The leading proponent of tango double bass in Australia, Chloe Ann Williamson has a host of accolades and a strong dedication to Argentine tango as an art form. She was a recipient of a 2016 Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship and PPCA Grant to enable her to attend Tango for Musicians at Reed College in Portland (OR), USA, as well as undertake further study and research of tango music in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2018, Chloe again attended the Tango for Musicians course with the support of a PPCA Grant that was awarded to the Mendoza Tango Quartet – her former ensemble which she co-founded and directed from 2014-2018. She has studied with the best in the world of tango double bass – Ignacio Varchausky (author of The Bass In Tango), Juan Pablo Navarro and Pablo Aslan. As well as directing and playing in Tango Enigmático and the Brisbane Tango Orchestra, Chloe is also a member of Solidaridad Tango – a Toronto-based, all-woman, diversity-affirming tango orchestra. A diverse musician, Chloe also performs regularly with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and with her string quartet agency, Four Strings.
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Flora Wong (黃芷蕾) is a musician, educator, producer and researcher who is drawn to contemporary, exploratory and multi-disciplinary arts. She is a member of Meanjin/Brisbane-based ensembles Nonsemble, Voltfruit, Tango Enigmático and Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra, and Co-Director of Dots+Loops. In 2017, Flora led the Momentum Ensemble in a number of projects which included a program of contemporary tango music with accordionist James Crabb – an acclaimed authority for the music of Astor Piazzolla. In addition to exploring contemporary tango music with Tango Enigmático, she is equally at home improvising with the sounds of her surroundings in open-air settings, producing music for violin and electronics, performing contemporary compositions, and collaborating with artists of all disciplines, styles and backgrounds. She has performed with artists including Tenzin Choegyal, Jaguar Jonze, and Boy & Bear, recorded with artists such as The Kite String Tangle, Sophie Min, Luke Cuerel and Ed Kuepper, and given the Australian premiere performance of works by Kate Moore, Missy Mazzoli and Pamela Z. Flora is currently a PhD candidate at Griffith University’s Creative Arts Research Institute as part of the Creative Change Project, which examines the role of community music in addressing social inequities in so-called Australia.
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Brisbane-based pianist Cara Tran leads a versatile career that has taken her from concert halls to festival stages nationally and internationally. She is the pianist of indie chamber septet Nonsemble, contemporary tango trio, Tango Enigmático and the eight-piece Brisbane Tango Orchestra. With these ensembles, she has performed at festivals such as Brisbane Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Extended Play and Jungle Love. In 2018, Cara attended Tango for Musicians at Reed College in Portland (OR), USA with the support of a PPCA Grant that was awarded to the Mendoza Tango Quartet. As an orchestral pianist, she has performed with the Australian Youth Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Institute Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with whom she toured to China in 2017. Through Musica Viva in Schools, she toured a scripted show through regional Australia with Ensemble Entourage. Cara completed a Bachelor in Music Performance with First Class Honours under the tutelage of Dr. Max Olding at the University of Queensland in 2014. Whilst completing her undergraduate studies, she was the recipient of the Donald Tugby Prize in Music Performance (2012). Cara holds a sessional accompanist position at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University).