Glenn Riddle and his students at the University of Melbourne will perform on the 165 cm Bernstein (Samick) with DS5.5 keyboard! Students to perform include Caitlin Au, Chloe Au, Jasmine Lai, Ben Fu, and Jayden Wayne!
Program
Caitlin Au
Poulenc Caprice Italien from Napoli Suite
Chopin Etude Op 10 No 5 (‘Black Key’)
Grainger Shepherd’s Hey
Chloe Au
Chopin Scherzo No 1 in B minor
Tchaikovsky/Pletnev Intermezzo from ‘Nutcracker’ Suite
Glenn Riddle
Grainger Nightingale and Two Sisters
Grainger Blithe Bells
Grainger Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol
Jasmine Lai
Szymanowski Etude Op.4 No 1
Bacewicz Sonata No.2 mvt 1
Ben Fu
Rachmaninoff Moment Musical in B minor Op 16
Jayden Wayne
Liszt Transcendental Etude No 10 in F minor, ‘Appassionato’
BIO
Glenn Riddle
Australian pianist Glenn Riddle is Senior Lecturer in Keyboard at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Research Associate at the University of Waikato New Zealand, Visiting Professor at the Nanjing University of the Arts, China, AMEB Federal Examiner, and Senior Music Critic for Classic Melbourne. He has recorded for Tall Poppies, Move Records, Hal Leonard Publishing and ABC Classics, and continues to perform both locally and internationally as concerto soloist, chamber musician and in solo recitals. One of Australia’s most distinguished piano pedagogues, he has edited 12 volumes of piano music for the AMEB, and is regularly invited to present recitals, masterclasses and pedagogy workshops throughout China, the South-East Asia region, in Australia and New Zealand. He has been on international competition juries in the USA, Greece, Israel, Thailand, China, New Zealand and Indonesia. His own students have won numerous prizes in international competitions performing with such prestigious ensembles as the Russian National Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Les Solistes de Neuchâtel (Geneva), the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Maroc, the Helsinki Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, the Jakarta Concert Orchestra, the Academia di Perugia Orchestra in Italy, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Polish International String Quartet.
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20-year-old Ben Fu is a 2nd year student at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, studying piano with Glenn Riddle. He has won both the Preston Symphony Concerto Competition and the Boroondara Concerto Competition and made his concerto debut in 2022 performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the Preston Symphony Orchestra. Other awards include winning the Ballarat Celebrating Chopin Competition, the PolMusicA National Music Competition, the Ann and Chris Krans Award, the Margaret Green Scholarship and the Reg Lewis Scholarship. At MCM, in addition to a prestigious Entrance Scholarship, Ben has also been awarded the Pearis Roger, Frederick Harlock and Grace Funston Scholarships. Ben is a keen chamber music player, and recitalist, and he frequently records for 3MBS radio.
In 2023, Ben was invited to perform in the ‘Showcase series’ in Sydney International Piano Competition, performing Ravel’s Scarbo from Gaspard de la Nuit. Ben has also been invited to perform in the Lunchtime Concert Series at St. Peter’s Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Diamond Creek Uniting Church.
In 2024 Ben was invited to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor with both the Whitehorse Orchestra and the Maroondah Symphony Orchestra. -
18-year-old Jasmine Lai is a multi-awarded young composer-pianist. She studies piano with Glenn Riddle and is currently a first-year student in Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. She has recently been awarded scholarships from the Theme and Variations Foundation and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Entrance Grant.
In 2021, Jasmine won 1st Prize in the Sydney Eisteddfod Junior Pianoforte Scholarship, one of Australia’s most prestigious awards for young musicians. In 2024 and 2025, she was the winner of Young Bach Scholar Award from Baroque Competition in Melbourne Recital Centre. Other awards include the 2021 Margaret Green Junior Pianoforte Scholarship, the 2022 Phyllis MacDonald Piano Scholarship, as well as the Musical Society of Victoria’s Des Stevenson, Eda Schurmann, and Nehama Patkin Memorial Awards. Internationally she has won the Grand Prix Award in the 2023 New York Glory International Piano Competition, as well as 1st prizes in the 2023 International Piano Competition Online, the 2022 WPTA Singapore International Piano Competition, the 2022 WPTA Spain International Piano Competition, the 2023 Ad Libitum Piano Competition, the 2022 Orbetello International Piano Competition, the 2023 Bach Pianist Competition, and the 2023 Lancaster International Piano Competition. She has performed piano concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann with the Camerata Orchestra and the Preston Symphony Orchestra and in 2023 was the winner of the Preston Symphony Youth Concerto Competition. Recently she won the Prodigy prize from ArsClassica International Junior Competition and as a result will give a solo recital in Rome in December 2025.
