Ms Sally Walker

Biography

Flautist Sally Walker has been hailed by the press as “a young master of both the early wooden as well as the silver flute…atmospheric, fine musicianship” (Hamburger Rundeschau); “a godly flexibility and colouring in her most soul-stirring tone formation … breathtaking musicality“ (Die Rheinpfalz); “sustained brilliance” (The Canberra Times).

Flautist Sally Walker returned to Australia in 2006 after having been in Europe for 9 years where she was a member of the Kölner Kammerorchester and Principal Flute of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss before playing full-time with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. She has worked with conductors including Riccardo Chailly, Herbert Blomstedt, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Roger Norrington. She toured with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle to the London Proms, the Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals and has played as Guest Principal with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radio Philharmonie Hanover, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Manchester Camerata, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester, Heidelberger Sinfoniker, the Australian Opera and Ballet, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. She has performed as soloist on modern flute, baroque flute and piccolo with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester and as finalist in the De Lorenzo International Flute Competition with the L'Accademia Filarmonica Verona. She won 2nd Prize in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition in Germany and was the recipient of the Ian Potter Foundation Cultural Award, the German Government scholarship and the Queen's Trust Prize.

She graduated from the University of Sydney where she studied with Geoffrey Collins, the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hannover (Class of Prof. Andrea Lieberknecht) and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater München (Class of Prof. Andràs Adorjàn) gaining both her Artists' and Soloists' diplomas with excellence. She also undertook private postgraduate study in Montreal with Prof. Timothy Hutchins, in Berlin with Prof. Michael Hasel and attended the William Bennett International Flute School in the UK. She has been a guest Lecturer for the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Australian National Academy of Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is Lecturer in Flute at the University of Newcastle.

She has performed with the Südwest and Mitteldeutsche Radio Orchestras, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras and has played with Early Music ensembles such as Das Neue Orchester Köln, the Leipzig Chamber Orchestra, Neues Bachisches Collegium Leipzig where she worked with conductors including Christopher Hogwood, Phillipe Herreweghe and Christoph Spering. She is deeply committed to chamber music and has collaborated with Pianists Clemens Leske, Philip Mayers, Ian Munro and Gabriella Pusner, Cellists Steven Isserlis, Geoffrey Gartner and Rachel Scott; Singers Jenny Duck-Chong, Alison Morgan, Christopher Allan and Paul McMahon; Guitarists Anthony Field and Giuseppe Zangari, Harpsichordist Rosalind Halton, Organist Philip Matthias, Ghanaian singer/multi-instrumentalist Afro Moses, the Australia Ensemble, Kammer, Ensemble Offspring, Halcyon and in other collaborations ranging from early music to modern dance. Australian composers Michael Askill, Andrew Chubb, Colin Spiers, Andrew Ford, Elena Kats-Chernin and Paul Stanhope have composed for her as well as Knut Müller (Germany) and Coco Nelegatti (Argentina).

Sally has performed in over twenty countries and numerous composers have dedicated works to her, including Michael Askill, Jim Chapman, Andrew Ford, Elena Kats-Chernin, Knut Mueller, Coco Nelegatti, Colin Spiers, Paul Stanhope and Melita White. In February, she released three CDs: “ Kaleidoscope”, “French Miniatures” and “Hemispheres” which feature many premieres.

Her former students are performing in orchestras in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the USA, the UK, Germany and Sweden and undertaking postgraduate study in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the USA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Music, University of Sydney, 1996
• Diplom Meisterklasse (Soloists Diploma), Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater Munich - Germany, 2002
• Diplom Kuensterischeausbilding (Artists Diploma), Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater Munich - Germany, 2000

Research

Research keywords

• Australian Music
• Early Music
• Flute
• Orchestral Music
• Piccolo

Research expertise

Flautist Sally Walker returned to Australia in 2006 after having been in Europe for 9 years where she was a member of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Principal Flute of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss before playing full-time with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. She has worked with conductors including Riccardo Chailly, Herbert Blomstedt, Kurt Masur and Sir Roger Norrington. She toured with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle to the London Proms, the Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals and has played as Guest Principal with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radio Philharmonie Hanover, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Australian Opera and Ballet, Adelaide Symphony and Queensland Orchestras. She has performed as soloist on modern flute, baroque flute and piccolo with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester and as finalist in the De Lorenzo International Flute Competition with the L'Accademia Filarmonica Verona. She won 2nd Prize in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition in Germany and was the recipient of the Ian Potter Foundation Cultural Award, the German Government scholarship and the Queen's Trust Prize.

She Graduated from the University of Sydney where she studied with Geoffrey Collins, the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hannover (Class of Prof. Andrea Lieberknecht) and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen (Class of Prof. Andras Adorjan) gaining both her artists' and soloists' diplomas with excellence. She also undertook private postgraduate study in Montreal with Prof. Timothy Hutchins, in Berlin with Prof. Michael Hasel and attended the William Bennett International Flute School in the UK. She has been a guest Lecturer for the Australian National Academy of Music, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is Lecturer in Flute at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, The University of Newcastle.

She has performed with the Sudwest and Mitteldeutsche Radio Orchestras, the Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras and has played with early music ensembles such as Das Neue Orchester Koln, the Leipzig Chamber Orchestra, Neues Bachisches Collegium Leipzig where she worked with conductors including Christopher Hogwood, Phillipe Herriweghe and Christoph Spering. Her love of chamber music has led to performances with the Australia Ensemble, Kammer, Guitarist Anthony Field, Pianists Clemens Leske and Gabriella Pusner in other collaborations ranging from early music to modern dance. Australian composers Michael Askill, Elena Kats-Chernin and Paul Stanhope have composed for her as well as Knut Muller (Germany) and Coco Nelegatti (Argentina).

Fields of Research

Administrative

Administrative expertise

• Newcastle Flute Society President since 2013, committee member since 2007
• University of Newcastle Woodwind Strand Co-Ordinator since 2010
• Teaching and Learning Committee Music representative 2010
• Course Co-ordinator Principal Study Second Year since 2010
• Newcastle Conservatorium Scholarship Committee 2012
• Course Co-ordinator Creative and Analytical Studies in Music 2012

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Flute