Katie Yap

Brisbane-born and nipaluna/Hobart-based Katie Yap is known for her deeply personal performances as a modern and baroque violist; and a flair for thoughtful, narrative-driven programs as a curator. She is the 2022 Freedman Fellow, a 2023-4 Musica Viva Australia FutureMaker, a 2024-5 ANAM/Ian Potter Emerging Performer Fellow, and is artistic director of 3MBS’ festival ‘Music, She Wrote. Her focus in these projects explores a life-long fascination with improvisation, collaborative composition, and her love of the natural world.

Her greatest love in performing is chamber music, and she is a founding member of the Gryphon Baryton Trio, synth/baroque viola duo Bronzewing, and is co-artistic director of crossover folk/baroque group Wattleseed Ensemble. She plays regularly with Australia’s top ensembles including Van Diemen’s Band, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian World Orchestra, and of course the Orchestra of the Antipodes,and has joined groups like the Academy of Ancient Music overseas.

She is the Artistic Coordinator of Van Diemen’s Band, and will undertake a Fellowship focusing on artistic curation with them in 2025. She is currently apprenticed to great masters in the art of cooking Hainanese chicken rice and Dutch apple tart, and is studying diligently in those areas!