Described by her mentor, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, as having “fire in her belly and a spirit of enterprise”, the CV of Madeleine Easton (violin 2000) reads like a wish list for any aspiring musician. For many years, she was based in London performing throughout Europe as a soloist, concertmaster and director of some of the world’s most respected ensembles, but after 19 years abroad, she returned home to Australia and is now the founder and Artistic Director of one Australia’s most respected period ensembles, the Bach Akademie Australia.
Born into a musical family, Madeleine’s musical life started at an early age with piano lessons given by her father (the late James Easton, described by Madeleine as “a musical polymath; a brilliant composer, arranger and pianist”). In fact, she might easily have become a pianist if fate hadn’t intervened in the form of a Suzuki violin group at her local primary school. It turned out to be a good fit, and although she continued with piano throughout high school, even segueing into classical guitar along the way, it became clear that the violin would become her voice.
Madeleine attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School, and later completed a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying violin with Alice Waten and Chris Kimber, who she credits as giving her a solid grounding in violin technique. “It is rare to have a teacher who just cared so much about their students. He was able to bring out the very best in each and every one of us,” Madeleine reflects of her lessons with Chris.
The opportunity to attend the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, in 2000, was “utterly brilliant” reflects Madeleine. She had just finished at the Con, and was enrolled in post-graduate study at the Royal College of Music in London, not commencing until September. She was in transition between institutions, and ANAM provided the perfect bridge between the two. “ANAM provided the means to practice extremely hard, but also gave me incredible opportunities to learn from the visiting artists,” recalls Madeleine. “We had some amazing musicians work with us, such as violinists Erich Gruenberg, Maurice Hasson, Elizabeth Wallfisch and Pinchas Zukerman, and the Goldner, Smetana and Takács String Quartets.
“Being at ANAM, we had the chance to focus purely on our instrument, and learn as much as possible from some of the world’s most brilliant musicians, before going out into the profession.”
Another highlight of the year was ANAM’s first national tour, in December 2000. Having just commenced her training in London, Madeleine recalls being invited back to Australia to perform on the tour by ANAM’s Director, Frank Wibaut. The musicians performed in chamber music concerts in a whirlwind two-week tour, performing an ‘opening night’ concert with Orchestra Victoria in Melbourne, then hitting the road to perform in Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney and concluding in Newcastle.
But it was a special performance not advertised in concert programs, that left an indelible mark on Madeleine. The tour stopped via central Australia, to perform for the Muṯitjulu community, home to the Aṉangu people who live just a kilometre from Uluṟu, within the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Muṯitjulu is a closed community, and access is by invitation only. “We performed the Mendelssohn Octet for an amazing community of Aboriginal people, most of whom didn’t speak English. But the language of music was the thing we could communicate and connect with. We were profoundly moved by their openness and receptiveness, and some of the elders were crying and smiling after our performance. It showed us that music is universal – it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how old you are, music connects people.”
Following her time at ANAM, Madeleine says her biggest hurdle was relocating to the other side of the world “pretty much without a bean and not knowing a single soul over there”. Nevertheless, she made the most of her time at the Royal College of Music with Dr Felix Andrievsky, where she graduated with Distinction and won the String Prize for Most Outstanding Performer.
For the next almost two decades, Madeleine forged an incredible freelance career, performing with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and ensembles. Some of the many highlights include performing with the London Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Sir Simon Rattle, and performing Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion in the Thomaskirche (Bach’s own church) in Leipzig with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir.
Just about every ensemble Madeleine performed with, she was called upon to lead at some point. At first, she would be asked to step up to fill the role when illness or injury meant that the person ‘in the chair’ couldn’t play, but soon Madeleine’s reputation as a remarkable leader brought her opportunities to guest concertmaster many of the UK’s, Europe’s and Australia’s most prestigious ensembles. Madeleine has led performances with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, The English Baroque Soloists, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, The Kings Consort, The Gabrieli Consort, the Musicians of the Globe, The Independent Opera Company, London Orchestra da Camera, the Guildford Philharmonic, Bath Philharmonia, Florilegium, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Ballet Orchestra of England, and the Australian World Orchestra.
I ask Madeleine what advice she would give to young violinists aspiring to become a concertmaster. “Be modest,” Madeleine replies without hesitation. “Don’t blow your own trumpet, and don’t have a chip on your shoulder. Whatever your role in the section, be a leader by example. It’s all about reputation! You never know what future opportunities your current performances can lead to.”
This piece of advice reminds Madeleine of a couple of instances where first impressions counted. “I performed Bach’s Chaconne whilst in my first year at uni in Sydney, and I had no idea that John Harper (Australian Chamber Orchestra’s former orchestra manager) was in the audience! Shortly after that performance I was called to play in the ACO, whilst still a uni student.”
Madeleine is a respected authority in Baroque and historically informed performance, but she didn’t set out to study this during her training. “The Royal College had a very tiny Baroque department, in a small room up many, many flights of stairs. I popped my head in one day, and met Micaela Comberti, a highly respected musician and teacher who tragically died far too young [at 50]. I joined the College’s Baroque band, and thankfully my teacher Dr Andrievsky approved of my optional studies in Baroque playing.”
“One Sunday afternoon, I got a gig playing in a scratch quartet at a London pizza restaurant, of all things. After we played, I mentioned I played a bit of Baroque to the fellow violinist. It turned out she was the leader of the Gabrieli Consort!” Madeleine must have left a good impression – she was then booked to play with them a couple of weeks’ later, and the rest, they say, is history.
Alongside the many freelance engagements across the UK and Europe, Madeleine held the position of concertmaster with UK period ensemble The Hanover Band for ten years from 2006. “I started in the section of the second violins, and then before I knew it, was sitting in the first desk of the firsts, next to the concertmaster. And when he retired, I only found out via a letter in the mail that I was promoted to the top job!” Highlights included frequent tours of the UK, France and Spain, working alongside the world’s best Baroque specialists. She also returned to the Royal College in 2009 to direct their Bach Cantata Series for the next 10 years, and has taught period style at the Schleswig Holstein Festival in Germany, Sydney Conservatorium, Monash University in Melbourne, and Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in the UK.
But life on the road, and living in London, with a reputation of being one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, began to take its toll. Madeleine can recall the exact point she had the idea to perform in her own ensemble. “I started thinking about what could bring me home to Australia. My mentor, John Eliot Gardiner, said ‘You’re a leader…start your own orchestra!’ which I thought was crazy. But then at 4.30am, 28 December 2015, I was home for Christmas. I woke up with a start – that’s when I thought I could start my own Bach orchestra. I went to my sister’s that day to seek her opinion, and she answered with a resounding YES! Then at 4.30am the next morning, I woke up again. The name Bach Akademie Australia came to me like a sudden jolt, as if it had always existed.”
In late 2016, under the banner of the newly formed Bach Akademie Australia, Madeleine assembled some of Australia’s top musicians to record a selection of Bach Cantatas and Brandenburg Concerti for ABC Classic. Their first public performance was in April of the following year, to a sold-out audience at Sydney’s Garrison Church. “I was blown away by the audience’s enthusiasm; I discovered pretty quickly that there’s a hunger for historically informed Bach performances in Australia. This became our distinguishing point – I wanted the ensemble to be the best of the best, based on the latest scholarship and the world’s finest performers.”
“It’s like believing in Shakespeare. JS Bach is the founder of Western Classical music.”
And they have continued to grow in the years since, becoming Australia’s foremost Bach ensemble. Madeleine acknowledges the hard work it took to grow the organisation to where it is today, as she not only led the ensemble on stage, but managed the day-to-day logistics, fundraising, marketing, all behind the scenes. Not to mention the tough years of COVID and funding setbacks through major funding cuts by the NSW state government. “We worked very hard, and over the years have built towards presenting larger repertoire like the Easter or Christmas Oratorios.”
The Bach Akademie open their 2025 season with two major milestones: their first national tour, performing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, UKARIA, and regional NSW (Newcastle, Orange, and Blackheath Chamber Music Festival), and their first performances with an international soloist, the Grammy-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley. Madeleine first met Reginald in 2016 touring Europe performing together with the Monteverdi Choir, and she is delighted she can showcase his talents to Australian audiences with the Bach Akademie.
With many of our ANAM musicians and alumni aspiring to start their own ensembles, I ask Madeleine for one last piece of sage advice from her experience. “Australia is a country where there’s room for more musical ensembles,” she says. “If you have music you really believe in, then absolutely do it! It’s a great feeling to give employment to fellow musicians. Be prepared to work exceptionally hard, and a lot of people will tell you it won’t work. Shut your ears! It is truly the most rewarding thing, working for yourself and sharing music you love with audiences.”
For more information about Bach Akademie Australia, and their upcoming performances, visit bachakademieaustralia.com.au
Interview by Jennifer Gilchrist, updated by Laura Panther (March 2025)
Photo credit: Bridget Cambridge (headshot), Noni Carroll Photography (with Bach Akademie Australia)