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Return of concert leader a boost for orchestra
17 January 2010
Lyndelle Lawrence
Public relations editorial assistant
Tags: Avondale Orchestra; Sohyun Eastham; Music; Faculty of Arts
The former concert leader of the Avondale Orchestra has returned to help increase the number of members in the ensemble.
Dr Sohyun Eastham accepted an invitation to return from the orchestra's conductor, Sharon Tolhurst, a lecturer in music in the Faculty of Arts at Avondale College. "Young musicians need a role model," says Sharon, "and Sohyun's a good role model."
Sohyun started learning the violin at age four and as a teenager won many national competitions in Korea. After graduating with a Bachelor of Education (music) from Sam Yook University in 1993, she came to Australia to study with Elizabeth Holowell. Sohyun graduated with a Bachelor of Music (honours) at the University of Newcastle in 1999 and completed her PhD there eight years later; her thesis examined the role of the violin in expressing the musical ideas of the romantic period. She now teaches violin in The Conservatorium.
Sohyun says it will take some time to increase membership, but her presence as lead violinist is already making an impact. "Sohyun has helped improve the standard of the orchestra," says Esther Collier, a second-year music student who plays in the orchestra. "She's given the other members a fresh focus and new goals."
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