Performer Biographies
Latitude 37
Latitude 37. L – R: Julia Fredersdorff, Laura Vaughan, Donald Nicolson
Image courtesy Albert Comper Photography
Latitude 37, named after the latitudinal position which links Melbourne, Australia, to New Zealand, is an exciting baroque trio whose members Julia Fredersdorff (baroque violin), Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba) and Donald Nicolson (harpsichord) were drawn together by their passion for historically informed performance of 16th, 17th and 18th century music.
Comprising some of the top graduates of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, reunited after many years of extensive research and international experience playing with many of the finest ensembles and artists in Europe, America and Australasia, Latitude 37 represents a new generation of period instrumentalists who share a unified interest in cultivating and communicating their art.
Latitude 37 epitomises the intensity and intimacy of a trio: vitality, excitement and expression are a defining feature of their performance. Their spontaneity is inspired by a passion for the art of improvisation, communication, and the humanity of a genre of music intended to charm and enchant its audience.
After their sold-out Melbourne debut in June 2008, the ensemble has become an active presence on the Australasian early music scene, with regular festival appearances, concerts at the Melbourne Recital Centre, tours for Chamber Music New Zealand and regular broadcasts on ABC Classic FM.
2011 saw the ensemble receive an ARIA nomination for their self-titled debut CD and return to New Zealand for a mainstage national tour for Chamber Music New Zealand. 2012 includes a 3-concert subscription series at the Melbourne Recital Centre as well as performances at the National Gallery of Australia and the State Library of Victoria.
Musicians Biographies
Julia Fredersdorff, violin
Melbourne born violinist, Julia Fredersdorff, studied baroque violin at the Victorian College of the Arts, before travelling to the Netherlands to study at The Royal Conservatorium, in The Hague.
She lived in Paris for almost 10 years, during which she freelanced with some of the finest European ensembles. In Australia, Julia is a regular member of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, La Compañia and Ludovico's Band, and the Orchestra of the Antipodes. Julia has participated in over 20 recordings for Virgin Classics, Deutsche Grammaphon, Accent, Accord, Naïve, Erato, Passacaille, Ambronay, Zig-Zag, ABC Classics and Tall Poppies. Passionate about chamber music, she is a founding member of Ironwood, with whom she tours and records extensively.
Julia is founder and Artistic Director of the annual Peninsula Summer Music Festival on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, and teaches baroque violin at the conservatoriums of Sydney and Melbourne.
Laura Vaughan, viola da gamba and lirone
Laura Vaughan is a dynamic and well-recognised member of the early music movement in Australia. Following her return from studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2004, she established an active performing career encompassing a wide range of solo and chamber repertoire across Australasia. Passionate about the unique sound world of the viol, Laura is committed to bringing this exquisite repertoire to audiences around the world. She is also one of the few performers of the rare lirone, which was a popular instrument of the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Recent engagements have included performances with the Australian Brandenburg Soloists, Auckland Philharmonia, Adelaide Baroque and solo recitals with theorbo player Simon Martyn-Ellis. Laura has appeared in many major festivals including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Festival d'Aix-en-provence, Adelaide and Melbourne Festivals and records regularly for ABC Classic FM as a soloist and chamber musician. Laura performs and records with numerous ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, La Compañia, Pinchgut Opera, Ironwood, Astra, Adelaide Baroque, Song Company and Opera Australia.
Donald Nicolson, harpsichord and organ
Harpsichordist, organist and pianist, Donald Nicolson is quickly establishing himself as an important part of the young Antipodean Early Music movement. Donald undertook postgraduate studies at the Royal Conservatorium in the Hague, the Netherlands, focussing especially on the interpretation of 16th Century English Virginal music and the keyboard music of 17th Century France. In Europe, Donald was member of many ensembles, with varied concert programmes taking him through Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and Poland.
Since returning to New Zealand in 2007, Donald's activities continue to expand, with special regard both to early music performance practice, on harpsichord and organ, and also contemporary repertoire as pianist and harpsichordist.
Now based in Melbourne, Donald continues to work on both sides of the Tasman as keyboardist for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Associate Keyboard Principal of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and as guest artist on harpsichord with the Vector Wellington Orchestra. He has appeared on numerous recordings with the NZSO and the forthcoming year will see further activity in the recording studio. He has also made frequent visits as harpsichordist to Chile and Taiwan.