Ben was born in Launceston, Tasmania and began learning piano at the age of seven. He has given recitals across Australia and Japan as well as several live performances on ABC radio. Whilst completing his formal education in Tasmania, Ben won various competitions including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition, the Edward Wesley Memorial Prize for Best Pianist and the Robin Wood Junior Champion Piano Award. Earlier this year, Ben performed Liszt’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra under Cuban conductor Luis Haza. He is currently a third year Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance student with Natasha Vlassenko at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where he has also won several competitions and scholarships.

Bei Mi was born in Qingdao, China in 1987. He started his piano tuition at the age of nine. Bei Mi studied and completed his secondary school education at the Victorian College of The Arts Secondary School. He completed his Bachelor of Music with Professor Ronald Farren Price, majoring in performance. Currently he is studying with Natasha Vlassenko at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. Bei Mi has won a number of prizes and scholarships during his career. Earlier this year, he made his debut in Paris and Lyon.

Pianist Samuel Dharma is the winner of numerous piano prizes, most recently including first prize at the 2009 Rex Hobcroft Piano Competition in Sydney and a "Publikumspreis" in the 18th International Klaviersommer 2010 in Bad Bertrich, Germany. As recitalist, soloist and chamber musician, he has performed for audiences in Australia, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Some of his performances have been broadcast by 2MBS FM in Sydney. Samuel earned his Bachelors degree as a scholarship student at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Presently, Samuel is furthering his musical studies in Toronto, Canada, where he enjoys a full tuition scholarship at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music to undertake their Artist Diploma course under the tutelage of David Louie and John Perry. He has also worked with such artist-teachers as Marc Durand, Leon Fleisher, Elza Kolodin, John O’Conor, and Jacques Rouvier.

Aura Go is quickly emerging as one of Australia’s foremost young musicians. She has been soloist with the Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, performed at the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the MSO Metropolis Series and the Edinburgh Festival. Her interest in new music has seen her give the first Australian performances of the 1st and 2nd Piano Concertos of Rautavaara, a performance of the Schnittke Concerto for Piano and Strings, the Gubaidulina Concerto, as well the works of many Australian composers.  Aura was the winner of the 5th Yamaha Piano Competition and the Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Award, and was a national keyboard finalist in the ABC Young Performers Awards in 2002, 2003 and 2006. In 2009, Aura was the recipient of four special prizes at the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition.  Aura completed her undergraduate studies at the Victorian College of the Arts. She then studied at the Australian National Academy of Music with Ian Munro and Michael Kieran Harvey. She is currently completing postgraduate studies at Yale University, studying with Peter Frankl. 

Ayesha was born in 1994 in Darwin and came to live with her grandmother, Janet, when she was nine months old. She is a student of the Young Conservatorium, studying under Oleg Stepanov. She has also received composition lessons from the Australian composer Gerard Brophy and theory lessons from Dr Julie Kirchhubel.  Ayesha has won the Norma Baird Bach Prelude and Fugue Competition at the Young Conservatorium, the Brisbane Eisteddfod Scholarship, the G.H Stainlay Musical Scholarship at the Murwillumbah Eisteddfod and the Open section in the MTAQ Queensland Piano Competition. She has achieved Award with Distinction in her AMEB Licentiate Piano Exam and a High Distinction in 6th Grade Theory. In both 2009 and 2010, she performed at the Tyalgum Festival of Classical Music. Ayesha would not have been able to complete these achievements without the help of Variety, The Children’s Charity.

