What is your role in the Bellingen Youth Orchestra Ensembles?
Together with Elizabeth Scott, I founded the BYO String School in 2018, recognising a need for an intermediate string ensemble to support the many talented young players in our community as they prepare to progress into BYO and Sinfonia. I am the Co-Ensemble Leader for the BYO String School, tutor within BYO, and also teach violin and viola in schools across the Bellingen Shire.
What are some of your musical achievements?
I studied with inspiring music educators Wendy Ireland and Elizabeth Holowell at the Newcastle Conservatorium, before graduating from Newcastle University with a BA (Hons), First Class. I spent several years in Sydney working across theatre, musical theatre, and television, with a strong focus on children’s entertainment and education programming.
I am a certified Suzuki Music teacher, and remain deeply passionate about the Suzuki philosophy, which shaped my own violin journey from the age of three. I am also a qualified Secondary School teacher, bringing formal pedagogical training alongside my performance and instrumental teaching practice.
Alongside my teaching work, I perform as a singer and violinist in a range of folk and jazz/funk ensembles in the local area.
What do you love about playing music?
I love collaboration — singing harmonies, playing chamber music (especially string quartets), and sharing music-making with others. I also love supporting young people as they grow in confidence, skill, and self-expression through music.
What inspired you to teach music in Bellingen?
In 2013, I moved from Sydney to Bellingen, drawn by its strong sense of community and vibrant arts culture. I was immediately inspired by the other teachers at the Bellingen Youth Orchestra and their unerring passion for music education, and I have been working with the organisation ever since (the BYO afternoon teas were a revelation, too!).
Email: jacqandgill@gmail.com
