West Phil Board

Max studied violin in Canberra with Josette Esquedin-Morgan and Barbara Jane Gilby. He is an alumnus of the University of Cambridge and the Australian National University and the recipient of many awards, prizes and scholarships, including: the Cambridge Australia Trust Orde Poynton Scholarship (2005-2007), UK Overseas Research Scholarships (2005 & 2006), Basil Bressler Prize (2003 & 2004) and an Australian Postgraduate Award (2004-2005). With the assistance of a Llewellyn Memorial Trust Scholarship (2003), he undertook further performance study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Max has collaborated with many of Australia’s leading performers and together with cellist, David Pereira, recorded music of Australian composers for the Tall Poppies label. He has worked with many professional orchestras in Australia and performed with chamber groups and in festivals across Australia and the UK. He was assistant to the late Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music, with whom he collaborated in the preparation of numerous critical editions for Bärenreiter, most notably Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Max is passionate about teaching and standards of music education and access. He has more than 19 years teaching experience, having held positions at Radford College, Canberra, and in the pre-tertiary program at the ANU. He has also tutored undergraduates in music at the ANU and at Churchill College, Cambridge. Max's work is increasingly in governance roles. Apart from serving on the board of West Phil, he is Chair of both the Music Teachers' Association of NSW and Sydney Eisteddfod, and Exec. Chair of Gradus Software, a provider of close-curriculum online support for music educators and students, supported by the NSW Treasury. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

John is a CPA and registered tax agent involved in auditing, compilation of financial statements, taxation and management consultancy. He has more than 15 years experience as a QA reviewer with CPA Australia. His previous experience includes more than 20 years experience as the non-executive director of an IT software product company, where he was on the Audit and Risk Management Committees; being a lecturer at tertiary level in taxation law, accounting and financial management; and as a finance manager at a public company. He has previously been on the Board of Courage to Care, a Jewish social services charity and is now a Partner and Mentor at Collective Works, an Indigenous-owned western Sydney accounting and business advisory firm.

YeRi Lee is a music educator with experience in both Australian government and non-government sectors. Along with a Masters of Secondary Teaching in music from ACU, she has a strong background in music business with qualifications from Huntington University, USA. YeRi also studied and received performance qualifications in piano and violin in Moscow. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes and is still an active performer.

Frere has a background in banking, venture capital, and technology development, most recently leading investments for the Commonwealth Bank’s venture capital fund, x15Ventures. Prior to this, Frere worked in the music industry, having trained as a classical singer. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne, and is a Trustee of the Sylvia Fisher Fund for young Australian singers.