Friday Music
February 2026

St Stephen's Uniting Church
197 Macquarie St, Sydney
(opposite Parliament House)


Entry by note donation

www.ssms.org.au




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6 February

Sunny Roh (violin) &

Sam Dharma (pianoforte)

 

 

Sonata for Violin and Piano in B Minor No.1 BWV 1014 - J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750)

I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Andante
IV. Allegro


Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Major No.3 BWV 1016 - J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750)

I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Adagio ma non tanto
IV. Allegro

 

Ms Sun Roh is an Australian concert violinist performing throughout Europe, England, Korea, Russia and Australia. She made her debut performing the Mozart Violin Concerto with the Green Peace Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler in Korea and Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Harding. She won the overall winner prize from the Ku-ring-gai Concerto Competition, first prize at the Queensland National Concerto Competition and the second prize at the Gisborne International Music Competition in New Zealand. 

She received full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music, London and graduated with first class honours for her Bachelor of Music, studying with Mateja Marinkovic. She performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Royal Academy Concert Orchestra, conducted by Denise Ham and won prestige prizes including the David Martin/Florence Hooten Concerto Prize and the Alfred J. Waley Violin Prize. Then she graduated with Master of Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying with Dr. Goetz Richter.

Her major performance in Europe includes the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Horsham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Pope in England, Termini Violin Concerto with the Accademia Capella Orchestra, St. Petersburg, conducted by Rudi Eastwood and recitals in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. She was invited to join the Verbier UBS Festival Orchestra in Switzerland and toured USA and Europe with conductor Charles Dutoit. She was invited to join the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland, studied with Oleg Kaskiv and masterclasses with Nobuko Imai, Mihaela Martin, Werner Schmitt, Philippe Graffin, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Jeremy Menuhin and many others and her string quartet toured in Poland. She won a prominent scholarship from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Italy to study with Giuliano Carmignola later became her mentor at the Luzern School of Music, Switzerland, specialising in Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoire. 

She was appointed as a Second Concertmaster of the prestigious Symphony Orchestra St. Gallen in Switzerland, where she performed as a soloist with the chief conductor David Stern and chamber music with the principal members of her orchestra and with the Camerata Giocoso with conductor Kathrin Auer. She was invited to perform at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland and was invited to work on Sonatas for Violin and Piano with Pierre Amoyal, Pavel Gililov and Bruno Canino at the Academy of Music in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

She served as a jury member for Kendall National Violin Competitions several times and was invited to perform as a soloist twice with the Beecroft Orchestra with conductor Dr. Joanna Drimatis. Her recordings including the Bartok Rhapsody are recently released on Spotify and Apple Music. Her latest major performances include the Brahms Violin Sonata complete cycle, Beethoven Violin Sonata for the Beethoven Festival at the Sydney Conservatorium, Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Luke Spicer and with the Hills Shire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chris Upton, Bach Violin Concerto and Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Kolkata Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sanjib Mondal in India and the Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Prima Luce Ensemble. 

Currently in Sydney, she conducts the premier string orchestra, Advanced Strings at the North Sydney Girls High School, teaches the violin and chamber music at the Roh Music Academy and the King's School and performs and engages in artistic performance projects and is a passionate chamber musician and specialises in art of sonata performance for violin and piano. 

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Australian pianist Samuel Dharma is the winner of numerous piano competition awards in Australia, Canada and Germany. His playing has been described as "powerful" (Jungfrau Zeitung) with "an artistic sincerity and intensity which is compelling as well as rare" (Dr Robert Roux, Steinway Artist).

Samuel has given solo recitals and performed as chamber musician to audiences in Australia, Europe, and North America. His performances have been broadcasted by 2MBS FM. As concerto soloist, he has performed with the UNSW Orchestra conducted by Steven Hillinger and Colin Piper. He is also the resident pianist at the Kawai Sydney International Masterclass Festival since 2015, performing works by Prof. Graham Hair and his composition students.

A graduate of the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory (Toronto, Canada) and Rice University (Houston, USA), Samuel has studied with many of the most important artist teachers in the world such as Leon Fleisher, Robert McDonald, John O'Conor, John Perry and Jacques Rouvier. He maintains a private studio in the Hills District and also serves as a member of the piano faculty at the Conservatorium High School.

 

 

 

13 February

Rodric White (pianoforte)

 

 

Music from Movies & Musicals

Bernstein: Maria (West Side Story)
Lerner & Loewe: I Could Have Danced All Night / I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
 Lloyd Webber: Unexpected Song (Song & Dance)
Morricone: Cinema Paradiso Theme / Love Theme (Cinema Paradiso)
Myers: Cavatina (The Deer Hunter)
Sakamoto: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Schöenberg: Castle on a Cloud (Les Misérables)
Sondheim: Love Takes Time (A Little Night Music)

 

RODRIC WHITE is an Australian musician whose fine skills as a pianist / arranger / singer have seen him perform / serve as music director for trumpeter singer Benny Benack III (USA), bassist singer Nicki Parrott (Australia / USA), saxophonist  clarinettist Adrian Cunningham (Australia / USA), and International singers Julia Shved (Ukraine), Noria Letts (France), Patricia Ségui (France), Juliana Areias (Brazil), Marilane De Mello (Brazil), Magdalena Mira (Chile) and Rachel Delgado (Chile). Rodric has released 3 albums and one EP through Newmarket Music Australia.

