Janet Davies
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Janet Davies studied violin, piano and harpsichord at Sydney Conservatorium, where her violin teachers were Robert Pikler and Dorel Tincu. As a professional violinist she was a core member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Janet has had various roles at Sydney Conservatorium over several decades, including teaching violin, chamber music and orchestral studies, developing tertiary violin pedagogy curricula, and directing the Preparatory Division (now Rising Stars). Her students have been prize-winners in numerous competitions, including Il Piccolo Violino Magico, National Youth Concerto Competition, Kendall, Animato and Sydney Eisteddfod Doctor’s Orchestra. Many have successfully auditioned for colleges such as Juilliard and Royal College of Music, and have achieved prominent positions in Australian and international orchestras and universities. Musicians she has worked with include Heather Cottrell (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks), Emily Long and Rebecca Gill (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), James Wannan (Australian Piano Quartet), Robin Wilson (Australian National Academy, Ironwood), and the Orava String Quartet (Tony Berg Prize and Audience Prize, Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition, 2013).
Janet has lectured extensively in violin at various universities including Melbourne, Monash and Griffith. In private practice, she teaches violin students of all ages and works with professional players on concert and audition preparation, technique modification and injury rehabilitation. Her technical method is based on the Russian (Yankelevich) and American (Galamian) schools. She is the recipient of several awards, including a Conservatorium Travel Grant and Churchill Fellowship, which facilitated intensive observation of leading international violin teachers: Dorothy Delay, Igor Ozim, Natasha Boyarsky, Simon Fischer, Boris Kuschnir, Ana Chumachenco, Mihaela Martin, Yair Kless, Eyal Kless and Hagai Shaham.
In 1985 Janet completed a three-year teacher training in Alexander Technique (AT), a well-established method for developing optimal coordination, freedom of movement, and kinaesthetic sensitivity. She has since specialised in the application of AT to musical performance, working with prominent players of all instrument groups. Janet embeds AT principles into every aspect of her violin teaching, ensuring that both long and short-term goals are achieved in a healthful manner. She is also particularly interested in how the application of AT facilitates the expression and communication of emotion, psychological states and gesture during performance.
In 2009, as a consultant to Sydney University’s Sound Practice Posture Trial, Janet designed a series of AT classes for players in Australia’s major orchestras. In 2014 this curriculum was used for a study with Conservatorium tertiary students, published in the International Journal of Music Education and the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy.