Josephine
Vains

Cellist • Chamber musician • Educator
A woman wearing a dark blouse with neck-length brown hair holding a cello, against a grey backgroundA woman wearing a dark blouse with neck-length brown hair holding a cello, against a grey background
Josephine Vains is a cellist, chamber musician and educator active across modern and historical fields. Performing around Australia and internationally to acclaim, she thrives on collaboration and exploring the emotional relationship between musician and audience.
As an educator at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and the University of Melbourne, Josephine’s teaching focuses on each unique individual, to foster confidence, flair and stylistic curiosity.
About

Areas of Expertise

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Performing

Josephine is an Australian cellist and avid chamber musician with a performance career that encompasses modern and historical cello. An adventurous spirit has taken her to some far-flung concert venues - from an 1000 year old cave in the heart of China to mountain-top Bach in the French Alps.

She is a founding member of Firebird Trio, also performing to acclaim with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Accademia Arcadia, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Ludovico’s Band, Genesis Baroque and more.

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Educator

Passionate about education, Josephine is currently training the next generation of musicians at Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, University of Melbourne. She is a regular tutor for Melbourne and Australian Youth Orchestra, Mt. Buller Chamber Music, Clunes Music, Melbourne Young Con Artists Academy, Pettman National Junior Academy (NZ) and for iartschool (China).

Josephine is thrilled to be presenting at the 2022 National Australian String Teachers Association Conference in July, with one of her favourite subjects, on creating ‘speaking’ musical performance using Rhetoric.

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Mentor

Josephine regularly mentors early and mid-career cello teachers, helping to illuminate their natural pedagogical strengths and guiding them to develop more rigour and inspiration in their own teaching. She also mentors her own students as they navigate their way through secondary and tertiary study, and beyond into the professional world.

Events

10 and 11 JUNE 2023

Woodend Winter Arts Festival

ST AMBROSE CHURCH, TEMPLETON ST WOODEND
Returning to this divine festival in a beautiful area of regional Victoria. Accademia Arcadia and Ensemble Gombert join forces in a rousing celebration of Handel's Coronation Anthems, in this, a Coronation year.
11AM, 18 JUNE 2023

'The Sweet Sacred' for Sunday Mattutino Series

TEMPO RUBATO, 18 BREESE ST BRUNSWICK
The inaugural offering for this new series at my favourite venue, featuring the music of Bach, Lee Bradshaw, Caerwen Martin and Sofia Gubaidulina. Joining me for some sacred Bach chorales will be Marcus Ho, Henry Say, Jeannie Kim and AJ Singh. A special shout out to Mark Millward who is supporting this series with a complimentary glass of sherry and other tasty treats at the end of the recital.
3-9 JULY 2023

Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition

HAWTHORN ARTS CENTRE, BURWOOD RD HAWTHORN
Run, don't walk to hear this year's MICMC held over 7 days in July. It was a real honour to be part of the audition panel with Wilma Smith and Caroline Almonte for this talented group of 14 ensembles competing for the Grand Prize, and a lot more besides.
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Projects

Mondays at 8pm in October 2022

Tempo Rubato Residency

Tempo Rubato
A musical gathering across four Monday evenings with Josephine’s nearest and dearest musical collaborators
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July 2022

AUSTA National Conference presentation

Melbourne
Presentation topic is ‘Speaking through music’ - finding the rhetoric in persuasive musical performance.
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