Biography

Rosemary Curtin has been a member of the Sydney Symphony’s Viola section since 2014 and is an alumna of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Fellowship program.

Rosemary began her music studies on the violin at the age of four with the Suzuki method. She changed to the viola when she entered the Sydney Conservatorium High School, studying with Winifred Durie and was the recipient of numerous scholarships from organisations including the Queen’s Trust, the Big Brother Movement and the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Rosemary has over twenty five years’ experience working as an orchestral musician. Her professional career commenced in Europe working with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields following graduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich.

After returning to Australia, Rosemary held the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Viola Fellowship in 2003 and pursued an active freelance career with other Australian orchestras, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra before joining the viola section of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a permanent member. In June 2017 she represented the orchestra performing with the New York Philharmonic in their Global Orchestra Project.

Rosemary’s enduring interest in orchestral management also began with work and studies in Europe. She has been deeply involved with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Association (SSOMA), serving as its President for six years, and Vice-President for the year prior to that, during which time she sat on the Executive of Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Association (SOMA), the national body for Australia’s professional orchestra musicians. She has also been a member of the Classical Music, Opera and Choral Artform Advisory Board for Create NSW. Rosemary holds a B.Mus (Syd), a Diploma in Management Studies from the University of Cambridge, UK and has graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.

Rosemary plays on an A.E. Smith viola made in Sydney in 1930.