Australian recorder player Alana Blackburn has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with a number of notable ensembles including; The Royal Wind Music, De Nederlandse Opera, The New Dutch Academy, Salut! Baroque, The Bell Shakespeare Company, The Sydney Consort, ThoroughBass, The Tall Poppeas, The Sydneian Bach Choir, La Folia, The Sydney Conservatorium Early Music Ensemble, Manly-Warringah Symphony Orchestra and Bellatrix: The Australian Recorder Quartet - with which she has also toured Queensland and New Zealand as well as performing on Radio NZ and 2GB Sydney. Alana was also a founding member of Batalla Famossa, Australia’s leading youth recorder ensemble, which toured New Zealand and recorded their debut CD in 1998.
After completing a Bachelor of Music (performance) degree with First Class Honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2004, Alana was awarded a University of Sydney Postgraduate Award to continue with a Master of Music (performance) degree specialising in contemporary Japanese compositions for recorder under the instruction of Hans-Dieter Michatz. In 2008, with the help of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust and PPCA Performers’ Trust, Alana moved to Amsterdam (The Netherlands), to continue advanced study with Paul Leenhouts at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Alana is currently a member of The Royal Wind Music – a double sextet of renaissance recorders that specialise in instrumental music from 1500-1640. With this ensemble, she has toured Europe and participated in numerous music festivals as well as recording their latest CD ‘El Canto Figurado’ in May 2009.
Keeping with her Australian ties, Alana travels back to Australia to participate in concerts with various ensembles including an invitation in 2009 to record with Salut! Baroque.
Alana has had lessons and master classes with distinguished recorder icons; Walter van Hauwe and Paul Leenhouts (The Netherlands), Gerd Lünenbürger and Ulrike Volkhardt (Germany), Eva Legene and John Tyson (USA), David Bellugi (Italy), Piers Adams and Ashley Soloman (UK).
As a teacher, she has lectured in teaching techniques and harmony at the JMC Academy in Sydney and also appears regularly as a tutor at recorder and orchestral workshops throughout Australia including the Sydney Recorder Society meetings and the New England Conservatorium of Music, Armidale.
Photo by Gerrit Fokkema
Alana has held teaching positions at a number of schools in Sydney including Ferncourt Public School, Lane Cove Public School, Cranbrook and St Catherines Waverley.
Alana now offers recorder lessons in Amsterdam, if you are interested in learning the recorder please send an email to alanablackburn@gmail.com
Contact: To contact Alana please send an email to alanablackburn@gmail.com
