Francesco Lo Surdo

He commenced a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2005, studying with Ben Jacks. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Big Brother Scholarship and completed a six-week study tour of England, Germany and the Netherlands. Throughout Frankie’s studies he worked as a freelance orchestral and recording musician, and was a member of the Sydney Sinfonia and the Australian Youth Orchestra, the latter as Principal Horn in 2009. In 2009 he spent a year on contract with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, where he also studied with Andrew Bain and Peter Luff, before returning to Sydney to complete his degree. In 2010 Frankie gained a position in the Sydney Symphony’s Fellowship program.

Frankie has appeared with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (of which he has been a full time tutti member since 2011). As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Sydney Omega Ensemble, Sydney Brass, and the Australia Ensemble.

As an educator, Frankie was invited to be the horn tutor at the Australian Youth Orchestra’s 2014 and 2016 national music camps. In 2019 Frankie was invited to the International Horn Conference in Gent, Belgium to present a lecture on embouchure injuries, and to perform as part of the international horn ensemble “NU CORNO”. In addition to this Frankie continues to have a passion for teaching and is the current horn lecturer at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and has been guest lecturer at the University of Western Australia, Queensland Conservatorium, and the Australian National Academy of Music.

The Horn section is supported by Rod and Margaret Marston through the Duet program.