Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam Leads Master Classes at ANAM Today

In addition to their performances at Hamer Hall on 26 and 27 November, members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam will lead timpani and flute master classes at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) at 10:00am, today, 27 November 2013.

Excluding their performances, these classes are the only public appearances members of the Orchestra will make during their stay in Melbourne. The classes will be led by Emily Beynon (Principal Flute) and Nick Woud (Principal Timpanist).

Born in the UK in 1969, Emily Beynon studied at the Royal Academy of Music with William Bennett and with Alain Marion in Paris. Before joining the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1995, she was a member of the Glyndebourne Touring Opera and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

In addition to playing in the orchestra, one of Beynon's passions is teaching. She taught at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague for eleven years, at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam for two years and at the Netherlands Flute Academy (Neflac), which she founded (with SuzAnne Wolff), since 2009. Neflac organises courses and concerts for young talented Dutch flautists and young international professionals, where inspiration and motivation are at least as important as supporting and developing participants' flute-playing.

Nick Woud began his percussion studies at the age of eight at the Zaandam Music School. Playing in local drum and wind bands, he was able to fulfil his dream of playing the timpani starting at the age of twelve. While at school, he became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and was quickly appointed timpanist.

In 2003, after being a member of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra for twenty-five years, Woud won the RCO timpani auditions and was appointed principal timpanist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Woud has taught at the conservatories in Hilversum and Utrecht and returned to his alma mater, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, to teach timpani in 1996. In addition to these activities, he serves as director of studies with the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands, writes books on timpani, composes and makes timpani sticks.

The RCO will perform works that have played an important role in its history. Its first program will feature Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, composed in 1888, the year the orchestra was founded. The second program comprises Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with soloist Yefim Bronfman, widely acclaimed as one of the most talented virtuoso pianists performing today, and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, a work the composer dedicated to the RCO.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra comprises 120 players hailing from over 20 countries, including former Australian Chamber Orchestra violinist Jane Piper who has been with the orchestra since 2011

Flute and timpani master classes by Emily Beynon (Principal Flute) and Nick Woud (Principal Timpanist) at ANAM at 10:00am Wednesday 27 November 2013 at South Melbourne Town Hall, 210 Bank St, South Melbourne VIC. Cost: $5 (tickets at the door) For bookings and further information on the master classes: visit www.anam.com.au.

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall

Concert 1 - 8pm Tuesday 26 November

Wagenaar Ouverture De getemde feeks (The Taming of the Shrew) (1909)

Stravinsky The Firebird:Suite (1919)

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op.64

Concert 2 - 8pm Wednesday 27 November, 2013

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3

(Soloist Yefim Bronfman)

Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben

(Note: Strauss dedicated this work to the RCO)

The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is dedicated to the artistic and professional development of the country's most exceptional young musicians. ANAM's vision is to develop the country's future music leaders, distinguished by their artistic skill, imagination, courage, and by their contribution to a vibrant Australian music culture.

The only institute of its kind in Australia and one of the few in the world, ANAM is renowned for its innovation, energy and adventurous programming and is committed to pushing the boundaries of how classical music is presented and performed.

ANAM's students take part in an intensive yearlong course of one-on-one lessons, masterclasses and public performances. The 2014 cohort will consist of 70 students from across Australia and New Zealand.

For more information visit artscentremelbourne.com.au or phone 1300 182 183. Become a fan of Arts Centre Melbourne on Facebook or follow @artscentremelb on Twitter.

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