About us

About us

The Sydney Bach Society is a musical organisation that seeks to provide performance opportunities for Australian musicians. Drawing from the Collegium Musicum of Johann Sebastian Bach’s seventeenth century Leipzig, it unites professional musicians, academics, and music enthusiasts, inviting them to engage in a series of vibrant concert experiences.

Artistic Co-Directors

Aristea Mellos​

Aristea Mellos is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music. Born on the island of Crete, she received her formative musical training in Sydney, where she was an avid chorister and also studied classical piano. 

A winner of the 2014 Gallipoli Song Competition, Aristea is a recipient of grants from the Presser Foundation (2015), the Earle Brown Foundation (2016), the Australia Council of the Arts (2014), the American Australian Association (2013, 2014) and the Eastman School of Music (Professional Development Award 2014). Aristea is a represented artist of The Australian Music Centre.  Her music has been published by the Capliano Review, and Soundboard Magazine, and has been recorded and broadcast by ABC Classic, NPR, Tall Poppies, Xenofone, and Fine Music.

As a composer who focuses on art songs and intimate chamber music, Mellos has worked closely with many notable soloists including Bernadette Harvey,  Jane Sheldon, Helen Zhibing Huang, Anna Dowsley, Michael Lampard, Corey Hamm, Elinor Frey, Daniel Pesca, Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery, Josinaldo Costa, Sophie Burgos, Madeline Cain, Zach Sheets, Phil Pierick and Emlyn Johnson.

A fellow of Art Song Lab (VISI 2013), the AYO's Composer School (2010), and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (2009), Aristea holds a Doctorate (DMA) and Master's (MM) in Composition and Piano from The Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester 2017, 2012). In 2010, she graduated with Honors Class I from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney) and she also holds an A.Mus A. in piano performance.

Prizes and scholarships include: the Howard Hanson Ensemble Prize (2015), the Bernard Rogers Memorial Prize (2014), the T.A. Prize for Teaching Excellence (2014), the Belle S. Gitelman Prize (2016 & 2011), the Paul Sacher Scholarship (2010-2012), the Doris Burnett Ford Scholarship (2006-2010), and the Roy Agnew Memorial Fund (2006). 

 ​Read more at: www.aristeamellos.com.

Josinaldo Costa​

Brazilian guitarist, Dr Josinaldo Costa is a highly sought after performer, academic, and pedagogue. Equally at home performing both early music and contemporary classical works, his artistic practice is informed by a passion for meticulous scholarship.

Dr Costa’s research on performance practice of the 18th and 19th centuries has seen him guest lecture, perform, and present masterclasses at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Alaska - Anchorage, Western Carolina University, and Oklahoma City University.

A founding member and co-director of The Sydney Bach Society (Sydney) and The Ritsos Project (Greece), Dr Costa has featured as a performer in concert series such as the Virtuosi na Serra, ViolaoPE, AV-Rio (Brazil), Guitar Fort Worth (USA), and the Karlovac Summer Guitar Festival (Croatia).

Dr Costa has an extensive recording and publication catalogue with Xenofone music, including three albums of works by J.S. Bach, and eight transcriptions and arrangements of works by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Bigaglia, Gaultier, and Schubert, all of which are held by the National Library of Australia.

First prize winner of the Stroud Classical Guitar Competition and winner of the FIPSE/CAPES scholarship, Dr Costa is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music where he was also awarded a Performance Certificate with distinction. Dr Costa also holds degrees from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Brazil) and at the University of Akron. His primary teachers have been Nicholas Goluses, Mauro Maibrada, Stephen Aron, and Dr. Elliot Frank. Dr Costa has also studied with Maestro Oscar Ghiglia at the historical Accademia Chigiana (Siena, Italy) and Judicaël Perroy in the MusicAlp Festival (Tignes, France).

An adjudicator for the Sydney Eisteddfod, Dr Costa holds instrumental and ensemble teaching positions at Sydney Grammar School (College Street and St Ives campuses) and The King’s School. He is currently based in Sydney - Australia.

Read more at www.josinaldocosta.com.