Born in South Korea, 25-year-old Joong-Han Jung has been playing the piano since he was 11 years old.  He has been an active performer at home, in New Zealand since his college studies in 2005.  As a soloist, he has performed with the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra of New Zealand, the Auckland Yourth Orchestra, and the University of Auckland Symphony Orchestra. He also enjoyed success in piano competitions over the past several years. Some of his achievements include prizes in the Kapiti Coast National Piano Competition and the Kerikeri National Piano Competition. He was also placed 2nd in the Christchurch National Piano Concerto Competition performing the Beethoven Concerto No.4, and received the Audience Prize for the best performance. Joong-Han’s recitals and concerto performances have been recorded and broadcasted by Radio New Zealand, World TV and TV NZ.  Joong-Han has completed a Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honours at the University of Auckland under Rae de Lisle and Read Gainsford. He is now pursuing his Master of Music degree with Professor Barry Snyder at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York.

Jane Koo is a second year Bachelor of Music student, currently studying piano performance under Qu Yong at The University of  Auckland. She has won first prizes in the Intermediate Recital class and Sonata Recital class; runner-up in the Concerto class in West Auckland Competition, where she was awarded Piano Festival Cup for "Most impressive item" in the piano section in 2008. In the following year, she was selected to perform in the Lewis Eady Charitable Trust Concert Series. Her performance highlights with orchestras include Mozart's Piano Concerto K.488, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.2, Mozart's Triple Piano Concerto K242. Last year, Jane received her LTCL diploma in Solo Piano with distinction, attaining the highest mark in NZ. Recently she was also given the Yamaha Cup for winning the Senior Pianoforte recital class in the North Shore Performing Arts Competition.

Daniel started his piano studies at the age of three, and completed his AMEB studies at the age of 14, gaining his Licentiate Diploma of Music. At the age of 11, he was awarded a scholarship to Melbourne Grammar School.  In 2004, Daniel won 1st prize in the 12 Years and Under Awards Piano Section in the Musical Society of Victoria, and in 2009 won 1st prize in the 18 Years and Under Awards, and appeared in the Finals of the Hepzibah Menuhin Memorial Award in 2007 and 2008. Daniel enjoys playing concertos, having performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Maroondah Symphony, Preston Symphony, Melbourne Grammar School and Pro-Musica Orchestras. In 2010 Daniel won the Most Promising Pianist Award in the Australian Concerto Competition as well as first place in the Youth Section. Daniel has studied with Stephen McIntyre, Leon Lee, and is currently a student of Rita Reichman.

Andrew Leathwick began playing piano when he was nine. As well as piano, he has a keen interest in composition, entering the Accelerando Junior Music Academy at the University of Waikato in 2007, where he received tutorship in composition. In 2009, Andrew also began studying chamber music and piano at Accelerando. That year, his chamber group was one of eight groups selected nationally to compete in the finals of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Chamber Music Competition, playing Rachmaninoff's Trio Elégiaque No. 1 with violinist Helen Yang and cellist Charlotte Ketel.  In 2010, Andrew also began studying piano under Katherine Austin at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Waikato. Composing is an important part of Andrew's life, and he has had his work broadcast on Concert Radio.

Aaron is currently in his 2nd year of his Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, studying with Oleg Stepanov. Over the years, Aaron has achieved some good success in piano competitions. Prizes include winning the MTAQ Queensland Piano Competition, the National Yamaha Australian Youth Piano Competition (13-15yrs), the Yamaha Recitals Scholarship and numerous awards at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. In 2009, he was awarded the Encouragement award at the Lev Vlassenko Piano competition and was selected to compete in the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. Last year, Aaron was awarded the Griffith Award for Academic Excellence for his studies. Aaron has had the privilege of receiving masterclasses from pianists such as Dmitri Alexeev, Michele Campanella, Boris Berman, Leslie Howard, Diedre Irons, Paul Lewis, Ian Munro, Christina Ortiz, Phillip Shovk, Tamas Ungar and Gerard Willems.

Quang Hong Luu was born in October 1990 in Hanoi, Vietnam. He began learning piano in 1996, and entered the secondary level piano programme of the Vietnam National Academy of Music in June 1997 under the guidance of Professor Dr Tran Thu Ha.  In 2007, Quang Hong Luu received a full scholarship at the Australian International Conservatorium of Music. He is studying in the piano undergraduate programme with Professor Kyunghee Lee.  Since 2008, he has been participating in competitions including the Sydney Eisteddfod Kawai Piano Award, and the Australian International Chopin Piano Competition.

