The Orpheus Trio

The Orpheus Piano Trio formed in early 2012. Comprising pianist Helena Kernaghan, violinist Kaori Sparks and cellist Sam Goble, the trio enjoy the challenge of being an interstate, rural dwelling ensemble with members calling Albury and Castlemaine home. 


All members of the Orpheus Piano Trio are established performers in their own rights, and have gained experience performing and studying internationally throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. Sam and Helena have been collaborating in duo and trio combinations since meeting at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1997. Kaori and Helena first collaborated in 2011 for the Help Japan fundraiser concert series in their current hometown of Albury. In 2012, Orpheus Piano Trio presented their debut program of works by Schubert and Brahms for their concert series “The Light & the Dark”. These performances were well received by large crowds at venues in Castlemaine and Albury, and they also performed at Melbourne's Bennetts Lane jazz club for the 2012 William Poskitt Memorial Fundraiser concert. Their 2013 concert series featured works by Beethoven, Brahms & Debussy, with successful performances as part of their regional tour in Albury, Wodonga, Bright, Wangaratta & Wagga Wagga. 2014 included performances at The Capital Theatre Bendigo, St Matthews Church Albury & Holy Trinity Cathedral Wangaratta, with the inclusion of some duo repertoire (Schumann's "Fantasy pieces”, and Bartok's "Rumanian Folk dances”) and Shostakovich's famous Trio Op.67. 2015 featured performances at the Adamshurst Ballroom in Albury and Wagga's Riverina Conservatorium with a program of all French works, featuring the magical Ravel Piano Trio. 2016 was an exciting year for the trio as they were featured as Ensemble-in-Residence for the 1st annual Albury Chamber Music Festival. They also performed at the Old Castlemaine Gaol in Castlemaine. 2017 was another busy year for the group, kicking off in March with a concert at the prestigious Cope-Williams Winery in Romsey. This was followed by performances in Deniliquin for the first time, and again in Bendigo. For their second year as Artist in Residence at Albury Chamber Music Festival, they presented Shostakovich’s trio and Messiaen’s ’Quartet for the End of Time’ with clarinettist David Griffiths. 2017 saw the trio release their first studio recording of works by Shostakovich and Dvorak.

With an established reputation and following throughout regional Victoria and New South Wales, Orpheus Piano Trio will continue to focus on bringing music of the highest standard to many country towns that are sometimes left off the map of the larger groups of Australia.