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Meet the eight outstanding young musicians who will spend the year under the guidance of our education program as the 2021 Next Gen Young Artists.
Under the guidance of the Southern Cross Soloists, the Next Gen Artists are a collective of young musicians on the cusp of their professional careers in Australia. With few formal pathways to take music graduates to their professional careers, the SXS aim to share our collective expertise with these young artists across the year, providing performance opportunities, helping to raise their local profile and gain vital skills needed as a portfolio musician.
Introducing the 2021 Southern Cross Soloists Next Gen Young Artists
Amelia Cherry, double bass
Amelia is in her third year studying a Bachelor of Music Performance in Double Bass Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Phoebe Russell. Amelia recently performed the Bottesini Duo Concertante for Violin and Double Bass with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.
Drew Gilchrist, clarinet
Drew is currently studying a Bachelor of Music Performance in Clarinet with Paul Dean at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Drew performed as associate artist with SXS in our February QPAC concert ‘Souvenirs de Aranjuez’. Recently Drew performed Paul Dean’s Clarinet Concerto with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.
Erna Lai, cello
Erna has been a member of the Queensland Youth Symphony since 2015. In 2019 she was granted the Howard and Gladys Sleath scholarship for best string audition at the University of Queensland where she is currently in her third year studying a Bachelor of Music with Patrick Murphy.
Francis Atkins, piano
Now in his second year as a Next Gen artist, Francis is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Music majoring in Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium, studying piano with Natasha Vlassenko. In 2019, Francis gave his debut performance as concerto soloist, performing with the Ipswich City Symphony to an enthusiastic reception.
Julia Hill, violin
Now in her second year as a Next Gen artist, Julia is a 4th year Bachelor of Music candidate and is also studying a Diploma of Languages in Japanese in preparation for overseas study on a New Colombo Plan Scholarship. She is first violinist with the Jacaranda String Quartet.
Jamie Dodd, bassoon
Jamie is continuing a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Nicole Tait after a year at the Eastman School Of Music, University of Rochester (USA). Before migrating to the United States he was principal Bassoon of the Queensland Youth Symphony. He has performed as casual bassoonist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble Q.
Kyle Brady, viola
Kyle is a recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music Performance in viola from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. He is a member of the Jacaranda String Quartet.
Jordon He, composer
In 2020, he completed his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Jordon focuses on creating compositions from the point of view of a performer. As an Australian with Chinese heritage, he incorporates musical elements from both the East and the West into his compositions. Jordon’s works have been performed at the Sydney Opera House, Joseph Joachim Konzertsaal (Berlin) and Musiikkitalo (Helsinki).