Graduate Profiles

Madeline Cain

In 2003 Madeline graduated from Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Whilst studying the Bachelor of Music Theatre Madeline performed in Closer than Ever, The Pajama Game (Gladys), The Sound of Music (Maria), Chess and the operetta Chu Chin Chow (Marjanah).

Since graduating Madeline has performed as lead singer for P&O and Princess Cruises and spent 6 months as a lead in Tokyo Disney Sea's Broadway Revue, Encore!

For the past 18 months Madeline has been performing throughout Asia in Cats for the Really Useful Company, originally in the role of Jennyanydots and currently Jellylorum/Griddlebone.

Carla de Jong

Carla is currently the Commissioning and Development Editor for ABC Children's Television.

Before joining the ABC, Carla spent two years at the BBC creating new content for the BBC Children's digital channels and left with five projects in production. Two of which are Australian co-productions and are being shot in Australia this year.

Prior to her career in the UK Carla produced a number of Award winning programmes for Network Ten including Totally Wild and SCOPE. Her work has been recognised both locally and internationally as a finalist in awards such as the Logies, The Prix Jeunesse Awards, The United Nations World Environment Day Awards and the BANFF World Television Awards.

Lucy Holmes

Joined The Mint, Channel Nine's late-night, live, gameshow, in November 2007, as one of The Mint Mansion's hosts. Holmes has had a varied career in entertainment in Australia and around the globe. Coming from a background in music theatre and studying at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music, she has worked as a professional singer, actress, recording artist, voiceover artist, radio host and now television host. She is best known for being the world's most successful Kylie Minogue impersonator, starring in the international hit show, 100% Kylie (www.100percentkylie.com), to great acclaim. Not only has she toured the world with the show, she has also starred in commercials as Minogue. Holmes has even performed for Kylie's parents, while Kylie herself sent a film crew to film Holmes' show for her own enjoyment. "She looks like Kylie, she sounds like Kylie and she even dresses like Kylie," said A Current Affair's Ray Martin. She can currently be seen on Billboards around the country as the face of electronics giant, TDK.

Lucy has performed on several television programs including StarStruck, The Footy Show (AFL) and The Footy Show (NRL), Mornings With Kerri-Anne, Postcards, Ch9's Christmas in The City, and A Current Affair. As a backing vocalist, she has performed with stars such as Westlife, Delta Goodrem, the UK's James Morrison, Natalie Bassingthwaite, David Campbell, Jon Stevens and Marina Prior. A highlight was performing with Guy Sebastian at the Australian Open Men's Tennis Finals in a broadcast sent around the world to 80 million viewers.

Lucy has also sung with house bands on many television shows, including Channel Nine's recent hit The Singing Bee, as well as Dancing with the Stars, It Takes Two, The Logies, Carols By Candlelight, Good Morning Australia, AFL Grand Final and The Good Friday Appeal.

Since The Mint finished up a few months ago, Lucy has been busy performing on shows such as the Channel 7 shows The Morning Show, and as a special guest on Battle Of The Choirs. She also recently appeared on Channel 10's Big Brother as a special guest, and can be currently seen on Channel 9's Celebrity Singing Bee, Thursdays at 8.30.

Lucy is also currently filling in as a radio co-host on Melbourne's 89.9 Light FM, for the drive time shift of 3pm till 6pm.

Peter McKenzie

Peter currently teaches Saxophone, Ensemble, Jazz history and Improvisation at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM). After completing a Bachelor in Jazz Studies, Peter went on to undertake a Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching at CQUniversity.

In addition to his work at CQCM, Peter operates his own woodwind studio and regularly engages in supply teaching for the Queensland Education Department.

Peter has played with many of Australia'a leading jazz musicans and in 2006 attended the Jamie Aebersold jazz camp and the International Association of Scools of Jazz (ISAJ) in Louisville, Kentucky. Peter has attended workshops lead by U.S jazz educators including David Baker, Jerry Coker, David Liebman and Jim Snidero.

David Reaston

David Reaston is a Sydney based jazz guitarist and composer. He holds a MMus in Composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and a BMus in Jazz Guitar from the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music. David has also studied privately in Australia and the USA.

David has performed with and written for several projects and artists throughout Australia including The 10 Guitar Project (musical director/leader); The Reaston-Kay Effect (co-leader); dlivr; Mezcla; Invisible City; Kevin Hunt; Don Burrows and Don Rader (Music and Theatre program); and Blow! Bigband. In 2004, he also released "After Now", a solo album featuring Kevin Hunt and Don Rader.

Besides a free-lance musician and composer, David is currently employed at the Australian Institute of Music teaching contemporary guitar and improvisation. He also tutors composition students at the Sydney Conservatorium High School.

