To spread the gift of music through collaboration for the benefit of students and the wider community
Tracy Burjan - Artistic Director
Tracy is Symphonia Jubilate’s Co-founder and Chief Conductor, having been in the post since the formation of the orchestra in early 2013. She graduated from the Conservatorium High School in 1980 on the clarinet, piano and composition with Ross Edwards. She continued her studies in singing and jazz harmony.
Tracy has played and sung with many professional ensembles, including Reel Matilda, Kith and Kin (an Irish band) and Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop, a 9 piece swing band, which she led with her husband Paul (who co-writes music with her).
Tracy has been teaching in the public school system for 17 years. She has created her own music programs and teaching style, which have been implemented into the Jellybeans in Schools Music Program. She has also written music for school bands and orchestras. Working with people in a creative field is her forte and she has written, directed, appeared in and composed the music for five short films for Tropfest.
Tracy has written a number of musicals for schools; recently completing a family musical called “Posey and Prickle”. Tracy wrote Expanding Horizons – Along the Silk Road for the Sydney Region Gala Concert featuring schools from the Sydney Region and China in 2009; and Kameruka for the Candelo Music Festival in 2011. This is Tracy’s sixth year writing for the Festival of Instrumental Music. Her pieces this year are Galliard Irrégulier and an arrangement of Mango Walk. SJ's landmark piece in the 2013 Season was Lieto composed by Tracy, which has achieved acclaim from the public since its inception.
She shares Symphonia Jubilate’s vision of expanding musical talent beyond virtuosity and remains a strong advocate for the promotion of music education in every public school. Tracy is the orchestra's resident composer.
Mathew Owen
Mathew Owen is an accomplished and dedicated Music Educator who is experienced in Conducting, Piano Performance, and Orchestration. He embarked on his journey with Symphonia Jubilate (SJ) in 2017, initially serving as a clarinet and percussion tutor. Notably, Mathew successfully completed SJ's Trainee Conductor program from 2017 to 2018 and has loved working as a conductor with the organisation ever since.
His expertise extends across a diverse range of conducting engagements, encompassing string ensembles, concert bands, and orchestras at primary and high school levels within various educational settings. Mathew has also worked as Music Director for several notable productions, including Shrek, the Addams Family, and Grease.
As an accomplished pianist, Mathew holds an AMusA Diploma in Piano Performance and has captivated audiences at both commercial and educational venues. His musical talents also extend to the clarinet, where he notably performed alongside Sydney Symphony Orchestra players for Mozart’s Requiem in 2023 as the first clarinet.
A proud graduate of Concord West Public School and mentored by Tracy Burjan, Mathew directed the Concert Band at his alma mater in 2018 before transitioning to a full-time role as a Music Teacher and Lead Conductor at Redlands (SCECGS) in Cremorne, Sydney.
Mathew's academic achievements include a Bachelor of Music Education (Performance) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, marked by a High Distinction Average, the Donald Peart Memorial Prize, and consecutive Dean’s Scholarships. Recognised as a finalist for the NSW Early Career Teacher Award (Secondary), Mathew's outstanding contributions as a classroom teacher at Redlands underscore his dedication to education and musical excellence.
Currently serving as the Director of Music Performance (P-12) at Redlands, Mathew oversees a dynamic Performance program, managing over 30 ensembles, 40 staff, and 500 students enrolled in cocurricular ensembles and private tuition. In his pivotal role, Mathew shapes the artistic direction of Redlands Music Department's performance program, ensuring the success of the department's 150 annual events.
Susan Sukkar
Susan Sukkar has had a long and varied career as a music educator working across early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. This includes an extensive association with the recorder, performing professionally with many ensembles in Australia and overseas. Susan holds Bachelor and Master of Education degrees and studied recorder at post graduate level at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Royal Conservatorium Den Haag, Holland.
Susan has been an active supporter of school music programs for many years, directing ensembles in infants’ schools through to mentoring high school students studying for the Higher School Certificate. Susan was a Lecturer in Primary Music Education for several years at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean, and more recently the University of Technology, Sydney, and has conducted professional learning workshops for Musica Viva. In 2014, Susan was awarded the Alan Laughlan Award for Outstanding leadership in Education by the Australian College of Educators, and in 2016 an award for outstanding leadership as an executive teacher.
Susan is currently the Arts Coordination Officer and Lead Mentor- National Music Teacher Mentoring Program for the NSW Department of Education.
Hans-Dieter Michatz
Hans-Dieter Michatz has had a long career as a performer and educator. A reputable player of modern and baroque flute as well as recorder, he has performed and recorded with many Orchestras and Early Music groups, e.g.: as founding member and principal flute with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Salut Baroque, Ensemble Ecclectus, Melbourne, The Sydney Consort, - including European tours; Sydney Philharmonia Orchestras, Sydney Opera and Ballet Orchestra. His recordings include: Telemann’s ‘Sonate Metodiche', and 6 Concerti, (both published by MOVE Records), principal recorder soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti (ABC), several of Salut!, Sydney Consort, and Brandenburg Orchestra CD’s.
