Growing up in Melbourne in a musical family, Stefanie Farrands (alum 2008, viola) was accepted into the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) straight after high school. Despite her young age, she was already a founding member of the award-winning Hamer Quartet and quickly established herself as a young artist to watch.
“I came to ANAM as an 18-year-old; utterly determined and driven to learn. I knew the viola was my voice, but I needed the tools to help me express it.”
Whilst at ANAM, Stefanie cherished the opportunity to be involved in masterclasses with some of the greatest string quartets from around the world, including the Borodin, Arditti, Tokyo, Artemis and Jerusalem quartets. “ANAM hugely supported my magnetic nature towards chamber music, and I owe them a lot for giving me that support.”
Concurrently with her second year at ANAM, Stefanie also performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) as an Emerging Artist in 2008, and then continued her musical training at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with renowned violist Tabea Zimmermann. She reflects fondly of her time there, and of the depth of the musical scene. “Music is truly a big part of Berlin’s cultural identity; it was an inspiring experience to be immersed in that environment every day.” Whilst based in Berlin, Stefanie performed with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Camerata Salzburg, and as Guest Principal Viola with Strasbourg Philharmonic, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and the Australian World Orchestra.
In 2015, Stefanie successfully applied for the position of Principal Viola with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), a chair that had been held by her predecessor for almost 30 years. It was a tough decision to leave Berlin and her many friends and colleagues, but she embraced the opportunity to return to Australia to work in a chamber orchestra environment.
Shortly afterwards Stefanie was the winner of the 2016 Freedman Classical Fellowship, and she used the scholarship to collaborate on several new commissions for viola, by Australian composers such as Natalie Williams, Garth Knox, Maria Grenfell, Calvin Bowman, Yitzhak Yedid and Elizabeth Younan. “I feel it’s my responsibility to try and give back to the viola in every way I can.” Stefanie considers working directly with composers a real honour. “The collaboration process pushes me out of my comfort zone. It challenges my thinking and boosts my creativity to interpret their works. It helps me to become the most honest musician I can be.”
Whilst at TSO, she was in demand as Guest Principal Viola in orchestras across Australia, and also kept up her connections in Berlin, returning to perform whenever she had the opportunity.
It seemed a natural fit for Stefanie to move to Sydney for her current role as Principal Viola of ACO, a position she’s held since 2020, returning to her first love of chamber music.
“I can’t believe that I can spend so much of my time immersed in the intense world of chamber music. I have an unrealistic hunger to grow and develop as a musician, and being in the ACO nourishes that hunger.”
Stefanie relishes touring with the ACO – performing a program multiple times in different venues allows her to constantly evolve and explore works at a deeper level every time she goes out on stage. Initially, she finds it difficult to pinpoint a career highlight with ACO, but then on reflection considers two instances, both from 2022: performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante alongside Richard Tognetti and the ACO on a national tour and after two years of many cancelled concerts (“violists will always be in debt to Mozart for giving us this extraordinary gift!”), and touring to Berlin with the ACO. “Berlin is my second home, and it was an incredible moment to somehow experience my two worlds suddenly in the same place. I walked off stage with a very full heart and tears in my eyes.”
Words by Laura Panther (June 2024)
Image credit: Stephen Ward. Courtesy of the Australian Chamber Orchestra