Our People

Elizabeth Jones was born in Sydney, Australia and began her studies on the accordion at the age of five, first with Else Brandman and from 1990 with Margaret Brandman - Blake. After completing a Bachelor of Music degree at Sydney University in 1992, she joined the Advanced Postgraduate Course at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied accordion with Professor Owen Murray until the end of 1995 and piano with Antoinetta Notariello until the end of 1996. In 2008 Elizabeth was awarded her Doctor of Creative Arts at the University of Western Sydney, for her portfolio on researching the pedagogical and performance styles of the accordion. Her concert performances have taken her to London, Hong Kong, China, New Zealand and throughout Australia, where she has performed as guest artist and recitalist at major venues. She has also given numerous broadcasts for the ABC and 2MBSFM, as well as featuring on recordings and Win News, Wollongong. Elizabeth has collaborated with many composers based in Sydney to promote the accordion as a concert instrument. The composers include Eric Gross, Margaret Brandman - Blake, Ko-Ting Sung, Terumi Narashumi, and Andrew McBirnie (U.K.) Amongst her premieres are And The Sun Danced On Easter Morn’ an intermezzo for accordion and organ, Tanghetto con Bandoneon for accordion and mandolins and Concertino for accordion and orchestra all by Eric Gross. In 2004 Elizabeth perfomed with Oz Opera in their premiere of Midnite as part of the Melbourne International Festival. During 2005 she performed in the Australian premiere of Menschen am Sonntag with Ensemble Offspring as part of the Sydney Film Festival. In 2006 she was guest artist with the Australia Ensemble for the performance of Hindemith’s Kammermusik Nr.1. This year Elizabeth has performed as principal guest artist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, premiered new works with Chronology Arts and participated in the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Elizabeth also has a strong interest in performing world music. In 2003 Elizabeth joined the trio Tempo di Tango with violinist Maggie Ferguson and cellist John Napier. The trio then developed into an orchestra tipica and performed regularly for the nationwide tango scene. In 2006 “Cambalache’ requested Elizabeth to join their quartet. They performed as part of the Café Carnivale series and are artists with the Australian Jazz Agency. During 2006 she has also collaborated with Stephen Lalor building a world music repertoire. In 2007 Elizabeth also joined the tango group Feugo Lento a group that comprises of some of Sydney’s foremost session musicians. Elizabeth also performs on the bandoneon and piano at various venues around Sydney and also accompanies students for examinations and auditions. Among her academic presentations are published research papers through the International Society of Music Education and the University of Western Sydney. In 2010 Elizabeth accepted the role of Head of Classical Performance at the Australia Institute of Music, and at the end of 2014 took on the additional role of Head of Academic Studies (Sydney and Melbourne campuses). After 11 years of leadership roles at the Australian Institute of Music, Elizabeth accepted the position of Head of Music/Academic support at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts.