And the eisteddfod adjudicators are...

Sarah Marshall holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Music Performance. 

She has performed as a soloist for Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the ACO.

She is an experienced adjudicator and competition judge including the National Esteddfod in Canberra and numerous regional competitions. 

She also works as an AMEB singing and musical theatre examiner.

Past students have gained entrance and scholarships to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney Conservatoriums Performance Programs, NIDA’s music theatre program, WAAPA and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. 

Others have gained principal roles with Opera Australia and recording contracts with BMG and Warner.

Kay Lane holds a Bachelor of Music Education, AMusA Piano, ATCL and LTCL piano teaching, Kodaly Level 3 Teacher Training.

She taught for several years as a high school specialist before training with the Kodaly Music Institute of Australia. She taught at Newcastle Conservatorium/University for 15 years in the Early Childhood Music Kodaly Program.

She formed the Conservatorium Children’s Choir.

Kay then taught at Newcastle Grammar Junior School for 10 years where she developed three choirs in addition to implementing a Kodaly classroom program.

Throughout this time Kay has continued teaching the piano in her private studio, preparing students for examinations, eisteddfods and auditions, HSC performance, competitions and concerts.

Many students have gone onto careers in the field of music. 

Kay strongly believes in the importance of developing skills in musicianship and aural training, as this informs the artistic decisions of performance.

She is vice president of the Newcastle Music Teacher’s Association whose aim is to provide opportunities for piano students and to share knowledge, experience and support with students and teachers.

Lydia has been involved in dance since 1976, starting her early dance training in the RAD Ballet Syllabus in Tasmania. After moving to Victoria, Lydia went on to study the Cecchetti method of classical ballet, completing all exams up to Licentiate Diploma level. Lydia also studied the Imperial Society Teachers of Dance (ISTD) in tap, national and modern contemporary dance styles.

In 1985, Lydia was selected by ISTD examiner Marianne Jepson to travel to Manchester in the UK and study at her college.

In 1990, Lydia then travelled to the USA teaching dance during the summer in Pennsylvania. Returning to Australia in 1991, Lydia then went on to complete a BA in Performance Studies at Victoria University of Technology and a Diploma of Dance Teaching and Management with the ATOD.

She is a current member of a range of dance organisations AUSDANCE, ISTD (UK), IADMS, Cecchetti Ballet Australia, Australian Dance Vision, and the dance Therapy Association of Australia.

Lydia has freelanced as a dance teacher all over Melbourne for the past 27 years and adjudicated all over Australia and New Zealand since 2000.

She has also presented at numerous fitness conferences and was published in Dancetrain Magazine on the topic of dance teacher nutrition.

She currently operates and owns Bayside Ballet Academy in Melbourne and also teaches dance at the Methodist Ladies College in Kew and the Academy of Dance Victoria in Box Hill.

Dianne Leathem has adjudicated numerous eisteddfods in Australia and New Zealand over 30 years.

Teaching for more than 35 years, Dianne was director of her own large studio in New Zealand, senior teacher for doyenne of dance (the late) Averil Binzer and was permanent guest teacher for Prudence Bowen in Australia.

Having received many accolades for teaching and choreographing, Dianne has adjudicated scholarships, taken master classes and staged many full length and short ballets and was co-artistic director/choreographer for Bellder Ballet Theatre.

She has choreographed many musicals and trade shows as well as solos, duos and groups for international, national, State and local competitions.

Dianne has danced lead and solo roles in most well known ballets, musicals, trade shows, cabaret, theatre, commercial dance and circus. She has worked extensively in television and was the founding teacher and teacher trainer for Les Mills World of Fitness.

Dianne has travelled extensively to observe and further her knowledge in dance and has been the guest  of the Vaganova Academy of Classical Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia, American Ballet Theatre (JKO), The Australian Ballet, and observed in Germany (Dresden Semperoper), Prague, London (Royal Ballet and RAD Genee), Westend Musicals London and numerous shows on Broadway, New York.

Dianne continues to share her passion for dance and greatly enjoys working with the next generation of performers.

