MUSICIANS
AIRLIE KOO has a Bachelor of Music Performance (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. Whilst completing her degree, she successfully became a contract member of the Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. Highlights from Airlie’s Orchestral career include touring with the MSO to St Petersburg and performing Wagner’s complete ring cycle with ASO. She has been broadcast as a soloist on ABC Classic FM and was a full scholarship holder at the Australian National Academy of Music, during which time she competed in the Queen Elisabeth concerto competition in Brussels.
Early in Airlie’s career with the MSO, Airlie and her quartet were asked to step in for classical crossover supergroup ‘Bond’ for a feature moment on prime time television for Dancing With the Stars Australia. The performance received rave reviews and they were soon invited to become a permanent fixture in the Dancing with the Stars band. From there, they went on to become band members on X-Factor Australia, It Takes Two, Everybody Dance Now & Australia’s Got Talent. They also became regulars on Sunrise, the Today Show, the Morning Show and the TV Week Logie Awards.
Airlie and APQ have toured and/or performed with:
Bruce Springsteen | Michael Buble | Rodd Stewart | Seal | Ronan Keating | Jennifer Hudson | James Blunt | Kylie Minogue | Westlife | Nick Cave | Katy Perry | The Veronicas | John Farnham | Human Nature | Stevie Nicks | Olivia Newton-John | Delta Goodrem | Mark Vincent | Danni Minogue | Glen Hansard | Guy Sebastian
HANNA OBLIKOV is a classically trained cellist who grew up in a family of musicians and picked up her first cello at age 3. Throughout her teens, she performed throughout Australia and Europe and continued her studies, completing a Bachelor of Music (B. Mus) majoring in Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Throughout her studies, she strived to push the boundaries of her classical training and began to perform and tour with local pop & rock bands. This led to performances with some of the biggest named artists in the world, such as Ed Sheeran, Josh Groban, Chet Faker and dozens more.
Hanna was a founding member of the classical crossover group 'Aston' which rose to YouTube fame in 2010 with their cover of 'Telephone' by Lady Gaga, which they had the opportunity to play for the star herself when she was in Sydney for Perez Hilton's reality show. This lead to several other hugely successful covers and took their YouTube views to 30 million.
ELIZA BENNETT is a classically trained Violinist with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
During her time studying, Eliza performed both classical and contemporary music and continued to become a member of the YouTube sensation Aston - a classical/pop crossover group amassing over 30 million online views. Aston went on to sign a record deal with Warner Music after releasing a YouTube cover of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” which was featured on infamous blogger Perez Hilton’s website. Within a month the cover was viewed by 670,000 people and gained Aston international interest with performance opportunities worldwide. Aston’s debut album reached No. 1 on the Australian iTunes classical charts.
Eliza has featured with The Australian Pop Quartet and The Australian Urban Orchestra, with performances including a personal invitation from the Lord Mayor of Sydney’s New Years Eve Party at the Sydney Opera House; performing for the 2015 Soccer World Cup draw with a televised audience of 30 million people worldwide; and a feature performance with a crowd of 54,000 people at Etihad Stadium for the Rugby Wallabies v Lions game.
DAVID ALLEN is an Australian pianist, musical director and producer.
With over a decade of experience working within the music industry, David has had the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse range of Australian and international artists, including notable figures such as Tones And I, Robbie Williams, Harry Connick Jr., Midnight Til Morning, Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan, Grent Perez, Genesis Owusu, Angie McMahon, and Courtney Act.
He has performed both in Australia and abroad, with highlights including multiple tours across EU/UK, USA and Asia with Tones and I, a featured performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the ABC's live New Year's Eve broadcast, a USA tour with the Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra, and a guest appearance at the Chicago Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference alongside jazz legend Arturo Sandoval.