Kirsten Williams

Kirsten Williams was appointed Concertmaster of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra in 2019 and in 2020 became Head of Strings at the Hume Conservatorium, Goulburn.

Kirsten began the violin at age 4 in Sydney. She studied with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium and Igor Ozim at the Bern Konservatorium.

She has been a member of the Opera House Orchestra at Covent Garden, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Associate Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony from 2000 -2019 and guest leader of many orchestras. She has given many recitals and ABC broadcasts as a soloist and chamber musician as well as soloist with many Swiss and Australian orchestras.

Kirsten is a much sought after teacher and has taught in many private schools in Sydney as well as in her own private studio and numerous masterclasses. She is a dedicated mentor and tutor of Sydney Youth Orchestra and Australian Youth Orchestra. She directed the AYO chamber orchestra on a tour of USA and Canada and Sydney Youth Orchestra in various concerts.

She also has a passion for playing music for healing purposes: she has recorded 2 CDs for the Australian Bush Flower Essences and in 2014 was named Volunteer of the Year for her work playing in the Intensive Care Unit at Westmead Children’s Hospital. That same year she became patron of the Goulburn Strings Project, designed to bring music education to low-socioeconomic and disadvantaged children in regional Australia.