Eliza Shephard

Soloist, Collaborator, Educator, Teaching Associate at Monash University
ABC Young PErformer of the year winner 2022
Custom Handmade All-14K Flute; B footjoint; split-E mechanism; offset G; light-weight mechanism; P-cut headjoint.

www.elizashephard.com

Winner of the ABC Young Performers Award 2022, Eliza Shephard is a vibrant performer based in Melbourne, and she is quickly paving her way as an educator, improviser, and collaborator. She graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) in Flute Performance studying with Virginia Taylor and completed her Master of Music through Griffith University. Eliza has studied and performed in Canada and the USA and trained at the Australian National Academy of Music in the Professional Performance Program. A frequent performer at festivals, Eliza has travelled Australia presenting fresh and exhilarating concert experiences to rural, regional and metropolitan communities. The current ABC Classic Artist in Residence, Eliza was the featured flute ambassador for the ABC Classic 100 in Concert and received an enthusiastic response to her engaging and personable presentation.

A fervent contemporary musician, Eliza has established a course on experimental flute techniques, ‘The Extended Flute’, and is a specialist on the Glissando Headjoint – a telescoping flute attachment designed to allow the player to bend pitch. She was a finalist in the Classical Freedman Fellowship in 2021 and has performed extensively as part of Opera Australia’s regional tours and is in high demand as a soloist and chamber musician. She frequently guests with ensembles such as Plexus Collective, Rubiks Collective and ELISION Ensemble. She is a member of the Newmarket Collective and co-founded Tailors (a Pierrot ensemble) and Eclectus Duo, a flute and percussion pairing. She has performed as Principal Flute in Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Art Sound Orchestra and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and has guested with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

Eliza is passionate about amplifying the voices of female musicians and composers, and her project ‘March of the Women’ is earning her a name as a strong and dedicated performer of Australian and international female composers’ music. ‘March of the Women’ is a month-long recording project where Eliza showcases works by female composers for solo flute, chamber or orchestral ensembles, with 2023 being her fourth rendition of this project.

She has presented masterclasses and lectures around Australia and is a teaching associate at Monash University. Eliza regularly engages with regional communities to share her flute knowledge and experiences of growing up as a young and enthusiastic musician.