Gryphon Baryton Trio

ARTISTS

LAURA VAUGHAN, BARYTON

Melbourne-based viola da gamba specialist Laura Vaughan is a dynamic and well-recognised member of the early music movement in Australia. Following studies with Miriam Morris at the University of Melbourne and Wieland Kuijken and Philippe Pierlot at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, she has established an active performing career as a versatile musician, encompassing a wide range of solo and chamber repertoire on viola da gamba, violone, lirone and baryton across Australasia. As well as a deep and abiding interest in historical performance practice of music involving viols from the 16th to mid 18th centuries, she also fosters new compositions for these venerable instruments from the past. Passionate about the unique sound world of the viol, Laura is committed to bringing this exquisite repertoire to audiences around the world.

Laura can be heard regularly on ABC Classic FM as a soloist and chamber musician and appears on numerous CD recordings, including solo recordings on the Move and Paladino labels. In addition to solo performances, she works regularly with many Australian early music ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Genesis Baroque, Van Diemen’s Band, Adelaide Baroque, Accademia Arcadia and Consortium, and is a founding member of the multiple ARIA award nominated trio Latitude 37 and the Gryphon Baryton Trio. Laura has appeared with the Tasmanian, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia, and teaches at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

When not playing the viol, Laura can usually be found hanging out with her two children, her Tibetan Spaniels Abelard and Heloise, and a good Melbourne coffee.

KATIE YAP, VIOLA

Modern and baroque violist Katie Yap plays regularly with Australia’s finest ensembles including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Van Diemen's Band, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian World Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, and has joined groups like the Academy of Ancient Music overseas. Her greatest love is chamber music, and she is a founding member of prog-baroque quartet Croissants & Whiskey, the Chrysalis Harp Trio, and crossover folk/baroque group Wattleseed Ensemble.

Katie is fascinated by music’s ability to tell stories and bring people together. As the 2022 Freedman Fellow, her project Multitudes explores the nexus of folk, baroque, and new music styles, and a life-long fascination with improvisation. She will create four new works through collaborative composition with partners in crime Emily Sheppard (fiddle/voice), Donald Nicolson (harpsichord/electronics), Bowerbird Collective (violin and cello), and Mindy Meng Wang (guzheng), exploring themes of cultural identity, environmental storytelling and activism, and the physical joy of music-making.

Katie has become known for her curation and project management, and she explores this side of her career through her role as Artistic Director of the 3MBS women-in-music festival, Music, She Wrote and Wattleseed Ensemble. She is also a passionate educator, having taught viola at the University of Queensland and Monash University, and she has an intractable habit of stress-baking, which can make for delicious rehearsal breaks!

MARTIN PENICKA, CELLO

Martin Penicka studied with Lois Simpson and Julian Smiles at the Australian Institute of Music. He graduated in 2002 with the degree of Bachelor of Music (Performance) with first class honours. During his studies, he played in many chamber ensembles, most notably with the award-winning Con Brio Trio. In 1999 Martin Penicka took part in a tour to the USA organised by the Performing Arts Unit to complement the Art Express exhibition in the Corcoran Gallery, Washington DC.

A solo artist in the Symphony Australia Conducting Program in 2001, Martin Penicka has been a casual member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He was a semi-finalist in the 2004 Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards and the 2MBS FM Young Performers Award.

Martin Penicka has been an ANAM Academy Musician at the Australian National Academy of Music.In 2006 and 2007, Martin was involved in the Sydney Symphony fellowship program. Martin joined the TSO in August 2008. Martin regularly plays in chamber music ensembles around Tasmania including Van Diemen’s Band, with whom he is a 2023-24 Fellow. He has appeared on several ABC classic FM Sunday Live Broadcasts.