Australian Music Centre

Music in Me Summit presenter

Dr Joanna Drimatis is a highly-respected champion of Australian music, contributing comprehensively through her output as a conductor, performer, music director, researcher and educator. Joanna currently the Music Education Specialist for the Australian Music Centre, Music Director/Chief Conductor of the Beecroft Orchestra and Resident Conductor of the NSW Doctors’ Orchestra in Sydney.

After initial studies in Music Education, Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting in Australia and the USA, Joanna graduated with a PhD in Musicology from the University of Adelaide and was awarded the Inaugural Doctoral Research Medal in 2009. Joanna has also guest conducted numerous orchestras and festivals throughout Australia and New Zealand which include Australian Doctors’ Orchestra, the Sydney Youth Orchestra, Steel City Strings, Orange Symphony Orchestra and ensembles for the Orange Chamber Music Festival. 

In recent years, Joanna has enjoyed conducting productions for young Sydney-based opera companies The Cooperative and Gente Gente productions. As a violinist/violist Joanna has played professionally as an orchestral and chamber musician both in Australia and overseas and has been a participant in the conducting programs at Aspen Music Festival (USA) and the American Symphony League’s Donald Thulean Conducting workshop.

Joanna has also given presentations on string and orchestral pedagogy with emphasis on the use of Australian repertoire for training orchestras. This work culminated in an invitation for her to present on this topic at the 2019 Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, USA.  Joanna has worked as a sessional academic at the University of Adelaide/Elder Conservatorium and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and prior to her role at the AMC was Head of Strings at MLC School Sydney. In 2020 Joanna was awarded an APRA AMCOS Art Music NSW Luminary Award for her advocacy, programming and performance of Australian music. 

https://joannadrimatis.com/

Phillipa has worked across school systems and the arts industry in a variety of roles. As an educator she believes that learning music should be academically rigorous and engaging, and fundamental to all learning. Phillipa practices a versatile approach incorporating movement, graphics, singing and instruments. She is an active member of Orff NSW and is the Co-ordinator of Music P-4 at Santa Sabina College.