Max is in his second year at ANAM 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 with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Fremantle Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Pops Orchestra, and in 2022 joined the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) as a casual cellist.
Max 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, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alban Gerhardt, and the Kronberg International Cello Festival.
In 2019, Max attended the National Arts Centre Young Artists Program in Ottawa, Canada founded by Pinchas Zukerman. In February 2020, he hosted his first public fundraising concert for the victims affected by the Australian Bushfires, raising more than $3000. Max received second prize in the Ai Qin International Cello Competition, a prestigious cello competition in China, and won the 2024 ANAM Concerto Competition, debuting with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Max has a passion for both solo and chamber music and is interested in 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!
FROM: WA. Lands of the Whadjuk Nyoongar peoples.
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