Opera Australia appoints a new concertmaster

Read more news stories here

Opera Australia has announced the appointment of French violinist Matthieu Arama as concertmaster of the Opera Australia Orchestra (OAO), following an international search. Currently concertmaster of the Opéra National de Bordeaux since 2009, Arama will take up the role in August 2024.

’It’s a dream come true, I feel very honoured and excited to join Opera Australia,’ said Arama.

Arama performed as guest concertmaster for OA on La Traviata and Swan Lake with The Australian Ballet, and also delivered a solo recital including excerpts from opera and ballet repertoire as well as chamber music. 

Acting concertmaster Huy-Nguen Bui said, ’The OAO is excited to welcome an exceptional violinist and musician as our new concertmaster. We look forward to reaching the highest levels of music-making through Mr Arama’s artistic leadership.’

’Mr Arama’s appointment is brilliant news,’ said OA artistic director Jo Davies. ’He’s an accomplished player and recognised orchestral leader and it was vital we found a concertmaster befitting of the expert standard of OAO and each of our musicians, all of which the company is very proud. I believe Mr Arama will be an inspiring leader and a fantastic ambassador for the OAO for both OA and The Australian Ballet.’

Arama began playing the violin at age six and made his debut as a soloist at Paris’s Salle Gaveau at age eleven. A few years later, he won the First Prize and the Alumni’s Special Award from the Paris Conservatory (CNSM), where he studied with Sylvie Gazeau and José Alvarez. He then studied in Igor Oistrakh’s class at Brussels’ Royal Conservatory, where he received his master’s diploma with High Distinction. He is a prizewinner and laureate of the Montréal International Violin Competition and the London International Violin Competition (Benjamin Britten), as well as the Yamaha Music Foundation Europe and Feydeau de Brou St Paul Scholarships.

In addition to an international solo and recording career, Arama has led major orchestras in France and abroad, including the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Filarmonica della Scala di Milano, the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He is a professor at the Pôle d’Enseignement Supérieur de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (Bordeaux University). 

Arama plays the ’Duc de Crémone’ violin by Pietro Guarneri, kindly loaned by a generous benefactor. 

Playing

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Teaching

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.