Timo-Veikko Valve, affectionately known by audiences far and wide as “Tipi”, grew up in Finland, surrounded by a family who are “musically orientated normal people”. Music lessons were a natural part of his upbringing, and at six years old, Tipi was encouraged to pick up the cello after a teacher at the local music school declared with considerable conviction that “he looks just like a cellist!”. To this day, Tipi remains somewhat puzzled about what that statement actually meant. Whatever the subtext, the teacher seems to have been correct.

Valve was appointed Principal Cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2006, and his leadership soon became an integral part of the ACO. Recognised for his natural, creative, and generous musicianship, Tipi seeks to define the modern-day musician. Prior to his Australian adventure, Tipi studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki before continuing to the Edsberg Music Institute in Stockholm.

Tipi effortlessly transitions between modern and period instruments and describes the cello as a flexible and adaptive partner, both in its role in an ensemble and as a soloist, across all forms of music. He reflects this versatility and enjoys a diverse career as a musician, curator and director, directing from the cello as he plays and appearing as a soloist with many of the major orchestras across his two home countries, Finland, and Australia. Tipi is also a sought-after collaborator and frequently appears as a chamber musician. His active commitment to the music of our times through curating and commissioning has seen him delivering world-premiere performances of multiple concertos and other significant works written especially for him. 

Currently, Tipi plays on a Brothers Amati cello from 1616, kindly on loan from the ACO Instrument.

Aura Go is an Australian pianist whose practice encompasses performance, collaboration, curation, education and artistic research. She performs across the globe, as soloist in concertos from J.S. Bach to Sofia Gubaidulina, as recitalist and chamber musician in programs that interweave old and new music, and as creative collaborator in the development of new music and multi-artform projects. In recent seasons, Aura has worked as concerto soloist with orchestras such as the Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Aura has performed at international festivals including the Edinburgh Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, PianoEspoo, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Metropolis Festival and the Musica Viva Festival.

With pianist Tomoe Kawabata, Aura is a member of the acclaimed KIAZMA Piano Duo. Their CD Five Rocks in a Japanese Garden features first recordings of four-hand and two-piano works by significant Japanese composers. Aura is a passionate advocate for new music and regularly collaborates with composers. World premieres to her credit include works by Australian composers Lisa Illean, Holly Harrison, Gordon Kerry, Ian Munro, Kate Neal and Cat Hope, as well as Tiina Myllärinen (Finland), Christopher Cerrone (USA), Garth Neustadter (USA) and Ye Xiaogang (China).

Aura is Head of Piano at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance, Monash University. She received her doctorate from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, where her artistic research drew on the acting methodology of Michael Chekhov to explore the embodied imagination, creativity and collaboration in music performance.