Kathryn Selby: Concert pianist
Kathryn Selby: Concert pianistWhat did you want to be when you grew up? A concert pianist.
What did you become? A concert pianist! Lucky me!
What's your official title? Artistic Director of Selby & Friends & ‘A Little Lunch Music’. I work with an array of ensembles including Trioz and also for 2010 will be collaborating with some amazing women such as Opera Australia’s Principal Soprano Taryn Fiebig and ACO’s principal clarinetist Catherine McCorkill.
What's your background - how did you end up here? I grew up in Sydney but went to the US at age 14 to study which led me to found Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Group as well as touring right around the country with some really great ensembles from San Francisco and Boston to Pittsburg and Saint Louis! I then returned here after 11 years to begin life again in Australia and later started the Macquarie Trio and now Trioz and Selby & Friends!
How would you describe your work to a complete stranger? I play the piano on stage, classical music, sometimes solo, sometimes with orchestra and often with my colleagues in my piano trio. I could probably try to do this upside down & standing on my head, but I’m too busy being a mum and organising Selby & Friends 2010 season.
What's the first thing career related you usually do each day? Go to the computer to check my emails. You never know who has been in touch overnight!
Can you describe an "average" working day for you? At least as much time spent on the computer as at the piano, my fingers are magnetised to keyboards. I would say I am really happy when I can fit in about 3-4 hours practice on the piano a day.
Who or what in the arts world most inspires you? People who like to create and who are not afraid to try something new. When I had my show on 2MBS I used to love showcasing really inspiring composers who aren’t overly well known like Gaspar Cassadó and the wonderful Elena Kats-Chernin.
What's the toughest challenge you've dealt with on the job? Working with colleagues – music is a very personal expression of self and being sensitive to others is vital to maintaining important relationships. From close collaborations come the best moments of creativity.
What's the best piece of advice you were ever given for your career?Try and learn something new every day, even if it is in another discipline other than your own to constantly be broadening your horizons.
What are the top three skills you need in your particular role? Discipline, motivation, sensitivity.
What's the best thing about your job? I do something I love and am passionate about and therefore can happily and easily spend up to 18 hours a day working at it.
And the worst? Spending up to 18 hours a day working at it!
And if you had to sum your working life in a word or phrase, what would it be? Challenge
*********************************************
Selby & friends present
TRIOZ National Concert SeriesTickets: $55, Concession $50, Student $40.
Bookings: 02 9969 7039 or
onlineDreamersWednesday 23 September at 8pm, Melba Hall, University of Melbourne
Franz Schubert » Notturno in E flat, D. 897 (Op. posth. 148)
WA Mozart » Piano Trio in G major, K.564
Gaspar Cassadó » Piano Trio in C major (1926)
Robert Schumann » Piano Trio in D minor Op. 63(1847)
The Art of LegacyWednesday 11 November at 8pm, Melba Hall, University of Melbourne
Miriam Hyde » Fantasy Trio in B minor, Op.26 (1932-3)
Camille Saint-Saёns » Piano Trio in F major, Op.18
Beethoven » Piano Trio in E flat major, Op.38 (transcribed by Beethoven after his String Septet)