Mr. Mark Ford

Mark Ford is currently employed as Head of Bands at St. Leonard’s College, Melbourne. Prior to this recent appointment, he was Head of Bands at Wesley College Melbourne, St Kilda

Road Campus. Prior to these appointments, Mark had previously been employed at Wesley College Melbourne Glen Waverley Campus as a Director of Bands, Head of Brass, Head of Percussion

and IB Classroom Music Teacher as well as Director of Music at Mowbray College in Melbourne’s outer West. Since being employed at St Leonards in 2019 and Wesley College in 2006, he had been

responsible for building these school’s Wind Band profiles in the co-curricular ensembles program. Both St Leonard’s College and Wesley now boasts a Senior Wind Ensemble that is

performing in the ‘Premiere Division’ at major music competitions and festivals. Mark has been a dedicated brass teacher in the community and in Victorian Schools for over

38 years and has taught many hundreds of brass students that have gone on to play with top flight bands, become teachers &/or have gone on to professional playing careers.

Mark is a well-regarded educationalist and many schools and students have benefited from his services. In addition to his regular teaching, managerial and administrative duties, he has

assisted a large number of students to prepare for examinations and musical competitions. A number of school music directors have sought his counsel in preparation for major festival,

eisteddfod and competition performances. In 2015, Mark was appointed associate chief conductor for the biennial Australian Combined Schools’ Music Festival (ACSMF) held at

Hamer Hall, Melbourne. Mark joined the Royal Australian Navy – Melbourne Detachment as a full-time professional musician on principal euphonium and trombone in 2001, a position he held for 5 years. During

this time, he was commissioned as an officer in 2004. 

Mark is an internationally renowned conductor of bands. He was Principal Conductor with Kew Band Melbourne, one of Australasia’s premier bands for a period of 16 years, and with

that band won 3 Australian National A Grade Championship titles in 1998, 2000 & 2011. In 2009, Mark directed Kew Band Melbourne to its first Australasian Open Championship title.

Mark was appointed conductor of the National Band of Australia for its 2001 & 2004 Seasons where the band was invited to the prestigious “World Championships” in Kerkrade, The

Netherlands. Mark has conducted bands in the UK, The Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Japan and New Zealand. In 2013, Mark was the Conductor in Residence at Salford

University in Manchester. In 2008, Mark was awarded Life Membership of the Victorian Bands’ League for his many years of service to the community in performing, conducting and adjudicating brass and

concert bands throughout Australia at all levels. Mark is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected band adjudicators – adjudicating in every state of Australia and New Zealand.

In 2018, Mark was awarded the prestigious ‘Frank Wright Medal’ by the Royal South Street Society Ballarat for his services to music as a conductor, adjudicator, composer, teacher and

mentor. Mark remains very involved in music across Australia and New Zealand as a mentor and coach. He is a mentor to a number of current Australian conductors, providing guidance and

advice in the areas of band musicianship and training. Mark Ford is widely known as an energetic, innovative and passionate educator and musician

with vision and flair, who has considerable experience at a high level as a performer, conductor, adjudicator and educator.

Lindon Weise

B.Mus (Hons)

Lindon is an experienced performer, teacher, conductor and adjudicator based in Brisbane.

He is employed full-time at the Brass Music Specialists music store in Graceville, Brisbane, and enjoys

an active freelance career.

Growing up in Bundaberg under the tutelage of Robert Rotar, he played in the local brass band

(Bundaberg Municipal) and youth orchestra (Bundaberg Youth Orchestra) before moving to Brisbane

to earn a Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and a BMus (Hons) from

the University of Southern Queensland (Toowoomba). He completed his tertiary studies on trumpet

studying with Yoram Levy, Phil Ryan and Paul Rawson and during his formative years was a member

of the Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra and two AYO National Music Camps.

He has performed regularly with groups including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland

Pops Orchestra, Sinfonia of St Andrews, Bach Society of Queensland and the Ipswich City Orchestra,

as well as the Brisbane Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, and pit orchestras for countless shows.

In addition to professional groups, Lindon is passionate about and heavily involved in community

music-making. This has included brass bands - Toowoomba Municipal and arguably the southern

hemisphere’s leading band Brisbane Excelsior (including multiple national A-grade championship

wins and tours to England, Hong Kong and China) and orchestras, including Brisbane Symphony,

Brisbane Philharmonic and Queensland Philanthropic Orchestras. He has performed with many

bands in Australia and New Zealand as a guest on the contest and concert stage on Bb cornet,

soprano cornet and flugelhorn, and on one of these trips to New Zealand he met his wife, Georgia.

Whilst living in New Zealand for two years he filled the soprano cornet chair of Leopard Coachlines

Canterbury Brass (Christchurch), guested with Woolston Brass and Marlborough District bands on

soprano, and conducted the fledgling Nor’West Brass to their debut competition win in the D grade

section of the Canterbury Provincials. He was the Canterbury Open Air Varie Champion and also

performed with the Christchurch Bike Band to celebrate the 200 th anniversary of the bicycle.

As a teacher, Lindon has held teaching and conducting positions at the University of Southern

Queensland, and many highly-regarded Brisbane schools, including St Laurence’s College, Anglican

Church Grammar School “Churchie”, Redeemer Lutheran College, Canterbury College and Loreto

College. He has taught brass, woodwind and percussion at many Education Queensland schools, and

tutored cornet many times at the Queensland State Youth Band Camp.

As an adjudicator, Lindon has officiated at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and Canterbury Provincial

Brass Band Contest as well as other in-house competitions.

As a conductor, he has been invited to take up positions directing the South Brisbane Federal Band

(A-grade), Windsor Brass (B-grade), Nor’West Brass (NZ)(D-grade), as well as leading the Ignatian’s

Musical Society through a season of West Side Story.

Lindon is very much looking forward to your music-making over the duration of the eisteddfod.

Alexandra Khafagi

Alexandra is currently the Director of Performing Arts at St Joseph’s Nudgee College, a role she relishes due to the opportunities to be involved in many and varied activities that allow boys to achieve balance in their lives.

Alex also conducts the String Ensemble and Philharmonia Orchestra and teaches double bass at the Young Conservatorium. This role has allowed her to participate in the State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP) both in Brisbane and regional Queensland.

Although Alex graduated with a degree in the double bass, she plays and teaches many instruments, conducts and accompanies a range of ensembles, and teaches classroom music.

She is delighted to add the Sunshine Coast Eisteddfod to those she has adjudicated, which also include the Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival and the Brisbane Eisteddfod.

Daniel Johnson

Pianist, Daniel Johnson, has been described by Yamaha Australia as "masterful and insightful", and his Chopin described as "stunning" and "a true pianist" by the late, internationally renowned concert pianist, Dr. Marilyn Meier. Born and raised in Mount Isa, Daniel began piano lessons locally with Pam Breen. After winning the Yamaha Keyboard Award for Queensland and the Yamaha Most Outstanding Performer of the year in 2000, he commenced studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Oleg Stepanov and Dr. Diane Selmon. He then continued studies at the School of Creative Arts, University of Southern Queensland with concert pianists Wendy Lorenz, Renate Turini, Dr. Marilyn Meier, and at the conclusion of his degree with Helen Smith. 

Daniel gives masterclasses, adjudicates, and examines for various piano competitions and eisteddfods across Australia. He has broadcast live recitals for the MBS network as part of the City Hall Recital Series in Brisbane and the New Sounds Recital Series at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. He has presented research papers for international conferences such as the Inaugural Messiaen International Conference and has been invited each year since 2009 to present research and perform at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia.

An advocate for Australian composers, Daniel has focused most of his academic research on the vocal, symphonic, and instrumental works of composer Miriam Hyde.  He has piano works dedicated to him by Australian composer, Phillip Wilcher (Pirouettes, 5 Nocturnes for Left Hand Alone), and has given world premieres of piano works composed for him by American composer, Forrest Starling (Nocturne for Piano). In 2022-23 he gives premiere performances of works by Australian composer Anthony Moles and performs the complete music for clarinet and piano by Miriam Hyde with clarinettist Catherine Motteram.

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Daniel serves as a councillor and mentor with the Queensland Music Teachers Association (QMTA) and is the director of The Artistry Labs: a private, audition-based studio for advanced musicians in Brisbane. He holds examination and performance diplomas from Trinity College (London), ABRSM, and the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) where he is also an examiner for piano, and a national/international examiner for Rockschool. He holds a Master of Music majoring in piano performance with distinction from the University of Queensland where he studied with Professor Max Olding. He currently lectures in theory and analysis at UQ where he is also a PhD candidate researching and performing the works of Miriam Hyde and Sergei Rachmaninoff. 

Loreta Fin

LMus.A AMusA. ATCL

Born in Australia, Loreta Fin studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has performed regularly in chamber music, professional theatre productions and orchestral concerts. She has been the Principal Viola player with the Queensland Pops Orchestra for over 25 years. Loreta worked at Somerville House Girls’ School in Brisbane from 1988 and held the position of Director of Strings at the School, from 1992 to 2021. She is currently working as a freelance conductor, musician composer and clinician.

An experienced educator and adjudicator, Loreta has presented at many Australian National Music Conferences, as well as two American National String Teachers’ Conferences. She has adjudicated at major events and competitions all around Australia and has composed over 100 works for String Orchestra, which are distributed worldwide by Alfred Publications. In 2017, Loreta released her Beginner String Ensemble Series for Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass.

Loreta was a committee member of the Australian Strings Association for over 25 years, serving as both State and National President during that time. She received a Queensland State Award for services to AUSTA in 2009. Loreta is a Senior String Examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board and is currently the State Syllabus Advisor for Strings. She was on the Education Advisory Committee for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for over 10 years. Since 2015, she has regularly conducted the State and National Honours Ensembles Programs in Brisbane. In 2017, She was nominated for the inaugural Australian Recording Industry of Australia (ARIA) “Best Teacher” award. In 2018 and 2019, she conducted the Miri Music Project in Malaysia. Loreta was honoured to receive the National Award for Services to Music and String Teaching in Australia at a recent AUSTA National Conference.