Christopher Pidcock is a cellist who equally enjoys performing on historical and contemporary instruments, exploring composer and performer relationships, and fosters the idea that improvisation is part of being a classical musician.

Christopher’s collaborative relationships with composers such as Alex Pozniak, Mary Finsterer, Georgia Scott, Alan Holley and Kim Cunio have led to new works being written for him.

Christopher’s openness to discovery, either by his audience or musicians in the community of Sydney, led to the creation of Opus Now, a concert series that draws together historical performance, world indigenous music, and contemporary music into a single concert. Artists and parallels in the programming are painstakingly researched to create memorable concert experiences. Opus Now receives support from Create NSW, affirming its place in the cultural scene of Sydney.

Christopher is currently completing his doctorate under the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Early Music Department, under the supervision of Daniel Yeadon and Erin Helyard. His focus is on researching early 19th century performance practices through emulation of early recordings to reimagine Beethoven’s Opus 102 Sonatas. Christopher aims to demonstrate a continuum of these performance practices over the 19th century to arrive at a style of playing that Beethoven might have expected.

Christopher’s interest in both early and contemporary music led to the release of his 2020 album “Immersed in Bach”. The album is a reflection on J.S Bach’s formidable Cello Suite no. 4 in E-flat major and six contemporary compositions that share similar mathematical elements to the dances they are paired with. It features music written by Enno Poppe, Salvatore Sciarrino, Mark O’Connor, Mary Finsterer, Alex Pozniak, and the famous jazz-meme, “the lick”.

Christopher regularly performs chamber music with violinists Kristian Winther, Shaun Lee Chen and Harry Ward, and pianists Lee Dionne, Gerard Willems AM, Dr Cecilia Sun, Dr Brieley Cutting and Dr Jocelyn Ho.

Christopher is a passionate teacher and educator, working with the Symphony for Life programme, Chicago Symphony’s MusicCorps, and tutoring at the Riverina Summer School in Wagga Wagga. In 2022 Christopher performed at the opening of the Georges Lentz Sound Chapel, located inside a 10-meter-high water-tank in Cobar.

Overseas, Christopher recently gave a solo recital at the Sagrestia del Vasari, inside of the church of Saint Anna of Lombardi, in Naples. The sacristy is named after Giorgio Vasari who painted its vault frescoes in 1545.

Christopher’s formative music teachers as a child include Helen Swan, Helen Lamour, David Pereira, and then later Christian Wojtowicz in Tasmania, Uzi Wiesel in Sydney, and overseas tuition from Hans Jørgen Jensen, Peter Bruns and his close friend and mentor Gavriel Lipkind.

From 2010 he was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, working with Yo-Yo Ma, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Riccardo Muti, before returning home to Australia to be accepted into the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a member of the cello section in 2012. Christopher’s awards include the 2007 Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand) 1st prize, a Churchill Fellowship in 2008, the 2009 Nelson Meers Foundation Scholarship at the Sydney Eisteddfod, and Semi-finalist in the 2010 ABC YPA.

2024 welcomes the birth of Christopher and Lucy’s second child, the second birthday of their son Olivier, and many new compositions for cello, voice and synthesizer, on Christopher’s new analogue Yamaha CS-80 clone.

Opus Now Co-Founder

Freya Schack-Arnott is an Australian/Danish cellist who enjoys a multi-faceted career as a soloist and ensemble performer of classical and contemporary repertoire, curator and improviser within experimental music, electronics, popular and cross-disciplinary art forms.

In 2017/18 Freya appeared in a number of festivals including the Sydney Festival, Melbourne Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Dark Mofo, Vivid Festival, Overground and Now Now Festival. Freya performs regularly with Sydney based contemporary ensemble Ensemble Offspring and in the Now Now and La la la series.

2017 also saw Freya co-founding the new monthly series “Opus Now” together with SSO cellist Chris Pidcock, featuring leading local and international contemporary and classical musicians, and the release of her debut album "Skur" with Danish experimental trio Skaft Økse og Sav.

New and upcoming releases include ‘FATEMAPS/ONE’ (2 cello/2 bass improvisations arranged by Clayton Thomas), EU band ‘Holm’ directed by Italian bassist Roberto Bordiga and Bonniesongs ‘Follow Me’ single and EP.

Ensembles and artists Freya has performed with include: Bang on a Can (USA), Ensemble Offspring (AUS), Eugene Chadbourne (USA), Oren Ambarchi (AUS), Speak Percussion (AUS), Liquid Architecture (AUS), Ensemble Midtvest (DK), Bae Il Dong (KOR), Brian Ritchie (US), Wilfred brothers (AUS), Clayton Thomas (AUS), Jon Rose (AUS), Sophia Brous (AUS), Peter Knight (AUS), Quiver New Music Ensemble (AUS), Fate Maps (AUS), Bonniesongs (AUS), Peerish (DK), Indianerne (DK) and Missy Higgins (AUS).

Alpha Gallery (home of the Opus Now concert series) is a non-for-profit community space located in the heart of Sydney's Inner West. Operating over the last ten years to provide affordable housing and an exhibition space to local artists working in a wide variety of mediums.

Alpha House Artists Co-operative is a registered charity and as such we provide a commission free space. We do however charge rental fees for exhibitions and rental for day/ evening events.

The Alpha Gallery Committee are volunteer creative-professionals, dedicating their time to support the influx of new approaches to contemporary art and the empowerment of emerging artists.