Tutors

Tutors for 2019

Rosie Luby - Beginner Strings

Rosie Luby is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and this year’s beginner strings tutor. In 2014, she was the recipient of the “Stars on the Lake” award at the Lake School of Celtic Music, Song and Dance. Since then she has played at many local and interstate folk festivals including the Port Fairy Folk Festival (VIC), the National Celtic Festival (VIC) and Beyond Festival (NSW), and has been the school’s cello tutor since 2016.

In 2015, she recorded on prolific Australian singer/songwriter, producer, author and activist, Shane Howard’s 13th solo Album Deeper South, and is an active member of Victoria’s traditional Celtic and folk music scene.
Rosie’s unique approach to her own compositions has seen a nuanced yet powerful voice emerge, both vocally and instrumentally.

Ewen Baker - Intermediate Strings

Ewen Baker has been playing the violin professionally for over twenty-five years.

His fiddle playing brings soulfulness to the music. He has performed with Shane Howard, Archie Roach, Mary Black, Steve Pigram, Yirrmal and Declan O’Rourke.

His other credits include the string arrangement for APRA award winning title track of The Secret River, written by Shane Howard and Archie Roach, and Music Director and performer for Exile, Songs and Tales of Irish Australia.

Ewen’s recent album of traditional Celtic tunes features duets with some of Australia’s finest tune backers, each having been an important influence in his life as a musician.

On 'The Inch Before the Saw' Ewen was joined by Jim Green, John Hudson, Shane Howard, Patrick Evans, Dan West, Tommy Carty, Jim Moginie, Peter Daffy and Jeremy Dunlop.

Jody Moran - Beginner and Intermediate Whistles

Jody is accomplished on a variety of instruments and whilst well known for his tenor banjo playing, is also a previous All Ireland winner on tin whistle. More recently Jody won, for two years in a row, the gold medal for the newly composed tune category at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.
Based predominantly in northern England, in his youth, he performed at international level with the Leeds Ceili Band and was a regular tutor at music festivals including Willie Clancy Summer School and Tocane (France).  Jody has adjudicated at the top level and with a musical heritage in the Sligo style, he has a vast repertoire of tunes. Being a keen session musician, Jody is always happy to help out others needing guidance. His influences include Joe Cooley, Paddy Canny and Paddy Fahy.  Since emigrating to Wodonga, Australia with his family nine years ago he has been nurturing the scene in the North East of Victoria with a twice annual traditional music festival from where he helped direct and produce a Ceili House broadcast in late 2012. He is also a mainstay in the newly formed Facebook group, ‘Banjoheads’
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Kavisha Mazella - Singing

Kavisha Mazzella is an ARIA award winning singer songwriter who does not believe in world music. It's just music!!! Music unites us and creating imaginary titles such as world music is silly! She enjoys crossing musical boundaries and create community experiences in her shows. She first came to national attention with her appearance in the Franco Di Chiera documentary " Joys Of The Women" in 1993.

Drawing on her rich multicultural heritage she creates contemporary songs with haunting melody and lyrical depth. While her early influences come from the singer songwriter tradition of the likes of Sandy Denny,Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, over time due to her passion for italian regional folksong, she has absorbed influence from the East with its modal tones and ecstatic singing styles of Indian, Arabic, Southern Italian and Gypsy influenced song and links these with western folk music influences. Other influences that have made an impression on Kavisha's music are her interest in meditation and mysticism through the teachings of Osho , Sufi , Tibetan Buddhist Masters and Advaita teachings.

Gil Santos - Intermediate Guitar

East Timorese-born guitarist, Gil Santos, performs with Mystic Trio whose other musicians, singer Paulo Almeida and percussionist Zeca Mesquita, will also participate at Rosewood as tutors. They call Dili, Melbourne and Lisbon as their hometowns! The three also are part of Timorese/Australian band, The Dili All-Stars.

Paulo Almeida - Ensemble

Paulo Almeida, performs with Mystic Trio, The Dili All-Stars and as the front man of World band SOL NATION. A powerful singer with a strong message he will lead the ensemble with great energy and feeling!

Zeca Mesquita - Percussion

Zeca Mesquita, along with Gil Santos and Paulo Almeida is a player in Mystic Trio and the Dili All-Stars providing the driving rhythm to keep the energy flowing! He will guide the percussion workshop to the pounding climax during Rosewood.

Lucy Wise - Beginner and Intermediate Ukeleles

Lucy Wise is a Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist and singer. Accompanying herself on guitar, ukulele and Appalachian dulcimer, she creates a contemporary sound that draws upon her roots in folk, Old Time American and Celtic music. The evocative imagery and universal themes in Lucy’s songs have won the hearts of listeners from a diverse range of ages and backgrounds and have seen her tour three albums and two EP’s in Australia, NZ, the US and the UK since 2010. “Lucy is a natural storyteller, infusing songs with a sense of place so strong you can almost feel the dusty earth crunch beneath your feet as she sings,” says The Brag.

Lucy grew up in a musical household. Through childhood she toured as part of the Western Australia-based Wise Family Band playing an eclectic mix of folk, roots and blues, and at age 11, she started writing her own songs. Upon moving to Melbourne in 2009, Lucy dived into the local music community establishing herself as a beloved solo artist, celebrated for her insight poetic lyricism, and stunningly pure voice. She has played many festivals and concerts, including Sidmouth Music Week (UK), The National Folk Festival (ACT), Port Fairy Folk Festival (VIC) and Woodford Folk Festival (QLD). As well as touring and recording, Lucy teaches private lessons in guitar, ukulele, singing and Appalachian dulcimer at her home in Melbourne.

Flora Carbo and Luke Chapman - Youth Band

Flora Carbo is a young musician based in Melbourne. She began playing alto saxophone at the age of 12 and since then has studied with musicians from Australia and around the world; most notably Julien Wilson, Angela Davis, Melissa Aldana, Jeff Clayton, James Morrison and Lee Konitz.
Flora has performed extensively in Melbourne and around Australia, at venues such as Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Uptown Jazz Café, The Jazzlab, and at festivals including Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, the Festival of Slow Music (Ballarat) and the Melbourne International Women’s Jazz Festival. She has worked with world renowned artists including pianists Barney McAll and Andrea Keller, as well as co-leading the Carbo/Carter/Gunnoo Quartet (will be recording their debut album in September 2018).
In May 2017 she was the featured soloist with James Morrison and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall after winning the prestigious James Morrison Scholarship at the Generations in Jazz Festival. In 2016, she was selected as one of 10 finalists in the National Jazz Awards at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and was nominated for the Freedman Jazz Fellowship in 2018.
She is currently studying a Bachelor of Music at the James Morrison Academy of Music, Mount Gambier.

Elsa Pinto - Dance

Elsa Pinto is my name, and I normally go by Elsa or Uka. I am currently studying at the Victoria University in Melbourne doing a master program in Community Development. I love dancing and do it as one of my hobbies. I have been working and interacting with community members, especially young people and women from different backgrounds, groups, beliefs, and cultures both in formal and informal setting in Timor-Leste’s context. I have gained experiences over the last 10 years involving in a range of social, economic and political activities in my home country. I have learnt few traditional dance movements of Timor-Leste. Looking forward to share some Timorese dances with you all and to learn new dance movements from you all.

Polly Christie - Kids Singing

For over 20 years Polly Christie has opened people's hearts by teaching them to sing. Literally hundreds of people have been led to ecstatic joy in community and festival choirs across Victoria, and around Australia, under her skilled leadership and masterful conducting. Polly established Pollyphonics Choir in 2008 in the Macedon Ranges, creating vibrant, soulful, choral performances ever since.

A beautiful singer and skilled songwriter, Polly makes music and performs with her partner, well-known harp player and musician, Andy Rigby, in duet's and bands. Polly is also a local entrepreneur and community builder. She launched the Vocal Ranges Festival in Kyneton in April 2016. She currently teaches music at Kyneton Primary school where she has a choir of 50 students.

Katie Hull-Brown - Pre-school Music

Katie Hull-Brown has been teaching music since 2002 in primary classroom music, instrumental piano and ukulele, preschool music classes, primary school and Kindergarten choirs and percussion groups. She began Tuned In Music in 2006, offering an Orff style approach to families for preschool music sessions. In 2010 Katie started a new choir for young children in Preston called KIDS (Kids In Darebin Sing) Choir that perform at local community events.

In 2015 she was accepted into the Richard Gill National Music Teacher Mentoring Program and is currently mentoring generalist primary classroom teachers to include more singing with their classes. In 2016 Katie joined the MSO’s flagship community outreach program, The Pizzicato Effect, where she introduced a new choral element to the program.

Katie was given funding from the Australian National Council of Orff Schulwerk to attend the 2017 International Summer Course in Salzburg, Austria and was nominated for the Aria Award for Australian Music Teacher of the Year Award.

She is currently a Teaching Artist at The Songroom, and writing the content for their new in schools music mentor program; Duet. Katie sings in two choirs and Songrise, a performing acapella quartet.

Wendy Ashton - Yoga

Wendy Ashton has been teaching yoga for more than 25 years. Based in central Victoria she runs classes in Newstead, Maryborough, Majorca, Castlemaine and Maldon. Come and stretch, twist and contort yourselves under her careful guidance and end up feeling relaxed!

Kate Holmes - Environment/Resilience

When we find time to sit in stillness or walk in silence in nature, we reconnect with the ancient threads and webs of life which have supported us since the dawn of time. From reflections in nature we can draw insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the human animal.
When we drop our modern bundle and allow ourselves to be vulnerable in nature, we come to terms with the tenacity it has taken for us to survive until now, and the vulnerability it will require for us to thrive in harmony with each other and Mother Earth in an uncertain future. This invitation is to take a moment out of time to feel the vulnerability and resilience of being human in a natural world.

Taungurung

Mick Harding did not know he was Aboriginal for the first 25 years of his life. When he discovered his Aboriginality, he began trying to understand what it means through his art-making. He is actively involved in the Australian Heritage Council (AHC) and Native Title Services Victoria (NTSV). Most importantly, he is sharing his research and knowledge with his children.

As a Taungurung Elder, Mick was the lead artist in designing the motifs on the Taungurung cloak. He held community workshops where stories were told and it was decided that each panel of the cloak would represent a creation story.

Mick returns to Rosewood Music Camp with his sons, after a memorable dance session with us a couple of years ago. They have songs for us in Taungurung language, and will also join in discussions about resilience. Mick in particular has been prominent in Victorian negotiations about Treaty.

Clare James - Art

Clare James is an artist, freelance florist, gardener, general maker and mother living in a little house in the Yarra Valley, Australia.
"Drawing inspiration from my surrounds which include my garden, the forest and the wild and domestic animals that live around me, I paint, draw, stitch, sculpt and design.
Our family love to be in the garden. We grow a lot of food including fruit and vegetables, eggs, herbs and honey. I designed our garden to not only be productive have to also have an abundance of flowers, enough to be be able to pick a posy every day of the year and a place that our children can disappear into. "

"I am drawn towards the untamed, unusual and old fashioned plants that we have growing. In this garden of fruit trees, clematis and roses, behind velvety salvia and giant grasses, beyond the chook house and wood pile sits my small studio. It is a handmade room, made out of salvaged materials. In here I sit each day making."