Quotes:
"madman/prophet"... Sydney Morning Herald, May 2008.
"Reaston proves a dazzling technician keeping time with percussive
thwacks of palm on bridge, comping, and ripping off lead lines all at once." Cadence Magazine NY, Jan 2005.

Links:
www.davidreaston.com
www.myspace.com/davidreaston

Peter Saide

Peter was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1983. He discovered a love of performing late in his highschool years at Downlands College in Toowoomba and, with a few gentle prods, found himself at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in beautiful Mackay, Queensland. Amongst his mentors during university were Michael Turkic, Nancye Hayes, Will Conyers, William Barton and Roland Peelman. Most influential was his singing teacher, Garrick Jones who remains active in Peter's technique and career.

He had the pleasure of playing a miriad of roles in numerous musicals, operettas and cabarets during his three years at CQCM including Billy Flynn (Chicago), Fred/Petruchio (Kiss Me, Kate!), Anatoly (Chess), Ali Baba (Chu Chin Chow).

Peter moved to Sydney after graduating in 2003 working briefly with the then vocal director of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Michael Halliwell. During 2004 he played Cinderella's Prince/Wolf in Music Theatre On Location's production of Into The Woods. At the end of 2004, Peter was cast in Encore! - a broadway review at Tokyo Disney Resort. This contract saw him make connections which would take him to London where he trained briefly with Kate Young and then to New York from whence Peter began working consistently as a principal entertainer with Jean Ann Ryan Productions. Peter produced, arranged and performed in his one-man-show, Getting To Here in his home town of Toowoomba in December 2005 to great acclaim.

In 2008, Peter was seen as Tony Manero in Rob Stigwood's Saturday Night Fever and as the lead baritone in Masquerade, a new Andrew Lloyd-Webber review co-produced by Really Useful Group. Most recently, however, Peter played the role of the Prince in the new international tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, opposite Tony Award Winner, Lea Salonga. Peter currently performs in one of the lead roles in Jersey Boys in Las Vegas.

Since first leaving Australia in January 2005, Peter has lived, worked and played in over twenty countries. He would like to thank his family for their support, patience and aptitude for Skype. Without them, none of this would be possible.
Cheers to the journey ahead!

http://petersaide.com/default.aspx

Steven Sowden

Steven pursued music from an early age, and graduated from the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Theatre in 2004. While studying he played leading roles in Aspects of Love, Chess, Kiss Me Kate and Footloose which helped cement his love for the stage.

In 2006, Steven went on to complete an extended contract performance in the Broadway Musical Theatre Revue Encore at Japan's Tokyo Disney Sea.

In 2007, Steve became the newest recruit of internationally acclaimed opera troupe, The Ten Tenors. Since then, with the Tenors Steven has been able to chalk up tours to Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, South Africa, Jordan, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Korea, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.A.

In the rare occurrence that he's not in transit on a bus or plane circling the globe somewhere, Steve lives in Brisbane, Australia, and can usually be found on a nearby beach, or with his dear family and friends.

Justin Truloff

Justin is a trained performer with over seventeen years of training and experience. He is an accomplished dancer, having studied tap, jazz and classical ballet from a young age, and learning hip-hop, popping and locking, acrobatics and funk in his later years. He is also a skilled percussionist and drummer.

He graduated from the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2005 with a Bachelor of Music Theatre. His credits there include Willy in Copacabana, Willard in Footloose, Tiger Brown in Threepenny Opera, Tom Wallaby in Gjin Gjin, Ginger Mick in The Sentimental Bloke, The Wiz, My Fair Lady, Aspects of Love, Land of Smiles and Dale Kerrigan in the world's first stage production of Australia's The Castle.

In 2006 Justin toured Queensland with Brisbane's Fame Theatre Company's production The Adventures of Captain Senses before making his Brisbane debut in The Full Monty at QPAC.

In 2007 he played Shem in Harvest Rain's production of Children of Eden and toured Queensland and New South Wales with Fame Theatre Company's Round and Round the Mulberry Bush. He went on to appear as Laurie in Little Women and then as Munkustrap in Cats in August.

In October he performed in The Best of Broadway and Beyond for Harvest Rain and in January 2008 he was the assistant director for Disney's' High School Musical for MAD Youth Theatre.

Justin's love for theatre has pushed him into Set Design and Construction his design credits include Divas, High School Musical and The Sound of Music. He constructed Divas, High School Musical, The Sound of Music, Hot Show Shuffle, Jane Eyre and A Midsummer Night's Dream all for Harvest Rain Theatre Company. He Finally landing his first professional musical The Mikado with Essgee Production Company this saw Justin understudying Davis Collins one half of the Umbilical Brothers and performing along sid e Colin Lane, Graeme Isaako, David Gould and Julie Anthony. Justin is currently represented by Ego Management.