Baroque Viola
Monique O'Dea
From the time the Brandenburg was founded in 1989, Monique O’Dea has been one of the orchestra’s most eager and intrepid players, now a highly-respected virtuoso and teacher.
After years of study in Adelaide, Vienna and London, Monique’s early attraction to the orchestra was immediate. “The Brandenburg had everything going for it: glorious repertoire, high standards, lovely people to work with and Paul Dyer!” She recalls, “I was there when the orchestra was formed and it was very new to all of us, very exciting and a little scary. Our first concert in 1990 was in the Sydney Opera House.”
Monique has long played on a 1849 Pierre Silvestre viola and gains pleasure in the mellow, softer sounds created on period instruments and Baroque-style bows. Her life revolves around music and being as open as possible to new ideas and ready for any challenge. Monique studied violin at the Adelaide Conservatorium with Beryl Kimber and subsequently won a scholarship to study in Vienna.
Her most memorable career highlights include the European tour with the Brandenburg and German countertenor Andreas Scholl, as well as her time with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where she was appointed Co-Principal Viola, and Principal Viola with the Peterborough String Orchestra in Cambridgeshire, England.
Originally from Adelaide, Monique began playing the violin when she was eight years old. She made the move to viola during a chamber music weekend in Vienna in her early 20s. Monique was immediately hooked on the viola and romance blossomed in Vienna when she met her future husband, Sydney violinist Michael O’Dea, a fellow music student.
When not rehearsing and performing with the Brandenburg, Monique enjoys walking with her dog Sasha, knitting and “still trying to advance my French!”
