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Australian Children's Choir Staff
Musical Staff
Lead by Andrew Wailes the ACC employs the high caliber musical staff who can give your child the highest quality singing and musical education.Andrew Wailes
Adam Cook
Amanda Bendle
Stephanie-Jane Lewendon-Lowe
Sarah Butler
Daniel Brinsmead
Tomas Parrish
Andrew Wailes
Artistic Director and Conductor,
Andrew Wailes is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading young conductors and choral directors, and enjoys a busy career both in Australia and increasingly overseas, as both a performer and educator. He has directed The Australian Children’s Choir since 1999, overseeing The ACC’s expansion from two small ensembles to five, leading the choir on five international tours, and directing many high profile performances both in Melbourne and around Australia. He is a passionate advocate of Music Education for all children, and brings a wealth of professional performing and teaching experience to his role as mentor and role model to the children of The ACC.
Adam Cook
Adam’s career began in 2005, studying with composer Roger Smalley and pianist Anna Sleptsova at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia. Shortly after this, Adam was invited to complete a double-major in classical Piano Performance and Composition under Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky and Geoffrey Lancaster at the Australian National University. Study at the ANU was temporarily interrupted due to an invitation to travel to France and study for one year with Emeritus Professor of the University of Ottawa, Jean-Paul Sevilla, and completed a Diplome d’Etudes musicales.
Amanda Bendle
Amanda Bendle graduated from The University of Melbourne in 2006 with a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Teaching (Sec). Amanda has always had a passion for choral conducting and particularly enjoys working with children. She is currently the Choral Director and Classroom Music teacher at The Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School where, in addition to the classroom curriculum, she maintains a choral program of approximately 100 children. Amanda believes that the ability to read music is vital to the development of well-rounded musicians and ensures a strong music literacy component is present in her teaching.
Stephanie-Jane Lewendon-Lowe
Stephanie-Jane is a freelance accompanist who loves working with singers.
Since moving to Melbourne at the start of 2014, she has joined the Souffle Sisters Community Choir and had filled in as an accompanist for the ACC before officially joining the company at the start of 2016.
Stephanie is a passionate musical theatre accompanist and over the last two years, has been teaching and accompanying at various performing arts schools including; Showfit, Patrick Studios Australia (PSA) and the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). She was also a repetiteur for La Cage Aux Folles (The Production Company), Keys 2 for Jerry’s Girls (The Production Company) and more recently, Deputy Musical Director for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Vic Theatre Company).
Sarah Butler
Sarah Butler began with The Australian Children’s Choir as a chorister herself at the age of 8 and has been singing ever since, both in choirs and as a music teacher.
After singing with the choir for 11 years Sarah then began working with the choir as a Liaison Officer, Rehearsal Coordinator, and then as Tutor. Sarah studied a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at the University of Melbourne, as well as studying music at the Conservatorium. Since graduating in 2008, Sarah has taught as a music and generalist classroom teacher in Melbourne and London.
Daniel Brinsmead
Daniel Brinsmead (b. 1988) is a graduate of the School of Music at the Australian National University where he received a Bachelor of Music with Honours for performance studies in Classical Voice. He has recently completed a Master of Music majoring in Choral Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, U.K. His choral compositions and arrangements have been performed by school, university, community and professional choirs in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Tomas Parrish
Tomas Parrish is currently a student at the Victorian College of the Arts, studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre).
He began playing the piano at the age of 6, completing AMEB grades, studying classical piano, as well as studying in basic jazz.
He began studies at the University of Sydney and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he was a member of the Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Choir, performing pieces ranging from Arvo Pärt to Lyle Chan.
Administration Staff
The ACC has a number of paid part-time administrative and musical staff. They all play an important part in your child’s musical education and ensuring the choir runs smoothly.Carmel Scott
Amanda Fennell
Carmel Scott
Administration Manager
The Administration Manager plays a key role in ensuring the smooth running of the ACC. Her role varies from managing day to day correspondence ,organising concerts logistics, and managing the office.
Contact: admin@theacc.com.au