Anna's musical journey began in Wollongong through the ChiME program at the Conservatorium of Music, mentored by Janet Andrews. “Anna was ever curious, always musical,” Janet recalls. 

Anna’s journey was inspired and nurtured by her parents. “My father loved the depth of classical works and always wished to learn an instrument but never had the opportunity, so he made that possible for me.” Her mother’s influence was unintentional. “She was the first person I ever saw being brought to tears by music, specifically Portuguese fado — songs of lament and longing. Her connection to it being purely emotional left a lasting impression.”  

Anna’s violin studies began locally with Sarah Hindson. She later joined the Sydney Conservatorium, studying with Dr Robin Wilson and Alice Waten. Anna has also studied with Mihaela Martin in Cologne, Germany and performed as soloist and chamber musician in Europe. While her career is ever expanding, Anna has remained connected to her roots, regularly performing with the Gerringong Music Club.

Alma Moodie and the Alma Moodie Quartet 

“Moodie knew violin playing was culturally and spiritually significant” – Associate Professor Goetz Richter AM 

Named after the remarkable Australian violinist of the early 20th century, the Alma Moodie Quartet shares the dedication to the music their namesake championed, from Beethoven and Mozart to the neglected music of the early 20th century. The quartet is made up of some of Australia’s finest soloists: Kristian Winther and Anna da Silva Chen (violins), James Wannan (viola), and Miles Mullins-Chivers (cello).  

Who was Alma Moodie?  

In 1907, nine-year-old Alma travelled from Mount Morgan in Queensland to Belgium to study violin. Her prodigious talent had been recognised and developed by her mother, a pianist, and violinist Louis D’Hage. Alma would go on to study and perform with some of the most notable early 20th-century musicians, including Max Reger, Igor Stravinsky, and Carl Flesch, who wrote: “Of all my students, I like Alma Moodie the best.” She had works composed for her and premiered many new compositions. 

Through the course of World War I, she did not play violin for four years. With her mother, she endured the poverty of the war in Belgium, leading to her mother’s death (her father had died before she left Australia). After the war, Alma's tenacity and talent allowed her to assert herself as one of the most noted violinists of the time. She gained patronage, nurtured her musical friendships, continued to work and refine her art as a performer, and taught. 

And yet her life was short – Alma died in 1943 during an air raid on Frankfurt from thrombosis resulting from a mixture of alcohol and pills she had taken. Her marriage to a German lawyer and Nazi was fraught with personal conflict and disloyalty, confronting Alma with challenging personal and philosophical questions. However, with two children, she remained in the marriage until her death. 

Alma Moodie left no recordings, and having spent most of her life in Germany, there was little reporting of her achievements in the English news. In recent times, among others, the musicologist Kay Dreyfus (The Fractured Self: Selected German Letters of the Australian-born Violinist Alma Moodie, 1918–1943) and violinist/philosopher Goetz Richter have brought to life her formidable achievements. 

The Alma Moodie Quartet enjoys performing at some of Australia’s most prestigious platforms. Recent season highlights include Musica Viva’s Morning Concerts and the outdoor concert series at Barangaroo, the Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival and Phoenix Central Park’s Church series, as well their debut at the Melbourne Recital Centre, and their own series in Canberra, with guest artists Daniel de Borah, Edward Neeman, and Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum. 

Profits to the Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre 

The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is a one-stop place for women to heal and rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. It is an initiative of the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre that opened in 2024. The centre is the first of its kind in Australia, providing specialised, individualised support to women, including practical support, counselling, legal advice, healing and support services, groups and workshops, and financial counselling. 

The model of care was co-designed with women who have experienced domestic, family, and sexual violence, and it recognises the need for care to go beyond crisis intervention to address the long-term impact of trauma. By investing in the safety, health, and healing of women, the centre works toward breaking cycles of violence and abuse to prevent the intergenerational transmission of trauma. 

One might muse whether, if Alma could have accessed such a centre, her life may not have been cut short.  

Music and Architecture 

"Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music" – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

There is a convergence between architecture, design, and music. Most often, a design or composition is dreamed up in a creator's head and then translated to paper for others to bring to life.

While observing parallels, Tom McGlynn also distinguishes the two. “Architecture is the arrangement of building components in space sensed with our eyes,” while “music is the arrangement of sounds in time sensed with our ears.” The parallels he identifies emerge in shared principles and language, including rhythm, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form, which suggest a relationship beyond mere coexistence.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80/70 BC - 25 BC) advised that “Music, also, the architect ought to understand, so that he may have knowledge of the canonical and mathematical theory and besides be able to tune ballistae, catapultae, and scorpiones to the proper key” (The Ten Books of Architecture, Chapter I, Sec. 7).