Rodric was a finalist in the 1999 National Australian Jazz Piano Competition, graduating from the Associate Diploma of Jazz Studies Course (NSW Conservatorium) majoring Arranging / Jazz Piano and studying Classical Piano with Gerard Willems (Judge of the Sydney International Piano Competition / ABC Recording Artist). In January / February 2025, he performed 8 classical piano recitals on board the MS QUEEN ELIZABETH (Cunard) on cruises of Queensland and the South Pacific. 

 

 

20 February

 Miranda Ilchef (violin)

Emily Cavey (violoncello)

Stacey Yang (pianoforte)

 

 


Violin Sonata in E minor, K. 304 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

I. Allegro
II. Tempo di Menuetto


Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C major, Op. 3 - Frédéric François Chopin (1810–1849)

I. Introduction: Andante sostenuto
II. Polonaise: Allegro con spirito


Piano Trio No. 25 in G major, Hob. XV:25 - Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
("Gypsy Trio")

I. Andante
II. Poco adagio, cantabile
III. Rondo all'Ongarese: Presto


 

Miranda Ilchef is a violinist, writer and music educator based in Sydney, with interests in chamber music, modern music and historically-informed performance. She studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under Professors Alice Waten and Goetz Richter. She has performed with Ensemble Apex, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, The Sydney Cantata Project, Muffat Collective as well as at a range of pop and commercial events and as a session musician for a variety of recording studios. She is a founding member of Sylva Quartet, is Lead Writer for NSW with Cutcommon Magazine and presents Pre-Concert Talks for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Through her career thus far, Miranda has aimed to increase accessibility for all people to learn and experience music, and she enjoys contributing to the culturally distinct Australian music scene. 

 

Emily Cavey is an accomplished cellist from England, now based in Australia. She trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London on a full scholarship, and has performed extensively across Europe as both a soloist and chamber musician with the Chekhov String Trio.

Since relocating to Australia in 2008, Emily has established herself as a versatile performer, playing regularly with The Metropolitan Orchestra and the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and performing in several musical theatre productions each year.

She is a core member of both the Strings Attached Ensemble and the Aurelian Ensemble, presenting numerous recitals that reflect her deep passion for chamber music.

Outside of her musical career, Emily is a devoted mother of three and enjoys creating and decorating exquisite cakes in her spare time.

 

Stacey Xiaoyu Yang is a doctoral candidate in organ performance and literature under Professor David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She also studied Collaborative Piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Previously, she served as the Organ Scholar at St. James' King Street and St. Paul's College, University of Sydney.


Stacey holds a Master of Music (Eastman), LTCL in organ performance, and LMusA in piano performance. She has performed extensively in Australia and abroad, including venues like the Sydney Town Hall, Sydney Opera House, Our Lady's Basilica in Tongeren, Belgium, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Cathedrals in Antwerp, Madrid, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle.

As a collaborative pianist, she has worked with notable artists such as David Elton, Frank Celata, and Emma Scholl. In 2022, she was a repetiteur for Opera Australia's school production of Cinderella, and in late 2023, she served as the repetiteur for the site-specific opera Trackworks.

Stacey was honored to perform on the Grand Organ at the Concert Hall and accompany First Nation soprano Nina Korbe at the Joan Sutherland Theatre during the Sydney Opera House's 50th Anniversary celebration. Since 2024, she has regularly performed opera gala recitals at the Utzon Room in the Sydney Opera House with Shaumet Music. She is a recipient of the prestigious Melba Opera Trust Scholarship for 2023 and 2024.

 

 

 

 

27 February

James Flores (organ)

 



Praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 149 - Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Greensleeves - Richard Purvis (1913 - 1994)

Sinfonia from Cantata BWV 29 - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) arr. H. Grace

Variations sur Amazing Grace - Denis Bédard (1950 - )

Dolcetta - Graham Twist (1958 - )

Grand Choeur in D major "alla Handel", Op. 18 - Alexandre Guilmant (1837 - 1911)


James Flores has had a varied journey in sacred music and organ performance. Starting with lessons under Benedict Wilson and becoming sub-organist for the Schola Cantorum at St Patrick's Church, Albury, he actively participated in liturgical activities, concerts, and CD productions. Continuing his organ studies under Dr. Allan Beavis, James completed a series of notable recitals and earned numerous accolades, including the LTCL with Distinction from Trinity College London, Licentiate Diploma with Honours from the St Cecilia School of Music, and the AMusA in organ and piano. In 2020, he received the Governor-General of Australia Medal for his contribution to music in the Albury area. In 2024, James performed in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the opening organ recital of the Kristupo festivalis and in 2025 he performed at the Auckland Town Hall. Through his YouTube channel, he shares his music with a global audience and aims to keep the organ a treasured instrument for generations to come.

 

 




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