Bernadette Baker (Bachelor of Music 1994) studied Violin
Performance at Hartt from 1990 to 1994. She is currently living in
Melbourne VIC Australia.
What have you been up
to since you graduated from Hartt?
Well, I’ve moved around a lot! I lived in Boston for a year
and a half, then Dallas for 8 years, then back to Racine WI for a year and a
half, and then I moved to Melbourne, Australia 10 years ago, which is where I
now happily reside. In that time I’ve done a lot of freelance playing and
private teaching, as well as working “normal jobs.”
What are you involved
with right now?
I’m currently playing in the Melbourne Opera Orchestra,
which I started playing in shortly after moving to Melbourne. They have become
like my second family, this group of musicians. I thoroughly enjoy making music
with them and I am in love with the operatic repertoire. This became a
springboard for my other music project, my violin duo, Operatic Strings. In
2008 started making arrangements of my favourite opera arias for two violins as
a way of being able to play this amazing music whenever I wanted. My concept
then grew to include musical theatre songs, standard classical tunes and some
popular music. I asked my friend and colleague Emma to play through the
arrangements with me to see if they worked, et voila! We play for weddings,
special occasions, and we put on regular concerts for fun and entertainment.
What is one of your
most memorable things about your time at Hartt?
