Phoenix Trio [Lina Andonovska (flute), Alexina Hawkins (viola) and Harold Gretton (guitar)] come together to reimagine chamber music masterpieces alongside recently penned compositions for this unique combination. Collectively, the performers have performed with some of the most acclaimed ensembles on the globe including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, s t a r g a z e, Kammerakademie Potsdam and the Deutsches Kammerorchester and individually have growing reputations as international soloists and chamber musicians. The trio formed in 2008 when they were all students at the Australian National University. After parting ways for a decade, the trio have come together to perform a series of concerts around the globe during the 2018/2019 season, with their programme including a world premiere composition by Melbourne-based composer Samuel Smith which was brought into creation by a successful crowd-funding campaign. They recently performed as part of Sundays @ Noon at the Hugh Lane Gallery (Dublin) and the ‘Konzerte im Schloß Glienicke’ series (Berlin). They are fondly named after their favourite haunt and hang out during their student days.

Alexina Hawkins is an Australian violist currently living in Berlin. She has performed in various ensembles, including Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, ensemble interface, Streicherakademie Bozen, Geneva Camerata, amongst others.

Alexina studied viola with William Coleman, Tor Fromyhr, Caroline Henbest and Chris Moore, at the ANU School of Music (Canberra), Australian National Academy of Music (Melbourne) and privately in Berlin. In 2015, Alexina was awarded a Fellowship at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) where she was mentored by Genevieve Lacey, and directed 3 concerts, premiering new music featuring the viola in collaboration with fantastic young composers, in addition to existing works from a range of eras (for more information, see 2015 ANAM Fellowship). In solo/chamber/chamber orchestra mediums, she has performed at festivals including Bang On A Can Summer Festival (USA), Huntington Estate Music Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Bangalow Festival (Festival Quartet, 2017), Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (Australia), Musikfest Goslar, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), Festival Opera Barga (Italy) and NOMUS Festival (Serbia). Performance highlights of 2018 include a solo recital in the legendary new music series Unerhörte Musik at BKA-Theater, a piano quartet collaboration in the Sonntagskonzerte im Spiegelsaal series at Clärchens Ballhaus, and flute, viola and guitar trios in Berlin and Potsdam with Harold Gretton and Lina Andonovska.

Curiosity, fearlessness and versatility carry Lina Andonovska’s artistry around the globe. Andonovska is a rare breed in the flute world; a name that you’ll discover on both the pages of Rolling Stone and the Australian Chamber Orchestra roster, she has not only cultivated partnerships with leading composers including Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Bryce Dessner (The National) and flautist Claire Chase, but also deep community ties from Timor Leste to Tokyo’s incubator Wonder Site.

She has collaborated with groups including Crash Ensemble, Deutsches Kammerorchester, stargaze and Southern Cross Soloists. She is critically acclaimed for her interpretation of new music; Rolling Stone Magazine hailed her performance at Bang On A Can Summer Festival as “superbly played, (ranging) from sustained ‘somebody-please-get-that-tea-kettle’ squeaks to the flit and flutter of its beautifully lilting trills...”

As an orchestral player she has worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and most of Australia’s symphony orchestras. As concerto soloist she has performed with Deutsches Kammerorchester, Orchestra Victoria, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Southbank Sinfonia.
Recent performance credits include a solo performance at the Melbourne International Arts Festival that was noted as “re-defining the act of going solo “ (​The Age)​ , Brett Dean’s flute concerto ‘Siduri Dances’ with Deutsches Kammerorchester, Tokyo Experimental Festival Grand Prize, appearances with stargaze at the Edinburgh International Festival, Berlin’s acclaimed ​Unerhörte Musik series and a solo recital at Musica Nova Helsinki​.​ Lina released her debut solo album with Diatribe Records label in early 2020

Harold Gretton seeks to bring a diverse mix of masterpieces to life with an interpretive approach founded as much on raw passion as on thorough research. Not only interested in discovering new repertoire, he is equally at home rediscovering older classics. His unique vision is enriched by historical information in all of the virtuoso works he performs.

Harold began playing guitar at the age of 7. He completed his Bachelor of Music at the Australian National University (ANU) School of Music under the guidance of Timothy Kain with first-class honours in 2006. He completed a Ph.D at the ANU School of Music in 2010, and in that year began a “Cours de spécialisation” in duo with his wife Véronique van Durling at the Strasbourg conservatory, studying with the Duo Melis. They completed this in 2012 with “Mention très bien”.

Harold has won numerous international competitions, in Bratislava (2010), Vienna (2007), Cordoba (2007), Coria (2008), Transylvania (2008), Sernancelhe (2008), and Lagonegro (2006). He was awarded second prize in competitions in Tokyo (2008) and Gisborne (2005). He has won numerous first prizes in the open guitar sections of Australian national eisteddfods and competitions. He has also won numerous chamber music prizes, including in Cieux (2014), Olsztyn (2010), and Transylvania (2009), as the Duo Amythis with Véronique van Duurling.

He has been invited to perform concerts all over Europe, from Portugal and Spain to Greece and Romania. He has performed concerts in the USA, Mexico and Vietnam, and all over Australia. Harold has been invited to perform as soloist with different orchestras, including the Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and the ANU school of music orchestra. He has performed concertos by Rodrigo, Ponce, Brouwer, Giuliani, Vivaldi, and Dodgson, and was honoured to play the first performance of a concerto by eminent Australian composer Nigel Westlake, under the composer's baton.

Harold composes, with an always increasing folio of works mainly for guitar in mixed chamber ensembles. His works have been performed live on Australian national radio, and have been recorded by Jelica Mijanovic, the Zoco Duo, the Brew Duo, the Duo Amythis, BANQ and dominantSEVEN.

A dedicated pedagogue, Harold has given masterclasses in numerous guitar festivals, lectured at Universities and has participated on numerous juries in international competitions. He currently teaches at the Riverina Conservatorium of Music.