Authors

Robert Wakely & Frances Gall

     Violin Magic

Robert Wakely & Frances Gall are music educators with more than 50 years' experience between them in school and studio environments.

Robert teaches students of all ages and conducts professional development classes for violin teachers. He studied with John Kendall at the University of Southern Illinois (Edwardsville USA), graduating with a Master of Music, and with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute (Matusmoto Japan), graduating with a Teacher's Certificate. He has also studied at the Guildhall School of Music (London UK). Robert is Coordinator of Strings at Scotch College Junior School, Melbourne.

Frances teaches violin to students at all levels at her studio in Melbourne and at Livingstone Primary School. She is an examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB), a professional viola player, has a Graduate Diploma in performance from the Victorian College of the Arts, a Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Diploma in education from the University of Melbourne, and teaching qualifications in Suzuki and Kodaly methods. Frances is a consultant to the Music School of Monash University, currently developing string curriculum material on CDROM.

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Fintan Murphy

Violin Bow Technique
    & Violin Alive

Fintan Murphy is Senior Lecturer in Strings and Coordinator of Strings and Performance at Monash University. He is Chair of the Victorian String Specialist Panel for the Australian Music Examinations Board and Editor of the AMEB Series 7 Violin Grade Books. He has authored seven multimedia titles on violin technique, most recently "Violin Bow Technique" out now on DVD-ROM.

Fintan believes passionately in the need for research into string playing and education. He developed his interest in violin pedagogy while studying with Helfried Fister in Cologne, Germany and Robert Gerle in Washington DC, USA. He has a Masters degree in violin from the Catholic University of America.

He was a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 1987 to 1991, and now performs in recital, chamber music and concerto performances. Fintan's recent CDs include Bridges, contemporary chamber music from Australia, Korea and Romania, and Soul of the Viola, featuring music by Australian composer Gabriel Doheny.

Fintan has a particular interest in youth music education. He is Director of the youth orchestra Melbourne String Ensemble, which toured Germany in 2005.