Francesca Hiew / violin

Australian String Quartet violinist Francesca Hiew

Francesca began violin lessons at the age of four at the Stoliarsky School of Music in Brisbane. Here she studied with Mark Lakirovich and, later, Emin Tagiev. At the age of nine, she travelled as a soloist and ensemble member to the USA, performing for Paul Kantor, Kurt Sassmanshaus and the late Dorothy DeLay of the Juilliard School in New York. After completing a Bachelor of Music under the supervision of violinist Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium, Francesca continued her studies with William Hennessy at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). 

During her studies at both the Queensland Conservatorium and ANAM, Francesca won every chamber music competition available, twice, each time with a different ensemble. In 2012 she completed an ANAM Fellowship focussing on chamber music for various string ensembles. That same year she co-founded the Auric Quartet, who were finalists for the Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition and Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition and performed at the Perth International Arts Festival, Melbourne Festival, Four Winds Festival and Dunkeld Festival of Music. 

Francesca has appeared as soloist with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and as a member of a solo quartet with Orchestra Victoria in the Australian Ballet’s production of Brett Dean’s “Fire Music”. After winning a full-time position in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2014, Francesca joined the ASQ in 2016.

Francesca plays a 1748-49 Guadagnini Violin, Piacenza