Piano & Keyboards

Piano Teachers

Jodie Ring, Catherine Burgess, Sonia Sozio, Brad Baker, Slobodan Zivkovic, Susan Robinson, John Spence, also Nick Southcott (jazz, not pictured))

Brad Baker

Brad Baker holds a Master of Education (Music Education) degree from the University of Victoria, BC, Canada and an ARCT diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has taught at a number of institutions in Canada including the University of Lethbridge Music Conservatorium, Tom Lee Music Academy and Brentwood College.

As a performer Brad has had diverse musical experiences performing with music theatre groups, choirs and with other musicians in recitals, festivals and competition. Brad's research focus is in piano pedagogy and creating educational performances for the young. Brad joined the staff at the Conservatorium in January 2009.

Catherine Burgess

Catherine has been teaching Piano and Musicianship in a professional capacity for 35 years. In 1972 she gained an Associate in Music Australia, (AMEB) and commenced teaching. In 1997 she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from Charles Sturt University. In April 2006 she recieved the Certificate of Accreditation issued by the New South Wales Music Teachers’ Association.

Catherine believes music teaching is an essential part of education for students of all ability levels. Many of her students have progressed successfully from AMEB Preliminary Grade through to A.Mus.A. Some have gone on to careers in music teaching and performing, two have since studied jazz at Canberra School of Music and play professionally.

Jodie Ring

B.Mus(Hons), L.Mus.A, LTCL, Grad Dip Ed

Jodie Ring studied music at the University of Sydney. On completion of her Bachelor of Music (Hons) degree, she undertook post graduate study in Moscow with Lev Naumov and Irina Plotnikova, and later in New York. She has attended summer schools in both France and Russia and has appeared in masterclasses and recitals in Russia, the United States, France and London. She has made recordings for ABC and 2MBS Radio.

Jodie has been teaching the piano and working as an accompanist both privately and in schools for the past twenty years. Former positions include accompanist and teacher at Camden School of the Arts, Philadelphia (USA), Lecturer in Piano at Wesley Institute for Ministry and the Arts in Sydney and Co-ordinator of Performance Studies at Kambala, Rose Bay.

Jodie is a keyboard examiner for the AMEB. She regularly adjudicates and gives workshops in regional New South Wales.

Susan Robinson

Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Sydney University, a Diploma of Education and a Bachelor of Languages from the University of New England, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Music and A.Mus.A in Piano (AMEB). Susan has taught piano since her teenage years and started teaching at a professional level after graduating from university. She has been teaching at the Wollongong Conservatorium since 1996.

Her professional experience includes a solo performance at the Sydney Opera House in 1989, and recitals held at various locations, including the University of Wollongong and the Wollongong Chopin Festival in 1996. She has experience as an accompanist and has participated in a variety of concerts and competitions throughout the region.

Sonia Sozio

Sonia holds an AMusA in piano from AMEB and an Advanced Diploma of Music Performance from the Wollongong Conservatroium of Music. Recently, she has completed her Bachelor of Music through the University of Southern Queensland. In 2011, Sonia will be completing a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) through the University of Wollongong.

She joined the staff of the Wollongong Conservatorium in 2003.

John Spence

John Spence was born in Dungannon in Northern Ireland in 1965. He came to Australia the following year. He studied composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music graduating in 1989. His teachers include Gillian Whitehead, Martin Wesley Smith, Graham Hair. He has continued studying with Greg Schiemer in recent years.

He has composed music for a variety of mediums. After completing his degree he wrote a number of chamber works including his second string quartet and a sonata for piano/harpsichord. His first symphonic work Sola Gratia was composed in 1993.

In 2003 his work for flute ensemble Waltzing the boiling billy was premiered by the Wollongong Conservatorium Flute Ensemble at a flute convention in LA. In 2004 he wrote an orchestral overture for the Viva la Gong festival. His orchestral work The Money Box (2005) was composed for the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. Some of his chamber works have featured on recordings of Australian works published by Wirripang and performed by David Miller and various associate artists including Mark Walton and Emma Knott.

He has also produced electronic and electro-acoustic works. His recent collection entitled The Absentee Performer consists of early electronic music created with analogue based electronics as well as new works focusing on microtonality using traditional orchestral instrumentalists with computer assisted electronics.

He is a producer, arranger and session musician working at Studios 301 and Albert Recording Studios working across many different genres. He also teaches harmony and composition at the Wollongong Conservatorium.

Slobodan Zivkovic

Professor Slobodan Zivkovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia. Professor Zivkovic, a pianist, vocal coach, choir conductor, ethnomusicologist and accompanist, has been teaching piano for more than thirty-five years. He was born into the fifth generation of a renowned musical family and gained a Bachelor of Music with Merit (in Piano) and a Masters degree in Piano from the Belgrade Music Academy and a Bachelor in Ethnomusicology from the Belgrade University Faculty of Music Art. He has studied with a number of famous professors and pianists including Guido Agosti (Rome), Aldo Chiccolini (Paris) and Lev N. Vlasenko (at the Tchaikovsky Conservatorium of Music in Moscow).

Professor Zivkovic has performed solo recitals and played as a soloist with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Zagreb and Belgrade Radio and Television Orchestras. After his arrival to Australia 16 years ago with his wife, Snezana, son Aleksandar (cellist and music therapist) and daughter Marija (soprano and violinist) they performed regularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

He was a Member of the Advisory Committee for the 3rd Piano Pedagogy Conference in Sydney in 1997 and presented a paper ‘My Approach to Piano Technique’ at that conference. Currently, Professor Zivkovic is a Councillor in the Council of Music Teachers Association of New South Wales.

Nick Southcott - jazz piano

Nick is one of the most skilled and versatile musicians on the Sydney scene today, greatly in demand in the Jazz, Latin, Funk and Soul fields. His rare blend of groove and swing, along with a love of Latin music, has led him to develop a unique sound that sits comfortably, whether backing a solo vocalist, swinging hard in a trio or working with an eighteen-piece Big Band.

Nick is also a dynamic and experienced educator, having worked at the Wollongong Conservatorium teaching Jazz Piano and Ensembles over the last eight years. He has also been involved with coaching and accompanying singers at the Sydney Conservatorium Open Academy and other workshops, most recently with the master American singer and vocal teacher Robert Edwin.

Milica Krga - piano accordion

Milica Krga completed her Bachelor of Music in Classical Performance with Honours, with the accordion as her instrumental major at the Australian Institute of Music. She was the first accordion student accepted into the Bachelor degree at the Australian Institute of Music. She commenced her accordion studies at the age of 10 with Tania Lukic-Marx, and is now continuing her studies with Elizabeth Jones.

Her repertoire includes classical transcriptions, contemporary repertoire and traditional/folk music. Milica is also a fluent performer of traditional Serbian music, and has performed both as a soloist and with other instrumentalists at Serbian clubs in the Sydney metropolitan area. In 2009 she performed as a soloist at the NSW Art Gallery, St Andrew Cathedral (Town Hall), and was also asked to perform for Viva La Gong in Wollongong.

Milica has competed in NSW state competitions, and International competitions held by the AATA (Australian Accordion Teachers Association) and the ASA (Accordion Society of Australia), other competitions include the NZAA (New Zealand Accordion Association) championships held in Auckland. In 2007 Milica competed in the NSW State Championships hosted by the ASA, the South Pacific Championship hosted by the AATA, the South Pacific Championship hosted by the NZAA and the Australasian Championship hosted by the ASA.

Milica is featured on the Accordion Society of Australia NSW Youth Orchestra CD “Celebration” as lead accordionist and soloist. Milica often acts as deputy musical director of this ensemble in overseas tours and weekly rehearsals. Milica holds a place on the Dean’s honour roll at the Australian Institute of Music.

At the beginning of 2006 Milica began teaching at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music, she also teaches privately in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.