Janet Agostino is a performer and teacher in Sydney, Australia, with a career that spans four decades and reflects a sustained contribution to both music and education. She holds degrees in Learner Diversity, a Master of Gifted Education, a Fellowship from the Trinity College in London in guitar performance, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Practice. She is Director of the University of New South Wales Guitar Ensemble and guest conductor of the Sydney Classical Guitar Society Orchestra. Janet was a founding member of the Sydney Guitar Quartet, a group which performed extensively throughout Australia over a ten-year period, the first guitar quartet in Australia at the time. Janet performs as ‘Duo Agostino’ with husband Raffaele Agostino and the Duo joins with colleague, guitarist/composer Richard Charlton, as ‘Sydney Guitar Trio’. With a dual focus on the development of the guitar as an ensemble instrument, and presenting and recording Australian works for this genre, the Duo and Trio have performed and taught nationally and internationally, including in the U.K., U.S.A., Argentina, Italy, Vietnam and New Zealand. Janet has also organised and tutored at the annual Sydney Guitar Summer Schools over the last twenty-five years. She enjoys collaborating with other instrumentalists, arranging bespoke works for mixed-instrumental ensembles. Janet’s PhD thesis, “‘Transcription’ as Cultural Translation: Transforming horizons for the classical guitar ensemble” investigates the gap between transcription theory and practice, and it includes a portfolio of new works transformed for guitars in ensemble. Three of these works are published by Les Productions d’OZ.
Janet Agostino