As conductor, he pioneered premier performances of Handel Oratorios and newly discovered works by J.D. Zelenka, was conductor/chorus master of the Sydney Chamber Choir and Sydney Philhamonia Choirs, and led the first Australian performance of Vivaldi’s ‘Dixit Dominus’ RV 807. Hans-Dieter was Classical Coordinator and Performance Studies lecturer at the Australian Institute of Music (2009 to 2018), and has taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music since the early 1990’s. He is Patron of the Sydney Society of Recorder Players. His arrangments of symphonic repertoire for recorder orchestra has been published by MOECK, Germany.
Recent ventures include premier performances and recordings on the Csakan, (SALUT! BAROQUE – The Special Collection); Collaboration with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras for their Harry Potter live performances; concerts and masterclasses with the ‘Folkwang Recorders’ Essen, Germany; lecturing at AMPA, the Orpheus Music Course 2020, and the Brisbane Festival of Early Music 2020.
Hans-Dieter has been a faculty member of the NSW Education Department’s State Recorder Camp, and the Festival of Instrumental Music at the Sydney Opera House. He is looking forward to conducting Sydney’s first Teenage Recorder Orchestra, ‘Symphonia Jubilate Recorders’, from 2020.
Sherry Hsiao
Sherry Hsiao, a passionate music enthusiast, is a seasoned conductor, teacher, and accomplished musician, specializing as a violinist and pianist. Originally from Taiwan, she underwent extensive training in both Taiwan and the US, and now resides in Sydney. As the founder of the Sydneysider Music Academy, Sherry imparts her love for music through lectures on Violin & Piano Performance and Chamber Ensemble Programs. Under her guidance, SMA students excel, winning prizes in eisteddfods, achieving distinctions in exams, and many students have received music scholarships to esteemed private schools. Additionally, her students have been accepted to prestigious institutions such as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of New South Wales in Music, and various music institutions in Taiwan, the USA, and Canada.
In her role as a conductor, Sherry has directed various ensembles, including the 2022 NSW State Music Camp Strings Ensemble, Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, the Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Temple Harmony Youth Chamber Orchestra and FGS Chamber Choir, touring to Japan, Taiwan, and Queensland. Her conducting expertise spans from Suzuki Violin Ensembles to String Orchestra Ensembles within the education network from early childhood to tertiary institutions since 1996 in Taiwan. She has also served as a guest conductor for international ensembles such as the Harvard Youth Choir in Hong Kong (1999), Fo Shiang Steel Drum Ensemble in Hong Kong (1999), and the SanChong Music Festival Ensemble in Taiwan (2000). Currently, Sherry serves as the conductor of the Secondo Orchestra at Symphonia Jubilate.
With nearly three decades of professional orchestra performances as a violinist, Sherry has been part of prestigious orchestras such as the Cincinnati Conservatory Symphony Orchestra touring Italy with Opera Theatre in 2004, the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra (USA, 2003 - 2005), and the Huntington Symphony Orchestra (USA, 2001- 2003). Her contributions extend to Taiwan’s professional orchestras, including the Taipei Civic Philharmonic Orchestra (1996 - 2000, 2005-2008), the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra (1992 - 1994 ), and has contributed to Australian Ensembles such as the Ku-Ring-Gai Philharmonic Orchestra (2008 - 2018), Sydney Musician Symphony Orchestra (2009), Strathfield Symphony Orchestra (2010 - 2016), Phoenix Artist Philharmonic Orchestra as concertmaster (2019), and Voces Caelestium Symphony Orchestra (2018 - 2023). Sherry remains an active performer in Sydney and Queensland. In addition to her performance skills, Sherry as a music arranger, orchestrating arrangements for FGS steel drum, choir
ensembles, strings orchestras, musical shows, and chamber ensembles globally since 2014. During her tenure in Taiwan, she authored a series of violin and Duo ensemble books for violin and piano students between 2005 and 2008.
Sherry holds an Associate Bachelor of Music in Violin, Piano, and Composition from Tainan University of Technology in 1994 (Taiwan), a Bachelor of Music from Soochow University in 1996 (Taiwan), and a Master of Music with honors from Morehead State University in 2002 (USA). Afterward, she continued her studies in the Doctoral of Musical Arts at the University of Kentucky, specializing in violin methodology, music pedagogy, and orchestra conducting.
Acknowledged for her musical prowess, Sherry received accolades like the Outstanding Graduate Student Award of Music in 2001 & 2002 and the BIACS Memorial Scholarship in 2003. Additionally, she excelled as a Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant, demonstrating her commitment to music education. Certified in various teaching methods, she actively participates in International and National Music Education Conferences across the United States and Taiwan, as well as music teacher workshops in Sydney. Her contributions have earned awards such as the School Community Music Service Award (2005 - 2007), Taiwan Ministry of Education's Tertiary Music Accredited Award (2008), Music Contribution Recognition from the Georges River Council (2017), and the Best Music Teacher Awards from the Australian Enterprises Organization (2021). Sherry’s dedication, extensive knowledge, and passion for music drive her mission. She believes music transcends mere sounds; it's a universal language uniting humanity. Her goal is to spread the joy and power of music, helping students achieve their aspirations and share the beauty of music with their families, communities, and the world.
Being part of Symphonia Jubilate since 2017, Sherry continues to inspire and create musical magic for everyone.
