Trio Anima Mundi

International award-winning Trio Anima Mundi is one of Australia’s best-known chamber groups. Since its foundation in 2008 it has become renowned for its ‘Piano Trio Archaeology’ — the unearthing and performing forgotten works — and presenting these ‘findings’ alongside masterpieces of the piano trio genre and freshly-minted contemporary compositions.

Hailed for performances which are ‘excellent and persuasive’ (International Record Review), and for interpretations which ‘bring out the freshness of the works’ (American Record Guide), and praised as a ‘trio of vitality, charm and aplomb’ (The Age), the Trio’s members — Kenji Fujimura (piano), Rochelle Ughetti (violin), and Noella Yan (cello) — are seasoned performers and have gained a reputation for their sumptuous sonorities, immaculate ensemble, and masterly interpretation. Recordings of the trio’s performances are regularly broadcast all over the world and the trio is frequently invited to perform on radio, at festivals and teach masterclasses, including the Castlemaine State Festival, Music in the Round, Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival, Melbourne Chamber Music Feast, Montsalvat Chamber Music Series, Ballan Feast, 3MBS Radio Marathon etc.

Trio Anima Mundi’s debut CD — Romantic Piano Trios — (Divine Art DDA25102) was selected as a Musicweb International Recording of the Year in 2013 and received rapturous reviews around the world. Critics hailed it as ‘…a top recommendation’ (Fanfare USA), and described it as ‘…beautifully recorded in well-balanced sound, with consistently affectionate performances’ (Gramophone), and ‘as to chamber music this has to be the CD of the year and, perhaps, many years to come.’ (Wright Music UK).

In addition to its annual subscription series, upcoming projects for Trio Anima Mundi include the presentation of the complete piano trios of Carl Reissiger – The Reissiger Project — as well as a survey of Beethoven’s piano trios. Trio Anima Mundi is currently Ensemble-in-Residence at the International Academy of Musical Arts
(www.iamusica.org) and undertook a concerts and masterclasses tour of China during December 2018 — January 2019 as part of their residency.
www.trioanimamundi.com

Dr Kenji Fujimura is an internationally-acclaimed pianist, chamber musician, and composer. Awards for his CD recordings include Fanfare USA Colin Clarke’s 2015 ‘Top 5 Want List’, Limelight Chamber Music Recording of the Year etc. His recorded output covers a diverse repertoire from George Frederick Pinto and William Hurlstone, to George Benjamin and Olivier Messiaen. Upcoming recordings include solo piano music by Theodore Dubois, Ernest Guiraud, Leo Livens, Alec Rowley and others, as well as chamber music of Arthur Benjamin.

A multi-award-winning, self-taught composer, recent international prizes include the Singapore Asian Composers Festival Award, William Lincer Foundation Award (New York), and the VirtualArtists International Composition Award (USA). He was a finalist in the 2019 Cum Laude International Composition Competition (Spain). The 2017-2019 seasons saw Kenji’s compositions performed in Romania, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, USA, and Australia.

Kenji began his formative music studies in Tokyo and Melbourne, then attained the four-year Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree in just two years at The University of Melbourne. He subsequently completed his postgraduate studies in Melbourne and London, winning prizes and accolades as pianist, fortepianist, and chamber musician.

Kenji has a formidable reputation as a pedagogue; his tertiary-teaching career began while he was still an undergraduate student. Kenji departed his position as Deputy/Acting Head of School, Coordinator of Classical Performance, and Associate Professor of Keyboard at Monash University in December 2018 to become Deputy and Artistic Director at the International Academy of Musical Arts, as well as join the piano and chamber music staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He is also an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board, co-founder of Trio Anima Mundi, and Patron of the Association of Eisteddfod Societies of Australia. Kenji is frequently invited to serve on music juries and as a consultant, and also maintains a very selective private piano studio.

In 2015, Kenji was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, for his ‘significant contribution to the music profession’

Rochelle Ughetti graduated with an honours degree from the Victorian College of the Arts studying with William Hennessy and Miwako Abe in 2003. She continued her violin studies as a scholarship holder with Professor Maurice Hasson at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Rochelle graduated with distinction and qualifications including Postgraduate Diploma, Diploma and Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, and was awarded the outstanding final recital.

Rochelle has performed as soloist with several ensembles, including the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Ragadolls Salon Orchestra and Speak Percussion. She has worked with the London Chamber Players, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and as a core member with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. She also participated in the intensive program ‘Encuentro De Musica y Academia De Santander’ in Spain in 2004. Rochelle is a passionate chamber musician and has been a member of the piano trio Trio Anima Mundi since 2009. With Trio Anima Mundi she has performed many rare masterworks for the genre, released a CD recording to international acclaim, and toured internationally.

Rochelle has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Harold Craxton chamber music prize and the Marjorie Hayward prize at the Royal Academy of Music, the Victorian College of the Arts Mensa Award for outstanding performance, CD Hume violin scholarship, Classical Concerto Competition prize and Performance Related Studies Award. She was also the winner of the String section of the Hepzhibah Menuhin award.

Aside from music, Rochelle works as a paediatric and vestibular Audiologist at The University of Melbourne and is a mother of two young children. Rochelle plays on a 17th-Century violin by Giofreddo Cappa.

Noella Yan is a Melbourne-based Singaporean cellist. Noella has premiered numerous works with composers, dancers and visual artists including the critically-acclaimed world premiere of Bernard Tan’s Cello Concerto, written for her. Noella has appeared with numerous orchestras and given many concerts both as a soloist and chamber musician globally across many prestigious concert venues including Buckingham Palace, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kennedy Centre of Performing Arts, Southbank and Beethoven Haus. Noella’s playing has been recognised for her ‘expressive sound’ (The Straits Times) and of ‘exceptional talent and innate musicality, one with superb technique and interpretation.’ (sina.com.cn). A multifaceted instrumentalist, recent highlights include co-releasing an album of original music ‘Musical Chairs’, visual and new music projects with Ad Hoc Collective and Maya Dance Theatre amongst many others. Formerly artistic co-director of a cross-cultural project celebrating Singapore’s 50th, Noella curated a series of concerts across Australasia.

Deeply passionate about using music to effect change, Noella founded ARTIF – Art It Forward (www.artit4ward.org), a global art education initiative that seeks to bring creativity through the arts to underserved communities. She is currently building this program in Myanmar. Noella is on the music staff at MacRobertson Girls School and also conducts the Fusion Ensemble at Lauriston Girls’ School.

Noella began learning piano at age 3 and the cello at 12. Accepted into Purcell School at 13, she has been a scholarship recipient of both Lee and Shaw Foundations, awarded the NAC Gifted Young Musician’s Award, Audi Young Musician, Lesley Alexander Prize for outstanding performance at the Royal College of Music, UK. Her teachers included her father Yan Yin Wing, Herminia Ilano, Pal Banda, Joyce Rathbone, Alexander Boyarsky and Erling Blöndal Bengtsson. Noella received a Double Masters in Performance and Chamber Music as the John P. Miller fellow at the University of Michigan, and was also awarded the Gustavé Rosseels Chamber Award.

Former member (who appeared on DDA 25102) Miranda Brockman (cello) has been a permanent cellist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 1999. She completed a Master’s Degree in Music Performance at Melbourne University studying under Nelson Cooke. Her earlier teachers were Christian Wojtowicz, Marianne Hunt and Kate Finnis. She has performed as principal cellist in a number of Australian orchestras including the Australian Pops Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and as soloist with a variety of regional orchestras in Australia. Miranda is a keen chamber musician. As a child she played in the Brockman String Quartet and in later life was a member of the prize-winning Lyric Trio at Melbourne University. She was a founding member of Trio Anima Mundi and regularly appeared in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series of concerts. Her playing has been broadcast over both ABC-FM and 3MBS-FM Australia.