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Zachary Johnston is an Australian contemporary violinist, string educator and random mandolinist. A member of several new music ensembles, including Arcko Symphonic Project, 3 Shades Black, 6º ensemble and Bolt Ensemble, he was a founding member of the string quartet Atticus and has recently performed as a guest artist with Rubiks.

As part of long-term research, Zac is investigating how New Music is integrated into pedagogy, particularly in violin studies. Always keen to develop a sense curiosity in students, Zac has taken this philosophy into his education work with various ensembles, including conducting at the State Music Camp, working with MSO’s Pizzicato Effect and being involved with a variety of improvisation and New Music workshops for school ensembles. Zac was recently offered a scholarship to work with Walter Thompson, his aim being to incorporate the live compositional technique of ‘Soundpainting’ into education and performances in Australia.

Zac has performed with Argonaut for the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music since 2013, completed a Master’s of Music Performance Teaching in 2013, participated in the 2014 Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt and the 2015 Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).

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