Andrew Seymour and Karen Smithies

ARTISTS

Andrew Seymour

Principal Clarinet with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra since 2012, Andrew Seymour’s playing has been described by reviewers as “soaring and colourful,” “an astonishing display of instrumental virtuosity” and “his every note was meaningful.” Andrew has performed as guest principal Clarinet with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, West Australian, Melbourne, and Canberra Symphony Orchestras. Featuring regularly as soloist with the TSO, Andrew has performed many of the major concertos, new works by Tasmanian composers Jabra Latham, Maria Grenfell and Stephen Cronin, alongside Norwegian Violinist Henning Kraggurud in a world premiere performance and a diverse range of other solos from Klezmer to Jazz inspired works. As a chamber musician Andrew has appeared in the Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, with the Southern Cross Soloists and Virtuosi Tasmania. Andrew is Lecturer in Clarinet at the University of Tasmania and is a Backun artist performing on Backun Clarinets crafted in Cocobolo wood.

Karen Smithies

Karen is the Associate Lecturer in Accompaniment at the Hedberg, UTAS, after relocating to Tasmania from the NSW Central Coast in 1998. Karen graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, majoring in accompaniment and performance, where she was awarded the "Mollie Neal" scholarship for excellence in Accompaniment. She has furthered her study by completing her Masters in Music Performance at UTAS in 2003, studying with Beryl Sedivka and David Bollard.

Karen has performed regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and associate artist with orchestras and vocal ensembles across NSW and Tasmania, and has made several national ABC and 3MBS broadcasts with artists such as Christian Woijtowicz (cello), Marina Phillips (violin), Romana Zieglerova (violin), Christopher Richardson (baritone), Michael Lampard (baritone), and TSO Brass and Friends.