KEY PEOPLE

MATTHEW ESHUN

Principal Conductor

Matthew Eshun started his music journey at the age of 7 as singer in a quartet in Apollo-Takoradi. While completing a degree in Music and Political science at the University of Ghana, Matthew together with a few others influenced the establishment of a string ensemble in the Music Department. In 2014 and 2015, he completed his ABRSM Grades 5 & 8 in violin performance and was the conductor of the Kinder Paradise orchestra. 

In 2018, Matthew gained admission to the University of The Free State in South Africa where he studied performance violin under the tutelage of Samson Diamond, cultural musicology with Prof. Martina Viljoen and orchestral conducting with Xavier Cloete. In 2019 he became the second principal of the Free State Youth Orchestra and of the Odeion School of Music Camerata and performed with the Free State Symphony Orchestra in Bloemfontein - South Africa. Matthew is currently pursuing a Master of Music program at the University of The Free State.

JULIUS RICHARDSON

Director

After completing an engineering degree, Julius Richardson left a career in banking to fulfil his passion for classical music.  He has since worked as a professional pianist, piano teacher and music educator. In 2014, he founded geniusHive, a foundation devoted to music education and performance. In 2015, together with Matthew Eshun and in collaboration with German NGO, Musicians without Borders, Julius introduced a music program and established an orchestra at Kinder Paradise Children's Home in the outskirts of Accra.   Julius is a pillar of the Ghanaian classical music establishment and has produced many high caliber musical events in collaboration with Ghana’s most accomplished classical and jazz musicians.

TERESA BARNES

Director

Teresa Barnes joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1992.  During her career in the Foreign Service, she has had a posting to Nairobi, Kenya, and positions as the Executive Director of the Trade Finance Section, the Japan Free Trade Agreement Feasibility Study Task Force, Recruitment and Workforce Planning Section, and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Section, among others.  

Ms Barnes has been living in Accra, where her husband is Australia's High Commissioner to Ghana, since 2016.  In Accra, she has worked voluntarily for several NGOs, including geniusHive’s Musical Education Program at the Kinder Paradise Children’s Home in Pram Pram.  In 2019, Ms Barnes was instrumental in the formation of the Accra Youth Sinfonietta and was event lead for the Sinfonietta’s Christmas Concert and the Kempinski Hotel’s Christmas Tree Lighting concert. 

CRISTINA RUOTOLO

Director

Cristina Ruotolo is professor of Humanities and director of the School of Humanities and Liberal Studies at San Francisco State University, where she teaches interdisciplinary humanities courses. She was in Ghana during 2018-19 as a Fulbright Scholar with the English department at University of Ghana, Legon. During this time, she helped direct the string ensemble, taught several violin students in UG's music department, and coached and played string trios and string quartets with local musicians in Accra. Before getting her Ph.D. in English at Yale University, Dr. Ruotolo worked professionally as a violinist, playing in orchestras and chamber groups in Boston and San Francisco. She received her Master of Music degree (M.M.) at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachussetts, where she was a member of the Honors String Quartet.