James Wannan
Resume
Violist James Wannan is a founder of the Australia Piano Quartet (APQ), Co-Artistic Director of the Ensemble in Residence at the University of Technology Sydney, a member of Southern Cross Soloists and an Artistic Associate of Sydney Chamber Opera. He teaches chamber music at the Sydney Conservatorium’s Rising Star program and has been a guest teacher at the Australian National Academy of Music.
He is currently based in Sydney, having previously studied viola with Alice Waten and Caroline Henbest in Melbourne, Janet Davies in Sydney and viola d’amore in Vienna with Marianne Rônez. He explores his passion for music from ancient to contemporary on a number of instruments.
2020 will see James work extensively with APQ, Sydney Chamber Opera and Southern Cross Soloists. He will also appear as a viola soloist at the Canberra International Music Festival and Bangalow Music Festival. In July he will perform a newly commissioned chamber version of ‘Harold in Italy’ with Southern Cross Soloists.
James enjoys exploring the possibilities of other instruments: in 2017 he worked as a guest violinist in the Flinders Quartet, in the 2016 Melbourne Festival he performed the violin solo in Elliott Gyger’s opera ‘Fly Away Peter’ and at the Sydney Festival he played the Oud solos in Dusapin’s opera ‘Passion’. He has worked, for many years, with Winsome Evan in the Renaissance Players, specialising in the vielle and rebec.
As a viola d’amore soloist he has championed the full diversity of its repertoire from Ariosti to Haas with a special passion for Hindemith’s concerto. He has commissioned many new works, including a concerto by Jack Symonds that was premiered at the Bendigo Festival of Experimental Music and he inspired the onstage viola d’amore solos in the opera ‘Notes From Underground’. He collaborated intensely with Mary Finsterer in her work ‘Ignis’, this piece went on to win APRA’s best instrumental work of the year.
James has appeared as a soloist with many of Australia’s orchestras including the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, ACO2, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.