Stefanie Farrands
Principal Viola, the Australian Chamber Orchestra
ANAM Alum (Viola, Performance Program 2007-08, Fellow 2010), Guest Faculty (2017-present)
A young musician needs to be consumed by music. ANAM gave me a place to be entirely consumed.
It flooded the halls, it gave me life-changing opportunities, and it brought a community along with it. I fear we are living in a time when a sense of community is becoming increasingly rare.
We need to strive for something unattainable within ourselves. It’s a privilege to be in a field where curiosity flirts with purpose and passion. We need to nurture musicians who have a deep-seated desire to push their boundaries and dance on the edge of possibility. The arts are too important and precious to simply walk on eggshells and be beige.
Returning as a guest artist to perform Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the ANAM Orchestra in 2024 was a very special moment in my life. Everything I gave to them, they returned to me twofold. We can’t evolve in a vacuum. It takes a village.
It seems that ANAM was, and still is, my village.
Stefanie Farrands in rehearsal with the ANAM Orchestra and Brett Dean, August 2024. Photo credit: Charlie Kinross.
Stefanie Farrands headshot by Simon Lekias, ACO