Oliver Crofts

Background

About Oliver Crofts

Oliver James Crofts is an emerging Clarinettist based in Melbourne (Australia). Oliver has been accepted into the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Academy for 2023, involving several performance opportunities with the orchestra throughout the year. Oliver is also a casual musician with Orchestra Victoria, Australian Ballet Company. He is an alumnus of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and the University of Western Australia Conservatorium of Music, where he holds a Bachelor of Arts in performance. He has featured in masterclasses with international artists such as Andreas Ottensamer, Sabine Meyer, Jose-French Ballester, Nicola Boud and Frank Celata. He has performed extensively on live radio for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 3MBS Radio, The Music Show and The Friday Revue (ABC Radio National). During his time at ANAM (2020-2022), Oliver trained under the guidance of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Principal Clarinet, David Thomas. In 2022, Oliver was the recipient of the Ursula Hoff Performance Award for an outstanding performance of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. He was also the recipient of the ANAM Chamber Music Prize in 2021, for his performance of the Brahms Clarinet Trio with the O Trio, as well as Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds. Throughout 2022, Oliver has been fortunate to perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, as part of ANAM’s Side by Side collaborative projects. Oliver was also thrilled to perform as part of the ANAM Set Festival, where he gave the premiere performance of Elena Kats Chernin ‘Grand Rag’. Oliver is very passionate about the clarinet concerto repertoire and was a semi-finalist in the 2022 ANAM Concerto Competition, where he performed the Jean Francaix’ Clarinet Concerto. Oliver is currently a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra, having performed across the 2021/22 seasons. His most recent activity with the orchestra was a national performance tour of Strauss Alpine Symphony conducted by Sir Mark Elder, as well as Stravinsky’s Firebird conducted by Matthew Coorey. In 2023, Oliver looks forward to performing in AYO’s Chamber programs, as well as touring to Perth for Shostakovich Symphony 10 with Eivind Aadland. He will also be involved in a collaborative project with Nigel Westlake and Lior. In 2022, Oliver was fortunate to perform with Andrea Bocelli and the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra on tour across Sydney and Melbourne.