🎶🎶 Meet the 2024 Adjudicators 🎶🎶

A.T.C.L.(r): Dip.P.AGM; PP.Dip.AGM; M.A.G.T.R

Alan White has been Director of Music for many bands in both New Zealand and Australia, which he has often led to wins at District, State and National and Championships. From brass and concert bands, choral groups, military bands, dance bands and brass ensembles, Alan has done it all.

Alan has been selected in several representative bands both in New Zealand and Australia, the highlights of which were attending the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, and attending the International Bands Festival on four separate occasions as Director of Music and being featured as a soloist often performing to audiences in excess of 5,000 people. He has recently travelled to New Zealand to perform with a top A grade band in the NZ National Championships on Tuba.

Alan has successfully competed in multiple championships as a soloist on a variety of instruments, and he has also successfully tutored and coached other players to achieve their goals and has often provided specialist tuition to students prior to them successfully performing their practical music exams. Alan has won over 35 District, State, National and Local Championship titles as a Soloist, Director and performer.

In 2011, Alan successfully attained his PP.Dip.AGM, (equiv. Fellowship) scoring maximum points for the practical component and 98% overall. He was the first brass performer to achieve this qualification.

Alan was invited to return to the Gold Coast City Wind Orchestra in 2019 and has directed them to Queensland State Champion titles in 2022 and 2023.

Alan has adjudicated in both New Zealand and Australia on numerous occasions and has led many youth band camps and master classes in both countries.

Miguel Wu, pianist, singer, composer, and conductor, holds a Master of Music and Graduate Diploma in Music in Aural Pedagogy from the University of Queensland, and a Certificate of Music from The Juilliard School. He has studied with Vicky Yang, Patrick Kreeger, Evan Fein, Ruka Shironishi, David McCall, and Dave Brown. He also undertook further pedagogy and performance training at the Queensland Conservatorium and Indiana University, USA (Summer Camp). He continues further study and training at The Juilliard School (New York).

Miguel won numerous piano competitions and compositions in Australia and has been awarded the “Most Outstanding Music Performance” award. He has performed as a soloist in Australia, Paraguay, United States, and around Europe.

In 2011 Miguel recorded and released a self produced album titled From The Sky, which has been broadcast on Australia’s ABC Classic FM radio station and Qantas Airline Q Streaming.

As a singer, Miguel has won the Taiwanese Singing Competition held in Paraguay. He has performed in major arenas such as Sydney SuperDome (now Qudos Bank Arena), Brisbane Entertainment Center, The Gabba, and Queensland Performing Arts in Brisbane.

He is a past committee member of the Queensland Piano Competition and Event Manager of Piano, Instrumental and Chamber Music for the Brisbane Eisteddfod.

Miguel currently teaches in person and also online, those who live outside or other parts of Australia. He also conducts vocal and band workshops for schools, churches, and community music groups and adjudicates piano, instrumental, voice, and choir auditions and competitions in Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia) and United States. He is currently an Australian Music Examination Board piano examiner.

M.Mus.Studies,Melb.University., B.Mus.Melba/VicUni., Dip.Opera and Stagecraft, VCA, Dip.Mus ACMM/Melba, A Mus A (piano).       

Susan Breen Clarke is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, the Melba Conservatorium of Music and the Victorian College of the Arts Opera School.  After completing eight years of tertiary studies, Susan studied in London specializing in Mozart Operatic repertoire, Oratorio, French art song and Lieder, under the guidance of Professor Paul Hamburger, an internationally renowned Mozart specialist.

On returning to Australia, Susan was appointed as a Musical Director to the prestigious Adelaide Festival. She also performed at the festival. Susan was then appointed Musical Director of Opera Melbourne. During this time, Susan directed as well as performed in several cameo operas, including the operas of Mozart, Purcell, Wolf Ferrari, Menotti and Easton.

Susan was on the Vocal Staff at Genazzano FCJ College until 2015. She has also taught at Scotch College and Lauriston. Susan was also a Lecturer and Teacher of Voice at Melbourne University for 15 years, resigning for family reasons and so that she could complete her Master of Music Degree in 2009. As well as teaching individual voice students, she has been responsible for taking vocal ensemble classes at the Faculty of Music, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Catholic University. Susan has also taught in the master’s program at the Victorian College of Arts, (1998/99) and was also a staff member at the Melba Conservatorium for several years. Susan won an Excellence of Teaching Award during her time lecturing in voice and vocal pedagogy at Monash University (1997-2001). Her teaching philosophy is based on the teachings of the Bel Canto School, a traditional and well-trusted method of teaching that can be carried across all of the different vocal categories.

Susan has adjudicated throughout Victoria and Interstate, including the Royal South Street Competitions held in Ballarat (July 2001/6) and in Mildura, Ringwood, Manningham and Warragul in 2009-2014. Susan is also an AMEB examiner. Susan performed until recently as a recital concert artist specializing in Mozart Operatic repertoire, Lieder and Russian Art song. Several of her students have gone on to continue their studies and perform at an international level.  In past years, she has had students who have gone on to study in Germany and in London at the Royal College of Music. Susan is a VCE voice specialist, and her students achieve excellent results.  In 2003 Susan founded a small community based Opera company. The purpose of the company is to give young students the opportunity to sing and perform with professional singers as well as some older members of the community. This has been very successful and in late November 2023 several performances were given in both Melbourne and Geelong and the profits made were donated to the World Vision Ukrainian Children’s appeal. The company now calls itself Cameo Community Opera and 2024 is looking very promising indeed! 

Shaun Murphy has just completed his tenure as the Director of Performance (Music & Theatre) at Ivanhoe Grammar School in Melbourne.

In a sustained professional performing career, he appeared in the original Australian casts of Dr. Zhivago, The Secret Garden and The Phantom of the Opera as well as other major commercial musicals.

He appeared as a Principal Solo Artist with Opera Australia, WA Opera Company, The Victorian State Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Pops in music as diverse as Cole Porter to Carl Orff, Verdi to Sondheim.

With the group Combo Fiasco, Shaun pioneered a culture of Australian performers presenting their work in New York to great success. Arts Festivals, recording, live television, collaborations, touring and self-produced cabaret seasons were their staple fare.

For his theatre work, he is the recipient of two Green Room Awards.

He has taught on the Musical Theatre faculties of WAAPA, the VCA, Arts Academy and LaSalle College of the Arts in Singapore.

His passion for teaching has existed parallel to his work as a performer. His association with the performing arts now is chiefly in Directing and project work.

My belief in the communicative, transformative power of the performing arts is fundamental. Talent is one layer of the onion. Depth and the emotional intelligence to look at the world through another’s experience is the greater component. It can be instilled while performance skills are taught. Curiosity for all-things-life becomes a force unto itself.