Max commenced his studies at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 2024 under the tutelage of Howard Penny. Max graduated in 2023 with a Music Degree from the University of Western Australia. Previously, he studied with Suzanne Wijsman, Rod McGrath and Xiaole Wu. He has attained distinctions in the AMEB Associate and Licentiate Music Diploma exams. Max has performed concerts with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Fremantle Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Pops Orchestra.
He has played in masterclasses with Lynn Harrell, Li-wei Chin, Howard Penny, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth, Pablo Ferrández, Gautier Capuçon, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Markus Stocker, Martti Rousi, Tim Hugh, Julian Smiles, Narek Haknazaryan, Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Leonid Gorokhov and Jean-Guihen Queyras.
In 2019, Max attended the National Arts Centre Young Artists Program in Ottawa, Canada founded by Pinchas Zukerman. He also won second prize in the Ai Qin International Cello Competition, a prestigious cello competition in China. In February 2020, Max debuted with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. In February, he also hosted his first public fundraising concert to raise funds for the victims affected by the Australian Bushfires with a grand total raised of $3150. In September 2022, he successfully auditioned to participate in the masterclasses at the Kronberg International Cello Festival. In 2022, Max joined WASO as a casual cellist.
Max has a passion for both solo and chamber music and is interested in a diverse repertoire spanning Baroque to Romantic to Contemporary works. Beyond the cello, Max enjoys badminton, table tennis, gym sessions, beach outings, vinyl records, and whiskey tastings!
Max is supported by ANAM Syndicate donors Janet Matton AM and Robin Rowe, the Darin-Cooper Foundation, Anonymous.
Max plays a Pierre Guillaume cello bow, generously on loan to ANAM from Jannie Brown
Photo by Pia Johnson