Evan Elsley

Violinist Evan Elsley
CONCERT REVIEWS
“Excellent Performance” “Mesmeric”
The Australian
“Disciplined and admirably secure”
Sydney Morning Herald
“Excellent, the highest quality in musicianship and presentation”
University of Western Sydney
”His musical ability is amazing, and his professionalism beyond reproach”
Media Music
”Mr Elsley abounds in professionalism, talent, artistry, and versatility”
The Hilton Hotels
“You will blow them away with your talent”
Navarra Venues
UNIVERSITY VIOLIN LECTURER; University of NSW, AMEB NSW Diploma Examiner, Eisteddfod Adjudicator, Australian institute of Music, Head of Strings Kambala, Waverley College, St Pirans (UK).
PUBLISHED BOOK; Violin Diploma Technique, Principles of Talent. Available at Australian National Library, NSW State Library, Violin shops.
CONCERT VIOLINIST; Evan Elsley picked up the violin at the relatively late age of 11, but within just three years he had landed a place in the elite violin class of the Head Professor at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. A violin scholarship student at The Scots College, Evan’s rapid rise saw him offered multiple full tertiary music scholarships, ultimately choosing to study at The University of Sydney, where he led the Sydney University String Quartet and served as concertmaster of their Pro Musica Orchestras.
His postgraduate studies took him to Warsaw, where he studied under the Head Violin Professor at Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Muzyczna (now The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music). Evan’s teachers had pedagogical lineage tracing directly to violin legends including Wronski, Ysaye, Thibaud, Heifetz, Auer, Joachim, Wieniawski, Hubay, Viotti, and Vieuxtemps.
Evan Elsley’s professional career has seen him play as a soloist for live audiences up to 4 million. He’s performed with Musica Viva, ABC, Sydney Festival, the International Society for Contemporary Music, and at prestigious venues such as the NSW Art Gallery, Sydney Town Hall, Opera House, The Regent Theatre, The State Theatre, The Capitol Theatre, and Her Majesty’s Theatre. His ongoing international performances include a recent tour to Taiwan with Vov Dylan and Mary Jess, celebrating Tainan City’s 400th anniversary.
Elsley’s resume reads like a who’s who of the global elite. With over 50 years performing experience, his experience includes performing for HM The Queen on multiple occasions, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, members of the Saudi Royal Family, and high-ranking dignitaries such as the British Prime Minister, Japanese Cabinet, and multiple Australian Prime Ministers. His society performances have included events for Lady Fairfax, the Murdoch family, and Cointreau Balls, and he’s been a featured artist at luxury product launches and gala openings.
In the world of celebrity, Elsley’s bow has serenaded stars like Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Sir John Mills, Priscilla Presley, Nicole Kidman, and Elton John. He’s shared stages (and backstage lounges) with the likes of Midnight Oil, Johnny O’Keefe, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen—not to mention bookings for the Moscow and Australian Ballet Companies, the cast of Les Misérables, and for the managements of the Royal Amsterdam Orchestra, Hunter Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He has also played in the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra.
He’s graced screen and airwaves via ABC, 2Day FM, 2MBS FM, and numerous television appearances from The Midday Show, Good Morning Australia, to Neighbours, music specials, and tourism commercials for Audi, Telegraph Mirror, and Japanese clients. His recordings span major labels like EMI, Festival, K-Tel, and Larrikin, and his print appearances include Vogue, The Bulletin, Women’s Weekly, and Qantas in-flight magazines.
Equally comfortable in a concert hall, dance or with cross-over, Evan has been concertmaster for film orchestras at Burbank Studios and Film Australia, and led ensembles across genres from Viennese waltz orchestras to swing bands and jazz combos. He’s been the Violin conductor of Australia’s celebrated Palm Court Orchestra, played contemporary music for the ABC with Chromattica, He’s gigged with past legends like Charles Aznavour, Peter Allen, John Denver, Christopher Cross, the Tommy Tycho Orchestra, the BBC band leader Kenny Powell, Jazz icon George Golla, Accordionist Ross Maio, and even toured with the late great Gene Pitney.
His musical reach has extended into the world of theatre, playing in long-running productions like Evita, The Sound of Music. Violin residencies have included the Hilton Hotels, Sydney Showboat, Swissotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne Windsor, and Sydney Opera House.
As the founder of Elsley Ensembles Pty Ltd, Evan has been the go-to music supplier for top-tier event agencies, including Navarra Venues. His company has provided bespoke live music for everything from academic convocations for the University Vice-Chancellors, to glittering New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Opera House’s Northern Foyer.
A champion of contemporary classical music, Evan has premiered works by Edwin Carr, Sir Peter Platt, Prof. Eric Gross, and James Penberthy, and performed avant-garde repertoire by Schoenberg and Webern at the Sydney Opera House for the ABC.
Not just a performer, but a curator of style and tone, Evan performs on violins crafted by Scott Cao, whose instruments have won blind comparisons against the likes of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù.
With a career spanning over 50 years, Evan Elsley is a violinist whose bow has woven its way through the chambers of royalty, celebrity, concert stages, and cultural institutions alike.