Meriel Owen

Name: Meriel Owen
Main instrument: Piano, accompanying
Musical influences: My musical influences have been strongly conservative in my early years, but have to admit being seduced by the music of George Gershwin, and Cole Porter as well as others in that amazing period before WW11.
Career highlights: I have been trained as a Performer and a Teacher with some memorable performances on ABC radio, and on MBS-FM. Also winning some Major Eisteddfod competitions in Sydney, Canberra and regional areas over the early years. Also was assisted by the Australia Council to study in Italy with Lidia Baldecchi-Arcuri in the field of Piano Pedagogy, which is an ongoing connection.
Instrument you wish you could play: I would like to be able to reclaim my earlier skills in performance, though at the moment am enjoying preparing as associate artist with colleagues at ORC and with my grand-daughter Eileen ,who is preparing for cello exams and HSC performances.
Scariest stage moment: Playing a Bach Prelude and Fugue in an Eisteddfod when my nose started to run about 10 bars from the end of the Fugue.
Favourite thing outside music: Sharing a good meal with friends, exploring Orange’ s restaurants, watching my tree-peony flower in October, inhaling the fragrance of my roses, especially “Jude the Obscure “ and “Cecil Brunner’, and experiencing snow in Orange and Perisher.

Meriel Owen has been involved in musical associations and societies, fostering the development of music throughout Australia since graduating from Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

She is currently a representative for examiners on the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) after many years running a private studio in Beacon Hill, a Northern Peninsula suburb of Sydney. She has extensive experience in performance, adjudication, examining, and as a presenter of piano workshops.

Meriel undertook valuable postgraduate study with the eminent Italian Pedagogue, Lidia Baldecchi in Genoa, Italy supported by the Arts Council.
A yern for a more leisurely lifestyle has brought her to Orange where the vitality of the music community has claimed a significant amount of her time and skills, and is on the staff at Orange Regional Conservatorium.