Kiri Sollis – Flute

The concert flute was never going to be enough for Kiri, so you will often see her play piccolo, alto flute, bass flute, and a suite of recorders during a Griffyn program. If you ask her though, she will tell you that the piccolo is her favourite, which has prompted her husband Michael to expand the repertoire for new works for piccolo, including the 2010 Perelandra Piccolo Concerto which was written for Kiri. Kiri has also performed the world premiere of a new version of David Bedford’s Recorder Concerto, and the Australian premiere of Urmas Sisask’s flute concerto. Kiri hails from the South Coast of New South Wales and has been living in Canberra since 2005 with her husband Michael and dog Gypsy. She maintains an active teaching studio, and has performed and recorded with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Samuel Payne – Cello

Since moving to Canberra in 2017, Samuel Payne has been a regular performer with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and in demand as a chamber musician and teacher.

Samuel studied cello with Susan Blake and Julian Smiles at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and with Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

A keen orchestral musician, he was a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra, and went on to play with many of Australia’s top orchestras, including the Opera Australia Orchestra, the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and the Sydney Symphony Sinfonia. In 2015, Samuel took part in the Australian World Orchestra’s tour to India as an academy student, with conductor Zubin Mehta.

Samuel has played in masterclasses for cellists Steven Isserlis, Gautier Capuçon, Alban Gerhardt and Torlief Thedéen, as well as chamber music classes with the Borodin, Australian and Goldner String Quartets and the Tinalley Quartet.

Edward Neeman – Piano

Australian-American pianist Edward Neeman has performed across five continents. Critics have lauded him as a ‘true artist’ who ‘isn’t afraid to put a distinctive stamp on whatever he touches’.

A prize-winner of numerous international competitions, Edward has appeared as a soloist with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra; the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas; the American West Symphony; and the Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Kentucky Symphony Orchestras, among others.

An enthusiastic collaborator, he has performed with musicians including Itamar Zorman, Kristian Winther, the New Zealand String Quartet, and members of the JACK Quartet. Edward also performs with his wife, Indonesian pianist Stephanie Neeman, as the Neeman Piano Duo.

Edward holds a Bachelor of Music from the Australian National University (ANU), a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School. He is on the piano faculty at the ANU in Canberra.

Samuel has played in masterclasses for cellists Steven Isserlis, Gautier Capuçon, Alban Gerhardt and Torlief Thedéen, as well as chamber music classes with the Borodin, Australian and Goldner String Quartets and the Tinalley Quartet.