Diane Riddell started her specialist music studies on the flute when she entered the Victorian College of the Arts High School. She went on to complete her Bachelor of Arts (Music Performance) at the Victorian College of the Arts. After a year of postgraduate studies, she was appointed Principal Flute with the West Australian Arts Orchestra at the age of 21, making her the youngest principal flautist in Australia. During her time with the WA Arts Orchestra, she was granted leave to play Principal Flute with the Australian Youth Orchestra on their 1988 tour of Europe.

Diane has since gone on to play regularly as a principal and section flautist with the WA Symphony Orchestra as a contract and casual player and has appeared as Guest Principal Flute with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. She regularly plays principal flute with Perth Symphony Orchestra.

Diane has lectured in flute at both the UWA Conservatorium of Music and WAAPA for over 15 years and taught at two of Perth’s specialist music program high schools for 30 years. Many of Diane’s past students are working nationally and internationally as performers and teachers.

Diane has played for international artists such as Sir James Galway, Trevor Wye, Michel Debost, Walfrid Kujala and William Bennett, and has studied with many of Australia’s leading teachers including Margaret Crawford, Prue Davis, Vernon Hill and David Cubbin. Diane has also organised masterclasses and concerts for international flute players including Paul Edmund-Davies, Emily Beynon, Trevor Wye and Katherine Kemler.

Stephanie Nicholls is a musician based on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar, where she proudly maintains an active performance profile as an oboist, pianist, arranger, and musical director. With over three decades of experience, Stephanie has made significant contributions to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, including her tenure as Associate Principal Oboe in 2013-2014 and 2023. She has also recorded two award-winning albums with the Johannes Luebbers Dectet, appearing at both the Perth International and Wangaratta Jazz Festivals and the Australian Art Awards, and regularly plays principal oboe with Perth Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017, Stephanie’s expertise led to her appointment as a consultant for the oboe syllabus of the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). She successfully launched the syllabus in Melbourne in 2018 through a national webcast and continues to serve as an examiner for the AMEB, as well as an esteemed adjudicator for festivals and eisteddfods.

As one of Perth’s sought-after collaborative pianists and coaches, Stephanie excels in diverse genres. Her passion for music education has been exemplified through lecturing and teaching roles at UWA’s Conservatorium of Music, WAAPA, and various Perth schools.

Stephanie’s latest venture, Mirabilis Collective, is a chamber music ensemble that celebrates the contributions of women musicians and composers. Founded in 2023, Mirabilis Collective serves as a nurturing space for mentorship, skill-sharing, and creative collaboration, fostering emerging talents and providing invaluable exposure and experience. Stephanie is honoured to lead this growing organisation.

Catherine Cahill has been an active orchestral and chamber musician in Perth for many years. She has been an augmenting player with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra for 30 years and has also enjoyed playing with the Malaysian Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. Catherine regularly plays principal clarinet with Perth Symphony Orchestra, where she has been featured as a soloist in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Catherine studied at the University of Western Australia, graduating from the Bachelor of Music Performance before heading overseas for six years. Her postgraduate studies included lessons in London and New York, studying with Ricardo Morales from the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and clarinettists from the London and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Winning a scholarship from the Mannes College of Music in New York, Catherine completed the Graduate Diploma in Professional Studies.

A champion of chamber music, Catherine’s career has seen her perform with new music ensembles Etica and Guapo. She was also the founder of the critically acclaimed Elandra Ensemble.

Since returning to Perth in 2000 Catherine has lectured in clarinet studies at WAAPA and the UWA Conservatorium of Music as well as working with students in the Gifted and Talented program for the WA Department of Education. It is with a great sense of pride that Catherine now teaches and performs alongside many of the students she has tutored.

Joanne studied at the University of Western Australia with Peter Moore and graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Music (Performance). Since receiving a scholarship to attend the Australian National Academy of Music in 2000, Joanne has worked as a freelance bassoonist, performing with numerous ensembles including the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She regularly performs with Perth Symphony Orchestra.

Joanne also specialises in Baroque and Classical bassoon performance and is a sought after Historically Informed Performance musician. She has performed on period instruments with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Antipodes, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Australian Baroque Orchestra. One of the highlights of Joanne’s career was touring Australia with German countertenor Andreas Scholl and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

Joanne has recorded for both the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Antipodes, including Mozart’s Requiem conducted by Antony Walker.

Joanne enjoys teaching and has taught classroom music and bassoon at two of Perth’s specialist music program secondary schools. She currently teaches bassoon at Hale School and St Mary’s Anglican School for Girls.

It was watching her grandparents lead hymn singing in church as a young child that sparked Wendy Tait’s musical passion that has evolved into a multifaceted and highly successful career. Wendy was awarded a music scholarship to Perth Modern School, and it was there that Wendy fell in love with the horn and began her musical journey.

After completing a music performance degree at the University of Western Australia, Wendy continued her studies under the tutelage of Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time Wendy played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, conducted by Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim. In 1999, Wendy successfully auditioned for a contract with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in Norway.

Wendy has performed with the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, as well as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva (London), and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. While Wendy embraced seeing the world through music, in 2011 she decided to replant her local roots, taking up an opportunity to join the then newly formed Perth Symphony Orchestra as its founding Principal Horn.

Wendy is also a live entertainment curator and has booked orchestras for touring acts such as Il Divo, Patricio Buanne and Russell Watson. Wendy has developed and implemented groundbreaking musical and entertainment programs for many highly popular street festivals, including the Inglewood Night Markets and the Maylands Street Festival. After completing a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Music Education at Edith Cowan University, Wendy returned to Perth Modern School to teach the horn, coming full circle to where her journey with the horn began.

Paul Tanner’s career as a percussionist has been both accomplished and diverse. He has performed as a soloist, in new-music ensembles, jazz combos, Latin bands and world music groups and is highly regarded as an orchestral percussionist.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Australia, Paul was awarded the Hodges Prize for Musical Composition and the V.H. Cooper Memorial Prize for performance. While completing his master’s degree, Paul studied with renowned new-music percussionist Steve Schick in San Diego. To gain insight into other percussive music traditions, Paul travelled through South America attending the Folk Cuba workshops in Havana, Cuba and Carnaval Olinda, Brasil. Furthering his interest in other cultures, he travelled through West Africa and Zimbabwe, which enabled him to build his repertoire.

Paul was a founding member of new music ensembles Nova Ensemble and Magnetic Pig. He has also played with Guapo, Elandra Ensemble and OdgenTanner with UK guitarist Craig Ogden. For over 30 years Paul has played regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs as principal percussionist with Perth Symphony Orchestra.

Currently completing a PhD at Edith Cowan University, Paul is developing repertoire for one player performing marimba and vibraphone simultaneously. He tutors in world music in the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia.