Who is Brisbane Valley Bass?
A graduate of the University of Queensland (Master of Philosophy in Music; Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours), Queensland University of Technology (Graduate Diploma in Education with Distinction) and the University of Tasmania (Graduate Certificate in Music Studies), Chloe Ann Williamson maintains an eclectic and successful career, as a double bassist and educator. Throughout her studies, Chloe was the recipient of many scholarships and awards including an Australian Postgraduate Award (for students of exceptional research potential), to undertake her master’s degree. While completing her undergraduate degree, she was the principal double bass of the Queensland Youth Symphony as well as a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra, and toured internationally several times with them both. In 2009, Chloe spent a month studying in Quebec, Canada at the prestigious music festival Le Domaine Forget, where she participated in masterclasses for François Rabbath and Paul Ellison.
The leading proponent of tango double bass in Australia, Chloe has a host of accolades and a strong dedication to Argentine tango as an art form. In 2016, she was awarded a Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship and PPCA Grant to enable her to attend Tango for Musicians at Reed College in Portland (OR), USA, as well as undertake further study and research of tango music in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2018, Chloe again attended the Tango for Musicians course with the support of a PPCA Grant. She has studied with the best in the world of tango double bass – Ignacio Varchausky (author of The Bass In Tango), Juan Pablo Navarro and Pablo Aslan. As well as directing and playing in her own ensembles, Brisbane Tango Orchestra and Tango Enigmático, Chloe is also a member of Solidaridad Tango – a Toronto-based, all-woman, diversity-affirming tango orchestra.
A diverse musician, Chloe has performed both nationally and internationally with a variety of Australian orchestras including Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Bach Akademie Australia, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Well-versed in musical theatre, she has also performed as Principal Double Bass for the Brisbane seasons of Dr Zhivago (2011) and The Sound of Music (2016) and was the Deputy Double Bassist for several shows during the Brisbane seasons of Les Miserables (2015), Wizard of Oz (2017) and West Side Story (2021). A keen chamber musician, Chloe manages and performs in Brisbane-based string quartet, Four Strings performing regularly at weddings as well as corporate and private functions. She is sought after as a guest artist and has performed with acclaimed chamber music ensembles including the Black Square String Quartet, Collusion and Southern Cross Soloists as well as at several chamber and folk music festivals, including the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, Bangalow Festival of Music, Tyalgum Music Festival and the Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival. Chloe’s other past festival appearances include Adelaide Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Lorne Festival of Performing Arts, MONA FOMA, Cygnet Folk Festival, Australasian World Music Expo, Queensland Music Festival, Snowy Mountains Music Festival, Illawarra Folk Festival, Caloundra Music Festival, Manifest Festival and Brisbane Festival.
In addition to her performing work, Chloe is a passionate educator, with experience teaching at several Brisbane private schools, tutoring and sitting on the audition panel for the Queensland Youth Orchestras and now working part-time as a Primary Specialist Music Teacher for Education Queensland.
