Raffaele Agostino
Raffaele Agostino is a freelance musician, teacher and an examiner for the A.M.E.B. In 1981, he founded the Sydney Guitar Quartet, a group that performed extensively for a period of over 10 years and was the first ensemble of its kind in Australia. Raffaele has performed for over 7 years in the Musica Viva “Music In Schools” project with the ensemble “Spectra”, cello-flute- guitar. As well as performing in several operas for Opera Australia, he has appeared as soloist with both the Sydney Youth Orchestra and the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra playing Nigel Westlake’s “Antarctica”.
Raffaele has also made several recordings for the ABC and Radio 2MBS-FM. In 1998 he released a CD “Whispering from the cedar top” of solo guitar music of Australian composers Richard Charlton and Phillip Houghton. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Classical Guitar Society, Sydney and Assistant Lecturer in Guitar at the Sydney Conservatorium.
Janet Agostino
Janet Agostino was also a founding member of the Sydney Guitar Quartet and has been a teacher and performer of the classical guitar for more than 25 years. As an ensemble player, Janet has performed with the “Gallery Players”, the Amabile players, the Bourbaki Ensemble, Themos Mexis, Halcyon and frEternity (a Sydney-based guitar ensemble formed to record and promote the works of several Australian guitarist/ composers).
Janet has been a guest soloist with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra. Janet also plays viola with Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra. In classical guitar performance, she holds the AMEB Associate and Licentiate Diplomas and in 2003 was awarded the Fellowship Diploma from the Trinity College of London.
Duo Agostino
Raffaele and Janet share a strong interest in the development of the guitar as an ensemble instrument. They have both been active in organising and tutoring at the annual Sydney Guitar Summer School over the last 18 years. Together with fellow guitarist and composer Richard Charlton they form the “Sydney Guitar Trio”. This ensemble has performed extensively around Australia, as well as an overseas tour of Argentina, UK and Italy in 2001. The Trio has released a CD “One Hour To Madness and Joy”, an album of Australian compositions specially written for the group.
Raffaele and Janet have been regular performers at the Darwin International Guitar Festival, giving them the opportunity to perform new works for guitar with various other instruments. In July 2006 Duo Agostino appeared as featured artists at the Winchester Guitar Festival and whilst in the UK they recorded for their CD “Under the Same Sky”. Both Raffaele and Janet have been awarded Life membership by the Classical Guitar Society, Sydney, for their significant and sustained contribution
Agostino Music 