Anna Maksymova was born in Ukraine and started piano when she was six at the Donetsk music school for gifted children with Irina Zalevskaya. In 2002 she moved to New Zealand and continued to study piano with Peter Nagy and later with Judith Clark and Gao Ping. Anna has participated successfully in a number of competitions locally, such as Christchurch Competitions, Pacanz National Young Performer of the Year Competition and also overseas, in the Sydney Eisteddfod.  In 2009 she began at the University of Canterbury and now, in her third year, is studying with Professor Michael Endres.  Last year Anna has performed in the “Outstanding Young Musicians in Concert” series in Christchurch School of Music. She also collaborated with acclaimed artist Galyna Kim to organise an exhibition with concert in Akaroa's Powerhouse gallery. Recently Anna won the Ruby Hay Scholarship and was the winner of the Lewis Eady Charitable Trust Emerging Artist Series 2010.

Lorelle was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of mixed Maori, Chinese and Scottish heritage.  She began learning the piano at the age of nine, studying with Fleur Chee for eight years.  She then began her Bachelor of Music degree in 2008 at the University of Auckland, where she learnt from Read Gainsford, Natalia Ricci and Rae de Lisle.  After completing her degree in Auckland, Lorelle moved to Sydney to continue her studies with Natalia Ricci, and is currently an Honours student at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.  After her first year of study at Auckland University, Lorelle was awarded the annual prize of Best Student in Performance, and was a recipient of the Kathleen Mary Reardon Memorial Music Scholarship.  She also received the University’s Janetta McStay Prize for Pianists, the Tuakana Scholarship for Maori and Pacific Island students, and the Maori Education Trust’s Francis Irwin Hunt Scholarship for her success in Performing Arts.  In 2009, Lorelle was the winner of the Manukau Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and Scholarship Prize. Last year, she was awarded Auckland University’s Carl and Alberta Rosenfeldt Prize in Chamber Music, and a $13,000 Anne Bellam Music Scholarship for further study overseas.  Lorelle has a great interest in Spanish piano music and is currently undertaking research in this area at the Sydney Conservatorium.

Deborah Ng is completing the Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the University of Melbourne where she is currently a student of Anna Goldsworthy and has also studied with Ronald Farren-Price.  She has been named Keyboard Finalist in the 2009 ABC Symphony Australian Young Performers Awards, Starsearch Western Australian Young Performer of the Year, and National Finalist in the Yamaha Australian Youth Piano Competition.  Deborah has had live broadcasts on ABC Classic FM and has performed as a concerto soloist with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Fremantle Symphony Orchestra.  In the 2010 Soundstream Festival, she performed in the Australian premiere of Rodion Shchedrin’s Hommage à Chopin and South Australian premiere of George Antheil’s Ballet Mechanique.  At the University of Melbourne, Deborah is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Faculty Merit Scholarship, Judd-de Kretser Scholarship, Eric & Linda Jullyan Memorial Scholarship, Pearis Rodger Scholarship, Lady Turner Exhibition and the Wright Prize.

Konrad Olszewski started playing piano at the age of 6. He was selected for the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School where he achieved a perfect score for VCE Music Solo Performance. He has recently completed his Bachelor of Music with honours at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, specializing in piano performance under Glenn Riddle. He has won first prize in the Ewa Malewicz Musical Scholarship (Sydney 2006), the Dorothy Glover Memorial Award (2006), the Herbert Davis Award (MSV 2006), the Concerto Section of the Dandenong Eisteddfod (2008), the Chris Krans Instrumental Award (2006) and the Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Award (2010). He has received many awards from the Faculty of Music, including the J.S Bach Prize, the Lady Turner Exhibition and the Searle Piano Faculty Merit Scholarship. He has performed twice with the Zelman Symphony Orchestra (2005 and 2008). Konrad gave a recital in Chopin’s birthplace in Zelazowa Wola, Poland in 2005.

