String Department

HEAD OF strings & guitar

Jacqueline Smith - Violin/viola

B.Mus, ARSM,

A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Jacqueline is a violinist/violist with over 20 years’ teaching and performance experience. Her degree focused on the performance, research and publication of Early Music styles and she particularly enjoys music from these times. She also likes playing very modern music, especially when the composer is present to direct and guide performance. Jacqueline has often been found playing for Musical Theatre and enjoys playing Chamber Music whenever the opportunity arises.

Jacqueline was Strings Coordinator at Brindabella Christian College from 2006 - 2017, and while there was responsible for creating, teaching and directing a program of compulsory classes, individual lessons, group lessons and several ensembles.  Her teaching approach is a blend of traditional western methods, Kodaly musicianship, Colourstrings, and elements of the Suzuki Method. She regularly attends professional development sessions and teacher training workshops to stay abreast of current thinking and pedagogies.

Jacqueline is currently based in Wagga Wagga NSW, having joined the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in 2019 and where she is now Head of Strings & Guitar.

Lauren Davis - Violin

BMusic (Oberlin), MMus (LSU), PhD (ANU),

Lauren Davis received her Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin College Conservatory, her Master of Music from Louisiana State University, and her PhD in Violin Pedagogy from The Australian National University. She has played with numerous orchestras in the United States including the Canton Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Acadiana Symphony, and the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.

She is currently the leader of the Riverina Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she has played in a number of ensembles including the Riverina Trio, the Valcour String Quartet, the Aurora Trio and the Brioso String Quartet. She has been teaching violin for a number of years both privately and at such institutions as Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Music for Everyone, Orana School, and at the Australian University in their Pre-Tertiary and Colourstrings programs. Lauren currently teaches at the Riverina Conservatorium in Wagga Wagga, Australia. 

rhiannon xeros - Violin

BMusic (Sydney)

Rhiannon Xeros is a former student of Tamaris Pfeiffer and the Riverina Conservatorium of Music (2003 – 2013), receiving many major scholarships including the Dr Ray King scholarship.  Pursuing tertiary education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2014, she studied violin under leading Australian teachers Alice Waten and Goetz Richter. During this time Rhiannon performed regularly as part of the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and was a section leader for the Sydney Conservatorium Historical Performance Ensemble under Neal Peres da Costa and guest conductor Paul Dyer. Rhiannon has performed in concert with Australian songwriter Megan Washington, the Riverina Chamber Orchestra and in the Sounds of Summer concert series in 2016 and 2017. Upon completing her Bachelor of Music in 2016, Rhiannon pursued her interest in violin pedagogy and joined the Riverina Conservatorium of Music staff in 2017.

pEARL bOWEN- VIOLIN

Pearl Bowen is a former student of Elizabeth Walsh, Tamaris Pfeiffer and Rhiannon Xeros and learnt at Riverina Conservatorium of Music (RCM) from 2016 - 2021. During her studies at the RCM she successfully completed a Certificate of Performance on the Violin in 2018.

Pearl has a passion for music and teaching and has been a part of many ensembles, performing at weddings and private functions as well as performing with the Riverina Youth Orchestra. Her teaching is structured around the Western European Pedagogical approach and utilises much of the AMEB exam curriculum.

Pearl rejoined the RCM in 2023 as a teacher and has successfully presented students for AMEB exams with Honours results. She currently directs and conducts a Primary School String Ensemble as well as co-presenting a classroom program as an introduction to stringed instruments, focusing on violin, viola and cello. Pearl is currently completing a Bachelor of Music through the University of Central Queensland and is working towards completing her A.Mus.A.

LEAH HECTOR - VIOLIN

Leah Hector is a former student of Tamaris Pfeiffer and Rhiannon Xeros and learnt at Riverina Conservatorium of Music (RCM) from 2009. During her studies at the RCM, she successfully has successfully completed her AMEB syllabus exams, as well as theory. Additionally, Leah completed a Diploma of Music through the RCM’s partnership with the Central Queensland University in 2020.

Leah has a passion for music and teaching and has been a part of many ensembles both at the RCM and elsewhere. She has attended Regional Youth Orchestra camps, as well as multiple Playerlink camps in partnership with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Her teaching is structured around the Western European Pedagogical approach and utilises much of the AMEB exam curriculum.

Leah joined the RCM in 2023 as a teacher and has successfully presented students for AMEB exams as well as internal assessments. Leah is currently co presenting a classroom program as an introduction to stringed instruments, focusing on violin, viola and cello. Additionally, Leah is in her final year of a Bachelor of Education K-12, with a major in Modern History. She is currently working towards her Certificate of Performance under the tutelage of Jacqueline Smith.

Maggie-Rose Dunlop - VIOLIN

Maggie-Rose has grown up surrounded by a passion for music, influenced by generations of musicians in her family. Having learned from her mother since the age of two, Maggie-Rose has almost 17 years of violin education, perfecting technique, learning exciting repertoire, exploring her musicality, performing, and finding her love more and more for the violin. Maggie-Rose studied Music 2 for the HSC in 2022, and received a Band 6 for her violin performances. Maggie-Rose began teaching the violin in 2022, when she started teaching children as young as 4, focussing on solidifying the basics, reading music, and correcting technique, but most importantly, making learning enjoyable. Maggie-Rose is working towards completing her LMusA in 2025.

Andrew callaghan - CELLO

Andrew grew up in Queensland where he began the cello, first with Audrey Harris and then Gary Williams. On finishing high school, he moved to Canberra to study with Nelson Cooke at the Canberra School of Music. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music, Andrew moved to Wagga to teach at the Riverina Conservatorium, as well as Mt Erin High School and the Murray Conservatorium in Albury. During this time he was a member of the Riverina Trio and did numerous solo recitals in around Wagga. He also did a number of live broadcasts for the ABC and was secretary of the Riverina Summer School for Strings.

in 1994, Andrew moved to Melbourne where he taught cello at a number of schools, including Woodleigh School, Carey Grammar and The Peninsula School. He continued his performing activities as a member of The Melbourne City Opera Orchestra, The Frankston Symphony and others. During this time, Andrew also completed his Master's degree and later Grad. Dip. Ed. He then moved to Deniliquin, where he was for a number years, Music Director of South West Music.

in 2007, looking for new challenges, Andrew swapped the cello studio for the classroom. Over the next seven years, he taught secondary school music at a number of regional high schools in South West Victoria.

In 2013, the opportunity to return to cello teaching presented itself at the Orange Regional Conservatorium and the Macquarie Conservatorium. Over the next eight years his students won numerous scholarships and a number obtained high distinctions in AMEB exams up to and including certificate exams. He was also an active performer in the community.

Then in 2023, after almost 30 years, he returned to the Riverina Conservatorium of Music.