Jack Schiller has been Principal Bassoon of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2013. From 2008 he spent four years under the tutelage of Mark Gaydon (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra), including two years of study at the Elder Conservatorium of Music. During this time he was a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra and attended National Music Camp.
In 2012 he took up a scholarship at the Australian National Academy of Music, studying with Elise Millman (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra). During his time at the academy Jack won the ANAM Concerto Competition, performing with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He also won the in-house chamber music competition and was awarded the Director’s Prize for outstanding achievement by a leaving student. After completing his studies at ANAM, Jack took up a contract with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Bassoon and a position in the orchestra’s Fellowship program under the mentorship of Matthew Wilkie (SSO).
Outside of the orchestra Jack regularly collaborates with colleagues and friends to play chamber music including being a founding member of the Melbourne Ensemble. He has performed at Musica Viva’s Huntington Estate Music Festival, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Music By the Springs (Hepburn Springs), the Utzon Room and at the Ukaria Cultural Centre. As soloist, Jack has performed with the MSO, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra as well as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. He has also been involved in premiering new compositions including Of Paradise Lost, a concerto written for Jack and the MSO by Matt Laing and The Song of the Wombat, a solo work by Rachel Bruerville.