18 year old Alex Raineri is currently in the second year of a Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University studying with Leah Horwitz.  Music is his passion, and while piano is his great love, he has also won national awards for composition and is a keen chamber musician. He plays in a piano trio ‘the Meanjin Trio’ and is a member of the MAC ensemble, specializing in contemporary music.  In 2009 Alex was a national finalist in Symphony Australia's Young Performers Awards resulting in a performance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In the same year he toured Taiwan with the Brisbane Symphonic Band playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. In 2010 Alex won the Audience Prize in the Kerikeri International Piano Competition. He has been featured a number of times on ABC National Radio's Emerging Young Artist series, broadcast on community radio stations, 2MBS, 3MBS and 4MBS, and recently participated in major fundraising concerts for East Timor and the Queensland Floods.  Alex is hoping to further his musical studies in Europe.

Agus was born in Indonesia in 1987 and commenced his piano studies at age 6. Since then, he has participated in many piano competitions in Indonesia achieving excellent results and was the first-prize winner of the Yamaha Music Festival in Jakarta for the junior piano category in 2000.  Agus completed his University of Sydney Foundation Program in 2006 and in the following year was accepted into the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has actively performed in lunch break concerts, master classes, and open day recitals held by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as soloist and chamber musician. In May 2010, he premiered a short contemporary work by Australian composer Mark Isaacs in Momentary Pleasures, 2010 International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World New Music Days. Recently, he completed his Bachelor of Music Performance degree with First Class Honors, undertaking study with Dr. Paul Rickard-Ford.

Jeremy So was born in Hong Kong, moving to Sydney at the age of six. He was awarded his AMusA at the age of eleven, and LMusA at thirteen. He graduated from the Conservatorium High School in 2008, and also participated in the Conservatorium Open Academy, having been awarded the Kathleen Holmes McCrae Scholarship for eight years consecutively. Recent competitions he has been successful in include the Theme and Variations Emerging Artists Series, leading to a recital in Auckland, and the Mary Greville and Bert Coughtrey Scholarship, allowing him to study for a term with Tatiana Sarkissova at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His present teacher is Alexandra Vinokurov, and he is now in his third year of study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he is the recipient of the John & Dorothy Vimpani Pianoforte Scholarship and the Bessie Cook Piano Award.

Born in Hong Kong 1993, Lawrence is currently studying as a Form 7 student in Macleans College and studying piano with Qu Yong. In 2009, he won a string of first prizes in the West Auckland Performing Arts Competitions with the Concerto and the Festival cup, an Auckland Centenary Scholarship in the IRMT, and also the Ronisch Secondary Schools Piano Competition. Last year, he took part in the Kerikeri National Piano Competition receiving the Sandy McKay award, participated in the Michael Houstoun Masterclass, and has won the Alice Cole and the IRMT Lysaght piano scholarships thereafter. This year he participated in the Hoang Pham NZIPF master class and also performed in the Karaka Concert Series.

Nicholas Young is currently a third-year university student studying Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.  He has been awarded his AMusA, LMusA and FMusA.  Nicholas began piano studies at the age of six with Alison Salkeld and has continued studies with Daniel Herscovitch.  He performs regularly in concert, recital, and competition and is recognised by Steinway & Sons as a Young Steinway Artist.  Nicholas has won prizes from Eisteddfods of Sydney, Parramatta, Ryde, Hawkesbury, Penrith, Northern Beaches and St. George, and has won awards from the United Music Teachers of NSW Inc., Sydney Conservatorium Open Academy, Yamaha Australian Youth Piano Competition, the Federated Music Clubs of Australia and the University of Sydney.  He has given solo recitals in Sydney, Forbes, Southbank, Montville and Gisborne and has performed piano concertos with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra.