Charmian Gadd OAM (b.1942) is an Australian violinist and teacher.

Career

Gadd grew up in

Ourimbah, New South Wales Ourimbah () is a small township in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of the Sydney CBD. Ourimbah is located approximately halfway between Sydney and Newcastle. The township today consists of small scat ...

, and learned to play violin at three years old. Her family listened to

Alfred Ernest Floyd Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

's ''Music Lover’s Hour'' on ABC Radio, and performances by classical musicians. She won prizes in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod, and was enrolled in the Conservatorium High School in 1954. In 1962 she won the

ABC Young Performers Awards The ABC Young Performers Awards is a classical music competition for young people that ran annually from 1944 to 2015, and again from 2017. It is generally considered the most prestigious Australian classical music competition not restricted to a ...

for her violin playing. She moved to Sydney to study at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

, where she graduated in 1960, and took further lessons in violin with

Richard Goldner Richard Goldner (23 June 1908 – 27 September 1991) was a Romanian-born, Viennese-trained Australian violist, pedagogue and inventor. He founded Musica Viva Australia in 1945, which became the world's largest entrepreneurial chamber music organ ...

. In 1966 she moved to the United States with her former teacher Richard Goldner. They taught at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

(state) and married in 1970, when he was 62, and returned to Australia permanently in 1981, after occasionally visiting on tour. Gadd joined the staff at the

Canberra School of Music The ANU School of Music is a school in the Research School of Humanities and the Arts, which forms part of the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the Australian National University. It consists of four buildings, including the main School of ...

in 1986 as lecturer. She performed as part of The Macquarie Trio with pianist

Kathryn Selby Kathryn Shauna Selby AM (born 1962) is an Australian classical pianist. She is often known as Kathy Selby. Biography She grew up in Sydney. She entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the age of seven, studying under Nancy Salas. She f ...

and cellist

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, who formed in 1993 and were considered one of Australia's premier

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

groups. After Goldner died in 1991, the Richard Goldner Award was founded and Gadd is patron of the competition. She was awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) for service to music in 2022.

Awards

1958 - ABC Young Performers Awards - Violin (finalist) 1962 - ABC Young Performers Awards - Violin (won)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadd, Charmian Living people 1942 births Australian classical violinists Australian women violinists 20th-century Australian women musicians 21st-century Australian women musicians Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia