The Sydney String Centre

02/10/2026

🎉 Celebrating 35 Years — Meet the Team 🎻

Introducing Emily Blunt – eCommerce Co-ordinator

If you’ve ever started a chat through our website, chances are you’ve already spoken with Emily!

Emily is our online customer service queen, answering questions and enquiries across email and web chat and helping make sure our online customers have a smooth experience from browsing to placing an order. No problem is too big or too small for Emily to solve, and her years of experience in retail have made her a natural problem-solver.

She also helps make our products more accessible to customers by getting them listed across our website and other eCommerce platforms, including eBay and Amazon.

Music is a big part of Emily’s life outside of work too. She comes from a very musical family spanning woodwind, brass and strings, so she understands the needs of musicians across a wide range of instruments. Outside of work, Emily enjoys getting along to classical, metal, EDM and many other concerts (including Hilary Duff)... a pretty diverse musical mix!

Thanks, Emily, for bringing your customer service skills, problem-solving abilities and love of music to the SSC team. We’re lucky to have you! ❤️

Here's a little more about Emily...
Emily began her musical journey at the age of five, growing up in a musical family with both parents involved in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. She studied flute through the AMEB syllabus and performed with the Sydney Windphonic Orchestra, part of the Sydney Youth Orchestras, from 2008 to 2010. She also taught flute privately between 2009 and 2013.

After completing high school in 2011, Emily went on to study a Bachelor of Arts and Entertainment Management at the Australian Institute of Music. Her career later took her into retail management, where she spent more than a decade developing extensive experience in customer service, team leadership and day-to-day operations.

Emily joined The Sydney String Centre in 2022 and is now our eCommerce Coordinator. She manages many of the customer service enquiries that come through our website, as well as coordinating online orders and helping customers navigate their purchases from start to finish.

Although she no longer plays regularly, Emily remains an enthusiastic music lover and regularly attends both classical and metal concerts.

01/10/2026

🇦🇺🎻 You’re Invited to the Opening Night of Made in Australia!

Join us for an evening to showcase the rich history and continuing evolution of Australian lutherie, as part of The Sydney String Centre's 35th anniversary celebrations.

Explore more than 20 historic and contemporary violins, violas, cellos, double basses and bows by Australian makers, enjoy a live string quartet performance featuring works by award-winning Australian composers Ross Edwards, Chloe Charody and Paul Nicolaou, and sample Australian wines from Centennial Vineyards.

Guests will also have the opportunity to tour the Glanville & Co workshop and see how modern technology, including 5-axis CNC machining and 3D-printed templates, is helping to shape the future of violin-making in Australia.

We’re also pleased to welcome special guest Andrew Baker from Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin, who will be displaying his Australian-made rosins and available to answer your questions about rosin and finding the best match for your instrument.

A selection of instruments and bows will be available for trial and purchase following the opening. If you’ve always wanted to own an Australian-made instrument, this is an amazing opportunity to trial a great range and discover the makers behind them. Contact [email protected] for more information.

📅 Saturday 17 October 2026
🕕 6:00pm–9:30pm
📍 The Sydney String Centre, Chatswood

The event is free, but bookings are essential, and it's almost sold out!

👉 Book your place:
https://events.humanitix.com/made-in-australia-exhibition-opening-night

Instruments and bows on display by:
A. E. Smith • Kitty Smith • Rod Smith • Guy Aubrey Griffin • Lloyd Adams • Cedric Clarke • Rainer Beilharz • Peter Goodfellow • Hugh Withycombe • John Simmers • Martin Schuster • Harry Vatiliotis • Adele Beardsmore • Wei Luk • Jim Ellender • Matthew Tucker Bresque Basses • David Glanville • Glanville & Co.

Australian Made Campaign

25/09/2026

Sales Consultant – Sydney String Centre (Chatswood & Annandale)

🎻 Join Sydney String Centre's team!

We're hiring one full-time and one casual Sales Consultant for our Chatswood and Annandale stores.

Specialising in orchestral stringed instruments for 30+ years, we're looking for music-loving people to help customers of all levels find their perfect fit.

You'll need:
🎵 Retail or customer service experience
🎵 A passion for music and genuine interest in strings
🎵 The ability to play violin, viola, cello, double bass or classical guitar to a good standard
🎵 Great people skills and reliability

Perks: staff discounts, real work-life balance, and hands-on training from musicians, teachers and violin makers.

Apply now – link in bio! 🎶

24/09/2026

🎻 Free Classical Concert at the QVB! 🎻
Concerts for All are putting on another fabulous free classical pop-up concert at the QVB this Saturday, 26 September — a great opportunity for young musicians and music lovers to hear talented performers live and be inspired.
Live music is such an important part of musical growth, helping young players develop their listening skills, discover new music and experience the excitement of performance.

And if you're taking part in the Concert Listening Challenge, this is a great concert to add to your Challenge Card! 🏆

👉 See the full line-up and event details on their website.

Want to join the Concert Listening Challenge? Pick up a Challenge Card or redeem your prizes at our Chatswood or Annandale stores.

24/09/2026

🎶 Don't miss this special chamber music concert for flute, viola & harp!

Harpist Alice Giles, flautist Jonathan Henderson and violist James Wannan come together for an afternoon of chamber music exploring the rich and atmospheric sound world of flute, viola and harp.

The programme centres around French music, featuring works by Debussy and Fauré, alongside Bax’s evocative Elegiac Trio and contemporary works by French composer Bruno Mantovani and Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.

With three acclaimed Australian musicians bringing extensive international experience as soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral performers, this promises to be a beautiful afternoon of live music.

📅 Sunday 4 October, 3pm
📍 Independent Theatre, North Sydney
🎟️ Tickets: [www.contraconcerts.com.au/2026](http://www.contraconcerts.com.au/2026)

We’re pleased to help spread the word about this wonderful concert — we hope you can make it! 🎻

Contra Concerts

23/09/2026

A new 18-minute documentary explores the current fight for the conservation of pernambuco, the Brazilian hardwood used to make nearly all stringed-instrument bows. Link in comments 🎻

23/09/2026

🎻 Attention string teachers!

Did you know there are changes coming to the HSC Music syllabus from 2027?

Get up to speed on what’s changing and learn how to support your students through the new HSC requirements at the Austa NSW HSC Music Performance Professional Development Day.

Hear from experts, ask questions and explore practical ideas for HSC performance preparation across violin, viola, cello and double bass.

📅 Sunday, 18 October
⏰ 2:30pm–5:30pm
📍 St Luke’s Grammar School, Dee Why

🎟️ $30 AUSTA Members | $60 non-members

AUSTA members can find their discount code in the latest AUSTA NSW newsletter.

Book your place: https://www.trybooking.com/au/event/1649794

Change is on the way: the new HSC Music 1 & 2 and the String Teacher

From Term 1 2027, NSW schools begin teaching the new Music 1 and Music 2 11–12

18/09/2026

🎉 Celebrating 35 Years — Meet the Team 🎻

Introducing Bella Wilson – Sales Consultant

You’ll usually find Bella in our showroom, helping players find the right instrument, bow or strings for their sound. She’s also the person behind many of the instrument descriptions on our website, so it’s fair to say she knows our range inside and out!

Bella is our walking string encyclopaedia! She loves trying out the latest strings and figuring out what works best on different instruments and for different players. She even put together a guide to every string we have in stock. If you want a string recommendation, Bella is the person to ask.

Outside of SSC, Bella is a violinist with the Sydney Youth Orchestra, and a bass guitar baddie by night with her band, Garage Noise. She also performs on her electric Yamaha violin and is our resident go-to for all things electric instruments.

Later this year, Bella will be taking her violin on tour through Europe with the SYO — so there’s plenty of music ahead!

Thanks, Bella, for bringing so much dedication, curiosity and enthusiasm to the SSC team. We’re lucky to have you! ❤️

Here's a little more about Bella:
Isabella Wilson began learning violin at the age of four under the Suzuki method. In the years since, she has gone on to play with several youth orchestras around Sydney, and has also been lucky enough to tour with the Young Mannheim Symphonists program. Isabella has a special interest in Historically Informed Performance and enjoys delving into the world of gut strings and period instruments.

After completing a double degree at the University of Technology Sydney in Music and Sound Design, and Creative Intelligence and Innovation in 2025, Isabella is currently performing as a freelance musician around Sydney both orchestrally and with her indie-rock band!

17/09/2026

FOR SALE – Giovanni Grancino Fine Violin c. 1685 🎻🇮🇹
We currently have a rare violin for sale in our fine instrument range, made around 1685 by Giovanni Grancino, probably the most important figure of the Milanese tradition of violin making.
This remarkable instrument is in a good state of preservation and is sold with a certificate by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, London, and a dendrochronological report.
Fine examples from this period are increasingly rare and highly sought after by collectors and professional musicians.
If you'd like to trial this instrument, follow the link below or call us on 02 9417 2611.
REQUESTS FOR EXAMINATION & TRIAL
https://www.jotform.com/form/262582657590872