Kristie Thorne is a highly qualified speech and drama teacher with lots of experience in this field. Kristie runs her own speech and drama studio in Bathurst and opened Encore Speech and Drama Studio in 2000, which has more than 200 students enrolled.

She teaches both in her private studio and at All Saints College in Bathurst.

She aims to help young people grow into confident speakers and provides an avenue for drama and acting.

Kristie has gained both her associate teachers diploma and licentiate teachers diploma in 2000 and 2002 through the International Music Examinations Board with Honours.

Kristie has been involved in speech and drama from the age of six.

She performed in many eisteddfods during her youth and has a passion for speech and drama.

Kristie prepares her students for various eisteddfods all around the Central West and NSW as well as prepares them for annual speech and drama examinations.

She also have a love for tennis and was busy in her younger years competing in State and national titles across Australia.

At 18, Kristie embarked on a tennis scholarship offer to St Louis University USA and studied Bachelor of Business for six months in the United States.

She then moved back to her hometown of Bathurst and completed her univeristy degree Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at Charles Sturt University in 2003.

Kristie adjudicated the speech and drama sections at the Coffs Harbour Eisteddfod in June 2015 and 2017 and the Castle Hill Festival of Drama in 2015 and 2017.

She has also judged many public speaking competitions at schools around the region.

Jason Noble is one of Australia’s most versatile clarinetists. As a core member of Ensemble Offspring for more than 15 years, Jason has performed contemporary new music at festivals from Warsaw to London, Shanghai to Kabul, and around Australia, working largely with living composers.

In 2017, Jason curated a Musica Viva Sessions salon in collaboration with Artbank and violinist Veronique Serret, and also released his first solo album, Chi’s Cakewalk, a collection of contemporary Australian works for clarinet and bass clarinet.

He has toured internationally as part of the live musical entourage for The Shaun Parker Dance Company’s acclaimed production, Am I, and has jointly received best performance awards with Ensemble Offspring at the APRA/AMC Art Music Awards.

having been an invited guest teacher and performer over two winter academies at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, Jason continues to support the school through fundraising and Skype lessons. Similarly, he maintains close ties with the Tiwi Strong Women’s Group, Ngarukuruwala, with whom he has appeared at festivals and performed on their two albums.

Music and singing has been part of Lyanne Macfarlane’s life since a young age.

Growing up in Taree she attended Chatham Primary School and Chatham High School (graduating in 1975), and took piano and singing lessons at St Joseph’s Convent.

Lyanne has acquired a number of qualifications from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music including a diploma of music education (Bachelor degree), her private singing teaching accreditation certificate, certification in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and post graduate vocal studies under Elizabeth Todd.

Her experience is extensive. Lyanne has taught classroom music at schools in NSW and South Australia, been the choral tutor for the Australian Girls Choir (South Australia), a marker for SACE performance exams (South Australia), a HSC marker (practical and written), an accompanist for HSC and AMEB exams and a choral specialist who has implemented choral programs in schools and specialising in young and developing voices.

She has directed large concert choirs, treble choirs, chamber choirs, TTBB choirs, and vocal ensembles; conducted vocal workshops in NSW and South Australia, the musical director for college productions at Oakhill College and conducted award winning choirs at the Royal South Street Competition at Ballarat, Adelaide Eisteddfod, City of Sydney Eisteddfod and Ryde Eisteddfod.

Performance highlights throughout her career include the Australian premiere performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem with the Sydney Philharmonia Motet, a concert series with Ward Swingle (Swingle Singers) with the Sydney Philharmonia Motet, performing with Academy Ancient Music directed by Christopher Hogwood, a tour of South East Asia with Corinthian Singers of Adelaide, performance of Mahlar 3 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Zubin Mehta, the dawn chorus at the Sydney Festival with the Sydney Philharmonia, Assemble with Chunky Move and Victoria Opera at the Sydney Festival, London Proms opening night at Royal Albert Hall 2010 with the Sydney Philharmonia and Porgy and Bess with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – David Robertson.

Lyanne is married with two adult children and recently retired and living back in Taree.

She sings with Kantabile and Silver Tones (U3A) and volunteers at the Bushland Place Retirement Village where she has established a seniors choir in the Memory Care Unit.