| Louisa Breen was born in
Melbourne, Australia, and graduated with Bachelor of Music Honours from
the University of Melbourne in 1998. She came to England for postgraduate
studies on the piano at the Royal College of Music, supported by a Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholarship, an Associated Board International
Scholarship, and the Clarke Scholarship. After gaining a Distinction
for her Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance, Louisa completed
her Masters in Musical Performance in 2001. During this time she studied
piano with John Byrne and violin with Ani Schnarch, helped by support
from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Musicians Benevolent
Trust.
While in Australia, Louisa
had much performing success as both a violinist and pianist, winning
many competitions, performing numerous concertos with orchestras including
the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and performing as member, concertmaster
and soloist with the Australian Youth Orchestra and Camerata Australia. |
| Since moving to England,
Louisa has enjoyed similar success, winning many prizes at the Royal
College of Music including the highest prize for piano, the Chappell
Gold Medal in 1999, and the Marjorie and Dorothy Whyte award on her
graduation in 2001. She has toured Asia and Australasia as a member
of the RCM Premiere ensemble and performs regularly as a soloist and
as a chamber musician in concerts throughout London and the UK, including
such venues as St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James Piccadilly, Winchester
Cathedral, and St John's Smith Square. She has performed many concertos
with orchestra in Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and New Zealand,
including the European Premiere of Australian composer Carl Vine's Piano
Concerto in 2001 with the RCM Sinfonietta. In January 2003 she made
her highly successful Purcell Room debut performing a recital of contemporary
solo piano repertoire as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artist Series.
At the time of writing, Louisa
was in her second year of the Jenny Marsh Chapman Junior Fellowship
at the RCM |
Louisa Breen