PROFILE

Diversity is a hallmark of Dr Andrew Filmer’s career, with expertise in viola performance, musicology, and publication. As a performer, his interests range from the use of period bows, to collaborations with contemporary composers, and conducting. Andrew is a member of the Sutera Ensemble, was guest leader of Ensemble Virama, and performs in the Anjung Trio with violinist Mabel Wong and pianist Robin Lee. He toured Japan as a member of New Zealand’s Southern Sinfonia, has held various principal viola positions in Malaysia, including that of the Selangor Symphony, and performed as a soloist in the UK, Thailand, and Malaysia. He was Co-curator for Educational Content for the JB Classical Music Festival in 2017 and 2018 – the largest festival of its kind in the country. At the end of 2018, he facilitated workshops for the ABRSM’s inaugural teachers’ conference.

Additionally, Andrew holds the positions of Consultant to the Australian and New Zealand Viola Society, Advisor of Musica Sinfonietta Penang, and Associate of the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts. He was the first non-American to be appointed to the position of Editor of Journal of the American Viola Society in the publication’s 30-year history. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Sunway University, and previously held the same position at Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Andrew has articles and editions published in the UK, the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and has presented research at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Elder Conservatorium, International Viola Congresses in Germany, Poland and New Zealand, and International Viola Conferences in Auckland and Sydney. He has also facilitated guest lectures at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and Victoria University of Wellington. He is a prize-winning public speaker, has been featured on Australian national radio, and has been engaged as narrator for the Selangor Symphony’s performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, and the Song Weavers’ performance of Shakespeare in Songs.

Prizes include a first place win of the David Dalton Viola Research Competition, performance prizes from the Lilburn Trust, and leadership awards from Indiana University. Andrew holds a PhD from the University of Otago, where he was a New Zealand International Doctoral Scholar, and a master’s degree in viola performance from Indiana University at South Bend, where he was also on a full scholarship. Outside of Western art music, Andrew was a member of New Zealand jazz band The Troubles, whose debut recording was released on Rattle Records.

Andrew also has expertise in computer software for academic and corporate presentations, and a certification in UX (User Experience: Research and Prototyping) from the University of California in San Diego. His overview of presentation platforms, The Art of Presentations, has been featured in Piktochart’s Web Camp, and the Victoria International Leadership Programme in Wellington, New Zealand.