Thanh Bui  - Founding Director, Singing & Song-writing

Thanh Bui, 2008’s Australian Idol Top 8 finalist is currently finalizing his album for release mid 2010. Writing with Grammy-award winners such as Charlie Midnight (James Brown, Britney Spears), Jim Marr (Hilary Duff, Anthony Callea), Michael Jay (Eminem, Kylie, Celine Dion), Andy Goldmark (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Paige, Michael Bolton), Thanh’s craft for song-writing is seeing him work with great Australian acts such as Paulini, Dean Geyer.

Not only does Thanh Bui write songs for himself and other artists along with consulting for them,  Thanh found fame in Asia in the Australian group North, who released two albums – 2004’s self-titled set (on Universal) and 2006’s Straight Up (on EMI). They had three number one hits in Thailand and Indonesia, and two chart-toppers in Malaysia. North toured Asia twice, and also did the Commonwealth Games song I Am Strong.

Thanh and his North band mate Alfred Tuohey formed the production company Yin Yang Productions. They have been working with Dean Geyer and Paulini, written songs for chart-topping albums in Japan and Korea – and Thanh recently received his first gold album from Germany after working with teen sensation Jimi Blue. Thanh is currently working on his debut album with a number of high-profile LA producers/writers, scheduled for release early next year.

As a vocal coach, he has taught/consulted for students such as Mark Spano (Australian Idol Top 5), Mike Snell (Wicked, Miss Saigon), Sam Gaskin (Jungle Book), Kate Lister (Grease), with a number of his students gaining success both locally and internationally.
Thanh’s vision brings a contemporary, up-to-date understanding of the current music environment and strongly believes that to increase the chances of success in the music business, being multi-skilled is vital.

“If you look at successful Australian artists like Delta Goodrem, Shannon Noll, Guy Sebastian, and internationally-acclaimed artists such Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, they are not only great singers, but can play an instrument and are talented songwriters -at IAA, our vision is to develop ARTISTS, not just singers.”

Thanh is extremely passionate about giving each individual an opportunity to explore music as it is a language without barrier or prejudice. Together with a dynamic team of fine musicians, Thanh is building a strong Australian network of artists/songwriters to be able to compete with the world’s best.

Peron Lan – Guitar

With formal training in Classical and a degree in Contemporary music, Peron has been performing nationally and touring internationally for 16 years. Currently working as a music Composer/Producer in a video production house, knowledge of songwriting and technology are also part of his passion, with understanding of instrumentation and the role of timbre to different styles of music.

With expertise of different genres and a very strong background in Jazz and Classical theory, lessons are tailored towards achieving maximum potential in the shortest amount of time.

‘My end goal is to be able to teach an individual enough for them to teach themselves away from lessons. And for this, no matter what style of music, a strong foundation is essential’

Peron currently performs with ‘Bridget Pross’ (support for John Butler Trio, Tex Perkins, Sarah Blasko, Deborah Conway) as well as R’n'B/Soul band, ‘The City’, corporate coverband, ‘Mojo’ as well as fill in session work around Melbourne.

Past performances have been with JJJ Unearthed winner ‘Sir Veto’, whos support include Cold Chisel, Grinspoon, The Tea Party and Silverchair.

Audio recordings of lessons available upon request and initial material compilled onto a DVD and handed to students.

Kathy Hinch – Singing/Song-writing

Melbourne based singer/songwriter Kathy Michelle Hinch completed her bachelor degree in Music at The Victorian College of the Arts in 2008.  Learning from Internationally renowned performers and teachers, her time at the VCA focused exploring all facets and styles of music and music performance.  Since the completion of her music degree, Kathy has been working professionally in the music industry as a session vocalist, singer and songwriter in a number of original music projects and as a recording artist.

With a background in dance and musical theatre, coupled with a key focus of study on Jazz and the art of improvisation, Kathy’s experience has lead her to perform in such venues as Hammer Hall, BMW edge, The Palms at Crown, Federation Square, Optus Oval, Manchester Lane, The Espy, The Evelyn, The Toff in Town, The East Brunswick Club, Veludo, The Horn and many other live music venues in Melbourne performing varied styles of jazz and original music.

Involvement with ensemble based projects has also led to performances at The Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Yackandandah Folk Festival, Foodbowl Festival and the Paris Cat Jazz series. She is currently working with Original Afro-beat/funk/pop band Keshie, which this year had it’s radio and EP Debut, and Solo project Kathy Hinch Band.

Kirsty Morphett – Singing/Song-writing/Piano

Kirsty began on her musical journey at the age of 6, starting out on piano. During her school years, she learned clarinet, saxophone and viola, and began singing in her mid-teens. Shortly after this, Kirsty began teaching herself guitar, and writing songs, which began a new creative musical journey, which continues to this day.

Since moving to Melbourne 7 years ago, Kirsty has recorded 3 albums, 2 of which were with the band she co-founded in 2003, Lamplight. With this group, Kirsty has toured Australia several times, and also toured in Europe off the back of an invitation to perform at international music conference, Popkomm in Berlin in 2007. The band also recieved national airplay on Triple J, and had film clips featured as “Indie Clip of the Week” on ABC’s Rage music program.

