About
Comprising some of Australia's top brass musicians, Lyrebird Brass is a collective of artists dedicated to performing the finest brass chamber music. The group’s mission is twofold: to engage Australian audiences through exceptional artistry and accessible programming, and to expand repertoire through new commissions with a particular emphasis on Australian music and works by composers from underrepresented demographics. Members have performed across the globe in many of the world's premiere ensembles, each bringing a unique musical background to the troupe . Lyrebird Brass is the first professional Australian brass ensemble to feature women as core members.
The name "Lyrebird Brass" is a homage to a unique songbird native to the ensemble's hometown of Melbourne. Lyrebirds are known for singing for hours each day in a combination of their own distinctive song and mimicked noises, and can even vocalise multiple melodies simultaneously. The name is also a reference to Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre (Lyrebird Press), part of Louise Hanson-Dyer's legacy which has so benefited the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music where each member teaches.
Carla Blackwood enjoys a diverse career performing as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in Australia and internationally. On historical natural horns Carla is principal horn of the Orchestra of the Antipodes (Pinchgut Opera) and the Australian Haydn Ensemble. On modern horn Carla performs regularly with the Australia Ensemble, renowned contemporary music ensemble ELISION, Quercus Trio, Lyrebird Brass, and is a regular guest principal horn with orchestras around Australia. Since 2018 Carla has been French Horn Lecturer at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne.
Prior to taking up her current position in Melbourne, Carla was principal horn of the Tiroler Symphonie Orchester Innsbruck and Professor for Horn at the Tiroler Landeskonservatorium in Austria. During her 13 years living in Europe, Carla performed as guest principal horn with orchestras including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Sinfonie Orchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Camerata Salzburg, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Swedish Philharmonic Orchestra. Carla has held contracts in a number of orchestras across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Originally from Bathurst, NSW, Carla has a Masters of Soloist Performance from the Z체rich Hochschule der K체nste and a Masters in Performance from the Musikakademie der Stadt Basel, as well as a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her teachers have included Christian Lampert, Horst Ziegler, Hector McDonald and Radovan Vlatkovic on modern horn, and Thomas Mueller and Glen Borling on the natural horn.
Joel Brennan enjoys a diverse career as a performer and teacher. He has performed with orchestras around the globe, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Netherlands), Winnipeg Symphony (Canada), Malaysian Philharmonic, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), and has served as principal trumpet of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan) and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (Netherlands).
A proponent of contemporary music and chamber music, Joel is a member of Ensemble Three, a unique trio of trumpet, trombone, and guitar which has been praised as "an inspiring example of forward-thinking classical music culture" (CutCommon), and won the 2017 Melbourne Recital Centre Contemporary Masters Award.
Joel is Associate Professor of Music Performance at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (University of Melbourne) and has also been on faculty at Juilliard School's campus in Tianjin, China and Brandon University (Canada). Awarded a Fulbright Grant 2007, Joel spent a year performing, teaching, and studying in the Netherlands after having completed his formal training at Oberlin Conservatory and the Yale University.
Joel is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Rosie Turner grew up in Sydney’s brass band scene, and it was not until after graduating from the University of Sydney that she fell in love with the orchestral world. After several years in the Australian Youth Orchestra she moved to Philadelphia to study with David Bilger at the Curtis Institute of Music. Upon graduation Rosie began as Second Trumpet in the Macau Orchestra where she served four seasons, and during this time was able to guest with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic, and back home with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
A move to Melbourne in 2016 has happily led to joining the brass faculty at the University of Melbourne, playing three years with the Australian World Orchestra, and the position of Section Trumpet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Internationally recognized as an elite performer and teacher, Associate Professor Don Immel has a singularly diverse performance background that includes dozens of world premiere performances, two jazz-based solo releases of his own compositions, six years as principal trombonist with the Danish Philharmonic, and substantial work as a chamber musician.
His critically acclaimed project Three was launched in 2012 with MCM colleagues Joel Brennan and Ken Murray as an artistic vehicle to commission, record and perform new music on the local, national and international stage. To date, Three has commissioned and/or premiered over 30 works, many of which can be heard on recent releases: Midnight Songs (Tall Poppies Records, TP237), Return Journey (ABC Classics), Despite Our Silent Elders (Lyrebird Productions). Voodoo Sonnets (Lyrebird Productions) is set to be released in early 2021.
Don currently serves as Associate Director (Performances) for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
Tim Buzbee has been the Principal Tubist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2010. Tim grew up in Queen City, Texas and knows knows he would probably be flipping burgers if not for the help of teachers Ed Jones, Gene Pokorny, and Matt Good. He has performed as guest tubist with many orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Danish Radio Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony, Malaysia Philharmonic and the Helsingborg Symphony.
As a solist he has performed with the Iceland Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Acapulco Symphony, Marshall Symphony and the "Pershing's Own" Army Band in Washington D.C and currently has two solo cds on the Albany Record label. Before taking his position at the MSO he held the Principal Tuba position at the Iceland Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Acapulco Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Gavle Symphony, and the Malmo Symphony.