associate Artists
(from left to right/top to bottom)