Kirsty has also performed with various groups singing and playing jazz standards and covers around Melbourne. Kirsty has developed a very artistic approach to music, since studying a degree in contemporary music at NMIT, which helped her also develop skills in arranging and composing for large ensembles, and creating electronic music. Her personal songwriting and singing styles range from jazz to folk to soul, and her breadth of understanding in music covers all genres and styles, even ranging in to some experience with other music cultures.

Kirsty is very committed to working with students to help discover their potential and unique artistic voice, and developing their path to musical satisfaction.

Bonnie Smith – Singing/piano/song-writing

Bonnie has always been a creative spirit and has loved music from a young age.  She began piano lessons at the age of 6 and which was a means for her to play with her family and prepare her for the musical journey that would follow.

She began voice training at 14, beginning with classical technique and then contemporary styles.  Her interest in Jazz soon followed and from then on she became enthralled by the art of improvisation.  Bonnie began to teach herself the guitar and compose her own songs.

She studied at the Victorian College of the Arts School of Music, majoring in Voice within the Improvisation course.

Bonnie soon added travel to her list of passions.  She went to Montreal, Canada, where she completed her studies majoring in voice.

But she didn’t stop there.  During her years in Montreal, Bonnie completed a year- long master class program in Improvisation for voice with her mentor Rhiannon.  Rhiannon is Voice teacher at Berklee School of Music, in the United States and performs around the world with Bobby McFerrin in his Acapella ensemble.  This provided Bonnie with a solid musical foundation and creative drive.

Her travels took her to South America where she perfected her Spanish, touring through Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.   This inspired her love of language and her current world music ensemble “Reflejos” for which she composes her own music in Spanish, French and English.  She is currently learning Classical Indian singing, expanding her vocal capacity.

On the quest for more musical knowledge, Bonnie is completing and Advanced Diploma in Music Performance at NMIT focusing on her keyboard skills.

Bonnie performs regularly in and around Melbourne, both with her band Reflejos, solo, and as a duo.  The band’s latest album “Del Mismo Color” showcases her original work, and the World/Latin style that is her signature. Bonnie provides sincere warmth and is deeply supportive of the musical journey that one endeavours to take.

Carlie Mills – Singing/Song-writing

Carlie first began singing training at 5 years of age. As a teenager, she trained with a Bel Canto teacher in the classical vocal style.  She went on to study a BA/Communications in Theatre & Media at CSU, NSW – majoring in Vocal Direction & Performance.  She continued to gig and write with various projects around Melbourne before deciding to study music more intensively, completing an Advanced Diploma of Contemporary Music & Jazz, through NMIT, with a Voice major, and then going on to complete a Bachelor of Music, again through NMIT, as a Voice Major.

During this time, she studied with a diverse range of internationally renowned vocalists & vocal teachers, and with some of Melbourne’s best musicians and musical scholars – covering topics such as song writing, performance technique, jazz & contemporary improvisation, world music subjects, writing and arranging, ensemble and individual teaching & direction.

Carlie has been teaching voice professionally since 2000. She is a competent vocalist and teacher across all contemporary styles – pop, jazz, soul, funk, r n B, rock and musical theatre. She is also trained in various dance styles, adding to her skills as a teacher of performance.

She continues to write with and for other contemporary artists, across various styles,  – acoustic, funk/soul/RnB, and dance/electro – and performs regularly with corporate act Honey Chile, as well as working as a session vocalist.

She recently returned from performing at Woodford with DJ act Ca$h Mo Jo, as feature artist.

Carlie has a passion for unlocking the potential in each person’s Voice, recognising their individuality and individual sound, and for inspiring students to become the very best they can be.

Altijana Mostic – Violin

Altijana Mostic’s first contact with violin began at the age of 8 years old, when she entered the Music Primary School in Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina). In 1993 she participated at the ‘Alpe – Adria Violin Competition’ in Gorizia (Italy). She graduated from the “Vatroslav Lisinski” Music High School in Zagreb (Croatia) in 1994 and soon after that in 1995 she completed the first year at the Zagreb Music Academy.

Altijana came to Melbourne (Australia) in 1995 where she continued and completed her violin studies under a recognized violinist Miwako Abe at the Victorian College of the Arts.

The dedication that is shown by Altijana for making, playing and even teaching music is clear in the variety of projects that she has accomplished over the years. Altijana has always been a part of many different orchestras and chamber groups, such as Melbourne Opera Orchestra, Collegiums Ensemble, Geminiany Orchestra and many more. Over the years she has had a continuous involvement with various projects, which also expand to a variety of different styles of performance and music. She has played for various studio recordings for motion picture music scores, public and television performances, as well as playing twice at the Grand Final in Melbourne. In year 2008 Altijana in collaboration with a UK pop artists Sandra Maiorana, composed and recorded a pop song that is due to be released in 2011. In 2010 Altijana performed a solo concert in Melbourne, where she played pieces by Paganini, Prokofjew, Bach and Beethoven.

What drives Altijana as a musician, in her own words is “the opportunity to create and play from the soul and to enjoy and delight in every note.”