April 2012 - Queensland Symphony Orchestra

DAVID LALE, CELLO
Born in 1962 David began studying the cello
at the age of five.
By the age of 12 he was on a junior
scholarship to the Royal College of
Music. Later he won an Associated Board
scholarship to study at the Royal Academy
of Music under Douglas Cummings. Further
study was undertaken with Thomas Igloi and
Karina Georgian.
In 1984 David joined the BBC Symphony
Orchestra working under chief conductor
Sir John Pritchard and other renowned
conductors as Gennadi Rodchezvensky,
Pierre Boulez and Riccardo Muti.
Leaving to work with the London Symphony
Orchestra and world class conductors
Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel and Georg
Solti, David also worked with the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and toured as soloist
with the London Virtuosi chamber orchestra.
In 1990 David immigrated to Australia and
became the Principal Cello of the Queensland
Symphony Orchestra. During his time here,
he has performed many concertos with the
orchestra and broadcast numerous recitals
and performances on ABC Classic FM and
4MBS. He has also developed a reputation
as a leading cello teacher on the staff at
both the University of Queensland and the
Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
The Board of the Royal Academy of Music
acknowledged David’s successful career
and contribution to the music profession
by electing him an Honourary Associate in
1997.
David continues to work as Principal Cello
with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
YOKO OKAYASU, VIOLA
Born in Tokyo, Ms. Okayasu began her
professional training on violin under Yuri
Vladimir Ovcharek at the St. Petersburg
Conservatory (Russia), and continued
with Camilla Wicks at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music (USA). As a violinist,
she earned her Masters in Chamber Music
under the direction of Mark Sokol and Ian
Swenson, and studied viola with Jodi Levitz.
She also holds a Bachelor of Engineering in
Architecture from the Tokyo University of
Science and worked for the design firm Hisao
Koyama Atelier in Tokyo.
She has served a principal violist of the
Filharmonica Arturo Toscanii (Parma, Italy),
the Danish Radio Sinfonietta (Copenhagen,
Denmark and the Australian Opera and Ballet
Orchestra (Sydney) and has also worked
as a member of the San Diego Symphony
(California, USA). She currently holds the
position with the Queensland Symphony
Orchestra.
As a devoted chamber musician, she has
appeared with the Satori Quartet (Colorado,
USA), ADORNO Ensemble (San Francisco,
USA), Sound of Lyons (Colorado, USA),
Kurilpa Quartet (Brisbane), Lunaire Collective
(Brisbane) and as a guest leader with the
Camerata of St. John’s.
BENJAMIN NORTHEY, CONDUCTOR
Leading Australian conductor Benjamin
Northey is one of Australia’s brightest
and most versatile musical stars. Northey
studied conducting with John Hopkins at the
University of Melbourne, graduating in 1999
with first class honours in performance,
followed by a Master of Music degree in
conducting. In 2001, under the Symphony
Australia Conductor Development Program,
he studied intensively with Finnish maestro
Jorma Panula.
In 2002, Northey was the highest placed
applicant to the prestigious Sibelius Academy
Orchestral Conducting Course in Helsinki,
Finland where he studied for three years
with Leif Segerstam and Atso Almila. In
2003, Northey was awarded the 2003
Brian Stacey Memorial Trust Award under
patron Sir Charles Mackerras. His 2005
diploma concert with the Sibelius Academy
Symphony Orchestra included the European
Premiere of Brett Dean’s Ampitheatre and
was awarded the international jury’s highest
possible mark. He completed his tertiary
studies in 2006 as a guest student in Jorma
Panula’s class at the Stockholm Royal College
of Music in Sweden.
28 2012 | QSO APRIL PROGRAM 2012 | QSO APRIL PROGRAM 29