Artist Biographies

Lina Andonovska

Curiosity, fearlessness and versatility carry Lina Andonovska’s artistry around the globe. Andonovska is a rare breed in the flute world; a name that you’ll discover on both the pages of Rolling Stone and the Australian Chamber Orchestra roster, she has not only cultivated partnerships with leading composers including Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy and flautist Claire Chase, but also deep community ties from Timor-Leste to Tokyo’s incubator Wonder Site.

She is flautist of 4 time Grammy Award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird. She has collaborated with some of the most important ensembles of today including Crash Ensemble, Deutsches Kammerorchester, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche, and stargaze. She is critically acclaimed for her interpretation of new music; Rolling Stone Magazine hailed her performance at Bang On A Can Summer Festival as “superbly played, (ranging) from sustained ‘somebody-please-get-that-tea-kettle’ squeaks to the flit and flutter of its beautifully lilting trills...”

As an orchestral player she has worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and most of Australia’s symphony orchestras. She currently performs as Principal Flute with Irish National Opera Orchestra. As concerto soloist she has performed with Deutsches Kammerorchester, Cinncinati Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Southbank Sinfonia.

Recent performance credits include a solo performance at the Melbourne International Arts Festival that was noted as “re-defining the act of going solo “ (The Age), Brett Dean’s flute concerto ‘Siduri Dances’ with Deutsches Kammerorchester, Tokyo Experimental Festival Grand Prize, appearances with stargaze at the Edinburgh International Festival, Berlin’s acclaimed Unerhörte Musik series and a solo recital at Musica Nova Helsinki. Lina released her debut solo album with Diatribe Records label in early 2020.

In 2023, she is a Trotter Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of Oregon and Artist in Residence at the prestigious Australian National Academy of Music of where she is an alumna. Passionate about mentorship and coaching, she has appeared as Guest Teaching Artist at Yale University, Louisiana State University, University of Alabama, Rowan University, De Pauw University, University of Arkansas,

Clemson University, University of Queensland and has been Artist in Residence at the University of Western Australia.

Lina performs on a Contrabass Flute by innovative flute maker Eva Kingma purchased through Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council. Lina is a Powell Flutes Artist.

Alex Petcu Biography

An Irish musician of Romanian origin, Alex is quickly establishing himself both nationally and internationally as a percussionist of the finest calibre. His debut album, "Alex Petcu: In Time", released on the RTE lyric fm label, showcases both seminal works and new contributions to the percussion repertoire.

Alex performs in a wide variety of settings with a multitude of orchestras, ensembles and groups, however, his main specialty lies in solo and chamber music. As a soloist, recent appearances include performances at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Kilruddery House and National Concert Hall to name a few. He has performed as a soloist with both RTE orchestras and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and had successes in major national and international competitions such as the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year, Tromp and A.R.D. International competitions.

Alex enjoys being involved in the creation of new music for percussion and regularly collaborates with composers. Examples of recent projects include "Beats, Bells and Bridges" and the Abbey Theatre's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, both collaborations with composer Tom Lane, "A Most Peculiar Wintry Thing", a children's show jointly commissioned by The Ark and Music Network with music composed by Brian Irvine and "Invitation to a Journey", a dance/theatre/music collaboration with music byDeirdre Gribbin. He is a regular performer with the Crash and Hard Rain ensembles, two of Ireland's main contemporary groups, and is a founding member of the Bangers and Crash Percussion Group, a new exciting percussion ensemble.

Alex also enjoys performing in an orchestral setting and is a regular extra player for the various professional ensembles in Ireland such as the RTE Symphony, RTE Concert, Irish Chamber, Irish Baroque and Ulster orchestras.

Aside from his performing activities, he is also a keen teacher and currently teaches percussion at the CIT Cork School of Music. He has also given lecture recitals at Ireland's universities, provided workshops for West Cork Music's "Tuning Up" outreach scheme, Music Network, the ESB and more. He also holds an MA in music performance from the CIT Cork School of Music and an MSc and BSc in Physics from University College Cork.