Paul Taylor Conductor & Cello Tutor
My Mission for the St Albans Music Weekend
The goal of the St Albans strings workshop weekend is to bring together like minded amateur string players to enjoy making music together in an inclusive, friendly and fun environment. This event has grown from the Innominato Strings group, a group of keen amateur musicians who share a passion for making music and enjoying the social and educational side of rehearsing and performing music. They are a group of friends and colleagues that span many age groups and backgrounds. The ethos of the Innominato Strings is one of inclusiveness.
All players are welcomed and supported no matter their experience or ability (usually from about grade 3). This weekend is a chance to get to know some lovely members of this group, and to meet like-minded creative and friendly musicians to share in the learning and performing of some interesting repertoire. The weekend will include group rehearsals, sectional tutorials and a performance to end the weekend. There will also be ample time to meet the members of the group and to relax in the beautiful historical St.Albans Area. All players welcome, all standards are catered for.
Conductor Paul Taylor, studied cello with Walter Despalj, the renowned cellist and teacher at the Zagreb Academy of Music, Croatia, then under Howard Penny, the former principal cellist of the Vienna Symphony, and principal of the European Chamber orchestra. He also studied with Dimitry Fershtman, professor of cello at the Conservertoire van Amsterdam, Rudolf Leopold, Viola de Hoog, and Alexander Baillie.
Paul has worked as a freelance cellist for 20 years and has played with many of Australia’s symphony orchestras. He has recorded for Sony music, Pixar and with many popular bands and performers, including John Farnham, Darryl Braithwaite, Gang of Youths and Paul Kelly.
Having studied chamber music with some of the world's finest players in Europe and Paul has been directing and conducting chamber music, string orchestras and other ensembles for over 20 years. He is also the very popular conductor of Innominato Strings Orchestra, a large community orchestra based in Sydney. Paul is head of Strings at The King's School Parramatta, NSW.
Justin White Concert Master & Violin Tutor
Justin began his musical studies as a teenager, learning both electric and classical guitar before taking up the violin after finishing high school. His tertiary music studies were at the University of New South Wales, where he studied both modern and baroque violin, and graduated with first class honours. He then undertook postgraduate research study in music theory and analysis.
He has been active and held principal positions in numerous community and privately run orchestras, and has worked in a freelance capacity for choirs and community theatre and opera groups. He also performs chamber music with his guitarist brother, focusing on romantic era chamber music involving the guitar.
Justin’s primary occupation is as a musical instrument maker, handcrafting a variety of violins, violas, cellos, and guitars. Justin is the Concert Master of the Mosman Symphony Orchestra.
Anna Grindley Viola Tutor
Anna is a dedicated violist and educator whose teaching blends musical insight with a calm, supportive approach. She studied viola at Victoria University of Wellington under Gillian Ansell, a founding member of the New Zealand String Quartet, an experience that shaped her deep appreciation for chamber music, tonal nuance, and expressive clarity.
Anna has performed widely across orchestral and theatrical settings, including her work with the Wellington Sinfonia, where she played for numerous ballet and opera productions. She has also appeared in Composers Festivals, corporate performance settings, and televised events, experiences that strengthened her versatility and collaborative musicianship across a broad range of styles and environments.
Anna is also a section leader with the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra, contributing both musically and artistically to the ensemble’s ongoing projects and performances.
Robyn Brookfield Former Viola Tutor
Robyn played the viola with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for over twenty years. Her career also included membership of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra and freelance work with many other British orchestras. Her teachers have included Robert Pikler in Sydney and Cecil Aronowitz in London. Robyn lived in St Albans, Hertfordshire for ten of the fifteen years she spent in the UK. Together with local music teachers, she founded the St Albans String Workshop as an annual event, which gave many local students an introduction to the joys of playing chamber music.
Robyn has taught violin and viola from beginner to diploma level and was a regular tutor with the SSO Playerlink programme that brought orchestral coaching to young musicians across regional NSW. In 2007, she was the Consultant Editor of the AMEB Viola Syllabus.
Since retiring from their full-time playing careers in 2013, Robyn and Julie have told the story of their lives in music, illustrated with arrangements for music from Bach to the Beatles for violin and viola, entitled “Two Highly Strung Ladies” to many Probus, U3A and retirement home groups across Sydney.
Julie Stern Former Tutor Violins
In 2024 Julie Stern joined us as a tutor and guest artist. Julie studied at the Sydney Conservatorium with Eva Kelly and Robert Pikler, receiving her Diploma in Performance and Teaching. Upon graduation she joined the The Elizabethan Trust Orchestra, playing for the Australian Opera and Ballet Companies. During this time Julie also became a founding member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and toured with them both nationally and to Europe, the United Kingdom, SE Asia, Japan and New Zealand, for ten years. In 1973, she was in the opening performance by the Australian Opera of the Sydney Opera House. In 1985, Julie joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a first violin. She remained with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for over 28 years, performing the full symphonic repertoire and touring internationally ten times. These days, Julie focusses on exploring the chamber music repertoire.
Maria Dunn Former Violin & Viola Tutor
Maria Dunn has a busy and diverse musical life in the Southern Highlands of NSW. She plays violin, viola, cello, guitar and piano. Over the years she has worked with choirs and musical groups in Sydney, Townville, Bathurst and the Southern Highlands. She has played in orchestras, musicals, bush bands and country bands. She currently directs two school choirs, a string ensemble and teaches instrumental music.
