Virginia Comerford

Viola

Virginia hails from a prominent Newcastle family of musicians. As a teenager she settled on the viola as her primary instrument and studied in Sydney with Janet Davies and later with Peter Pfuhl, one-time Principal Violist of the Opera Orchestra in Bayreuth. As a student at the Sydney Conservatorium High School, Virginia received a Distinction in Performance in the A.S.C.M. diploma.

At the age of nineteen Virginia won the position of Associate Principal Viola with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, which she held for five years. During this time she also performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Seymour Group and the Sydney Alpha Ensemble. She also spent some time in Oxford, studying with Kato Havas.

Virginia then headed to Europe, first to Italy where she pursued vocal studies, then, from 1995, in The Netherlands, where she resided for five years. During this time Virginia performed with numerous ensembles such as the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, the Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic, as well as the Belgian chamber orchestra ‘I Fiamminghi’ and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists.

At the same time Virginia was able to pursue her love of singing, winning the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to study in London with Janice Chapman. In 2001 she returned to live in Australia. Virginia now holds the position of Principal Viola with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.