Andrew Baker

Andrew Baker began learning the Violin at the age of 8 at his school, Barker College Sydney, where he ultimately became the school’s first captain of music. Andrew currently holds the position of Assistant Director & Head of Strings at the Orange Regional Conservatorium in NSW, teaching violin to students in Orange and the surrounding regions. Andrew coaches chamber music ensembles and orchestras, and is concertmaster of the Orange Symphony Orchestra. He performs in over 20 concerts per year in solo, orchestral and chamber music. These include being concertmaster with the Macquarie Philharmonia and directing ‘Zest Baroque’, who perform on authentic instruments.

Andrew studied violin performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Alex Todicescu and later in The Netherlands Berent Korfker and Florian Donderer. He has performed in master classes with Zakhar Bron & Nava Milo, Jamie Laredo, The Goldner Quartet and the Brodsky Quartet. In 2004 Andrew was the 4th prize winner in the “Maria Yudina international chamber music competition” in St Petersburg, Russia.

Andrew is currently undertaking a Masters degree (research) in String Pedagogy through the Australian National University. In 2008 he presented his research at the Sydney Violin Pedagogy conference at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has been published in ‘Stringendo; (Australian String Teachers Association) and ‘The Studio’ (Music Teachers Association).

One of Andrew’s musical passions lies in Baroque performance practice. Through a grant from the North Netherlands Conservatorium, Andrew was able to study period performance with some of Europe’s leading early music specialists: Paul Komen, Johann Hoffmann & Bart van Oort.