Besides piano solo performance, Jasmine is active as a composer and has had works performed by Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Youth Orchestra, Adelaide Youth Orchestra and Melbourne Youth Orchestra. She was the youngest Australian composer who received the 2024 ABC Composer Commissioning Fund and has her new composition “Liminality” performed by Ensemble Liaison. The recording will be digitally released and aired by the ABC.
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13-year-old Chloe Au started learning piano with Yuko Ikeda at Suzuki Music when she was 5. She now studies piano with Glenn Riddle at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and is on an academic scholarship at Lauriston Girls' School. Chloe completed her AMusA exam with Distinction at the age of 10, and in 2024, she achieved a Distinction in her LMusA exam, her examiner commenting that her playing was “nothing short of a world-class display of transcendental pianism and musicianship,” exhibiting “outstanding artistic authority.” As a result, she was recently invited to perform for the AMEB Graduation Ceremony at Hawthorn Arts Centre.
In 2025, Chloe was awarded First Prize in the prestigious Little Lev Vlassenko National Piano Competition held in Brisbane. In 2024, Chloe also won First Prize in the Bernstein National Piano Competition. She has won numerous prizes at the Boroondara, Ringwood, Latrobe Valley, Monash, and Royal South Street Eisteddfods in Australia, as well as the VMTA Geoffrey McFerran Award, and the VMTA Kault Prize for Most Outstanding Diploma student. In 2025 Chloe has been invited to give solo recitals for St Paul’s Cathedral, Austral Salon, Scots’ Church Music Matinees and also for 3MBS. Recently Chloe was also a finalist in the MRC Baroque Competition.
Chloe also enjoys playing the violin, singing in the school choir, and playing chamber music with her friends, and is an active member of the Melbourne String Ensemble Chamber Music program. Her favourite pastimes are reading and skiing. In 2025, Chloe has performed in Kobe, Japan as well as in Szafarnia in Poland. In April 2025 Chloe performed in Hanoi, Vietnam winning 6 First prizes in the Vietnam International Piano Competition.
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10-year-old Caitlin Au has been playing piano since she was three and a half, starting her musical journey with Yuko Ikeda at Suzuki Music. She now studies with Prof. Glenn Riddle at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and is a proud recipient of both academic and music scholarships at Lauriston Girls’ School.
Her dedication to music has earned her many impressive achievements, including a High Distinction result in her Certificate of Performance exam in 2023. 2025 has been a busy year for Caitlin. She was recently awarded First Prize in the prestigious Australian National Junior Piano Competition for Children, ‘the little Lev’, held in Brisbane. Caitlin was also awarded Distinction in the Szafarnia International Junior Chopin Competition held in Poland, and won 3rd prize at the Vietnam International Chopin Piano Competition and Festival in Hanoi. Caitlin has also won multiple prizes at the Boroondara, Ringwood, Royal South Street and Monash Eisteddfods in Australia. In January 2025, Caitlin was also invited to perform in Kobe, Japan.
Alongside piano, Caitlin enjoys playing the violin and is a member of the Melbourne String Ensemble’s chamber program (MSE Chamber). Outside of music, she has a keen interest in science and art, and in her free time, she loves reading and coding.
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12-year-old pianist and harpist Jayden Wayne is a Year 6 student at Scotch College, Melbourne.
Jayden began piano studies at age five and was awarded his AMusA diploma in 2023. He now continues to refine his artistry under the guidance of renowned pedagogue Glenn Riddle, and achieved his LMusA diploma in 2025.
Jayden is highly accomplished on both piano and harp, and has earned more than 50 First-Place awards in eisteddfods across Australia and international competitions in the past 3 years. Recent successes include First Prizes at 2025 Vietnam International Piano Competition & Festival, 2025 Musical Society of Victoria’s prestigious Des Stephenson Award, 2025 Sydney Eisteddfod Kawai Junior Piano Scholarship finalist, 2025 Royal South Street Jess Crowe Memorial Award, 2025 Ringwood Eisteddfod Open Piano First Prize.
In 2024 Jayden made his concerto debut performing Kabalevsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Scotch College Symphony Orchestra and in September 2025 he has been invited to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major K 415 with the Preston Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond solo performance, Jayden is a passionate ensemble musician, participating in his school’s orchestra, chamber groups and choir. He also enjoys composition and arranging, often inspired by video games soundtracks.
Jayden is not only a passionate musician but also an avid reader and sports enthusiast. He loves swimming, running, table tennis and fencing.