Musical Director | Chief Conductor
John Foster currently holds the positions of music director, and conductor of the Brisbane Ballet, Orchestra Brisbane, and the Queensland Baroque Orchestra. John was a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a trumpeter from 2001-2013, performing, touring and recording extensively with such conductors as Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkinazy, Charles Dutóit, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Neville Mariner, David Zinman, to mention just a few.
John has appeared as a trumpet soloist worldwide, performing with leading orchestras and ensembles, including: the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Royal College of Music Orchestra (London), Norwich Baroque (United Kingdom) Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (NZ), Belgium’s leading baroque orchestra ‘Il Fundamento’ and was a soloist for the opening of Kammerorkestra Basel’s (Switzerland) 2012 season.
John has been invited to present master classes throughout the world, including at the Juilliard School of Music (USA) Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester), the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Northwestern University (Chicago) Bern University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Conservatorio of Belo Horizante, University UFMG (Brazil), the Cleveland Institute of Music (USA), among countless others.
Mr Foster has also enjoyed working with such ensembles as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (UK), the English National Ballet, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Grosso Heidelburg, Kammermusik Potsdam, Hannoverschen Hofkapelle, Berlin Baroque, St Thomas Boys’ Choir of Leipzig, (Germany), Le Concert Lorrain (France), Collegium Musicum Grossmunster (Switzerland), Barokorkest Concerto Vivo (Holland), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Symphonie Orchesta de Macau, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Bach Akademie Australia, the Pinchgut Opera, among many others.
“…with an established and international career, John Foster is a deservedly acclaimed performer.” — Fine Music Magazine
The Orchestra Brisbane Team
Matthew Farrell
General Manager
Matthew Farrell, in addition to being the General Manager of Orchestra Brisbane, has held executive roles in major performing arts companies and is a professional musician who has held principal cello positions with the Queensland Philharmonic and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. Solo performances have included concerto appearances with various Australian orchestras including world premieres of concerti by Kent Farbach and Moya Henderson.
His recent roles have included CEO of SunPAC (Sunnybank Performing Arts Centre), CEO role part time with the national Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition. He was Director, Orchestra Management at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for 12 years with responsibility for production, musicians and commercial projects.
Matthew has a long history of involvement with music and arts development including participation on several State and Federal inquiries and taskforces. Matthew was Board Chair of 4MBS FM for 11 years and has been an active member of the 4MBS Board since 2006. He also has co-directed the 4MBS Festival of Classics.
Margaret Blades
Concertmaster
Margaret Blades is the inaugural concertmaster of Orchestra Brisbane. Margaret has spent many years as a leader and violinist of various orchestras, including the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, and others.
As a soloist, she has appeared with the Adelaide Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra and WASO, where her solo performances have included an appearance with superstar Nigel Kennedy in Vivaldi’s Double Violin Concerto, and the premiere of works by Richard Mills, Ross Edwards and James Ledger. She has also performed as soloist in New Zealand and the USA, where she performed the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with Emerson String Quartet violist, Lawrence Dutton.
She has performed on stage with some of Australia’s finest artists, including Michael Goldschlager, Geoffrey Tozer, Geoffrey Lancaster, Beryl Sedivka and others, both as a recitalist and chamber musician, for Musica Viva, Adelaide International Festival of Arts, Blackwood River Chamber Music Festival, Barossa Music Festival, and in numerous broadcasts for ABC Classic FM.