Press Kit

Justin currently serves as Associate Principal Clarinet of Orchestra Victoria and is the founding Artistic Director of the Melbourne Chamber Players.

His performance career has taken him across Australia, New Zealand and Canada, appearing as guest Principal and E-flat Clarinet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra. He has been heard on numerous live broadcasts for ABC and 3MBS radio, Radio New Zealand, Opera Europa and ABC Classics.

He has also contributed to several television soundtracks, performing on Bryony Marks’ score for ABC’s The Messenger and recording for The Newsreader and the forthcoming ABC comedy Dog Park.

A committed chamber musician, Justin has collaborated with the Orava Quartet, Flinders Quartet, Arcadia Winds, Hindemith Wind Quintet and Melbourne Ensemble, and has appeared at major festivals including Port Fairy, Peninsula Summer, Bendigo, Melbourne Festival, Music by the Springs, the Banff Summer Music Festival and the Mackay Chamber Music Festival.

Justin is deeply engaged in commissioning and performing new Australian music, with premieres by Margaret Sutherland, Deborah Cheetham, Nigel Sabin, Paul Dean, Brett Dean, Sam Smith, Gordon Kerry and Matthew Laing. He also leads the Continuo Commissioning Circle, supporting the creation of new chamber repertoire.

His recent highlights include performing Rhapsody in Blue with Makoto Ozone at the 2024 Melbourne International Jazz Festival—described by reviewers as a “beautifully shaped, evocative opening”—and notable performances with the Australian World Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Another review praised his “astounding breath control and range of dynamic … riveting” in Abyss of the Birds.

A Fellow and alumnus of ANAM, Justin has studied with David Thomas, Paul Dean, Stephen Kenyon and Floyd Williams and worked with artists including Andrew Marriner, Michael Collins, Paul Meyer and Dimitri Ashkenazy. He holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium and the University of Tasmania, and is the recipient of the Nelle Ashdown Memorial Award (2011) and the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Scholarship (2019).

Justin is a Teaching Associate at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, teaches at Camberwell Grammar School and runs a private studio in South Melbourne, where he enjoys working with the next generation of clarinettists.

Justin Beere is Associate Principal Clarinet of Orchestra Victoria and Artistic Director of the Melbourne Chamber Players. He has appeared as guest Principal and E-flat Clarinet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra, and has performed at major festivals throughout Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Justin has recorded for ABC television soundtracks including Bryony Marks’ The Messenger, as well as The Newsreader and the forthcoming Dog Park. A reviewer described his 2024 Rhapsody in Blue performance with Makoto Ozone as featuring a “beautifully shaped, evocative opening,” while another noted his “astounding breath control… riveting” in Abyss of the Birds.

A committed advocate for Australian music, he has premiered works by Margaret Sutherland, Deborah Cheetham, Nigel Sabin, Paul Dean, Brett Dean and others. He is a Teaching Associate at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and teaches at Camberwell Grammar School and his private studio in South Melbourne.

Review:Rhapsody in Blue at 100 [Melbourne 2024]

“The orchestra’s clarinettist, Justin Beere, played a beautifully shaped, evocative opening to the piece before Ozone took up the signature opening melody.”

Review: Opera Australia: Faust review [Melbourne 2019]

“…the orchestra works tirelessly to create beautiful music. Special mention to the beautiful playing of clarinetist Justin Beere in a number of exquisite solo passages.” - Simon Paris

Review:Jan Sedivka Camerata

“The highlight of the concert was a memorable performance of the Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 622. Justin Beere’s playing here was outstanding in every way.” - The Mercury

Review: Opera Australia: La Traviata review (Melbourne 2018)

“The drama of Verdi's tuneful, romantic score was beautifully expressed, most notably in the strings, delicate then lush, and mournful clarinet solo.” - BachTrack

Review: Melbourne Chamber Players

“…Beere’s clarinet provided an excellent linchpin for this performance, his upper range blending seamlessly with Dixon’s oboe and his lower range merging imperceptibly with Emma Sullivan’s double bass.” - CutCommon

Review: Rubiks Collective

“…Ben Opie (oboe) and Justin Beere (clarinet) provides a brief moment of contrast, and their impeccable unison seems to send a shiver down the spine of the audience.” - CutCommon

Review: Syzygy Ensemble

”The chaos of the first movement, with motifs between clarinet soloist Justin Beere and violin and cello accompaniment, was in stark contrast to the eeriness and forward thrust of the second movement…” - Sydney Morning Herald

Review:Jan Sedivka Camerata

“Jan Sedivka Camerata Chamber Ensemble with Justin Beere, clarinet, gave a flawless reading of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A, K.581.” - The Mercury

Review: Rubiks Collective

“Justin Beere’s pneumatic bursts on the bass clarinet, as well as Kaylie Melville’s kick-drum and the clacking keys of the flute remind us that modern instruments are machines of the industrial revolution.” - Partial Durations

Review:Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra, Alex Briger

Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 1, Op. 73

“The orchestra’s second clarinet Justin Beere was hastily recruited with barely any rehearsal, let alone time for detailed study of the score. The resulting performance was quite remarkable for its poise, elegant phrasing, and mellifluous tone.” - The Mercury

Review:Jan Sedivka Camerata

“The highlight of the concert was a memorable performance of the Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 622. Justin Beere’s playing here was outstanding in every way.” - The Mercury

Review:Hobart Chamber Orchestra

“Young clarinettist Justin Beere continues to impress in his frequent appearance both as soloist and in local ensembles. His playing of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622 again demonstrated much more that an excellent technique.

There was an individuality and maturity of interpretation that bore the hallmarks of the fully developed artist. The famous slow movement had all the poise and concentration that one could have wished.” - The Mercury

Article: Con Fuoco
CutCommon’s interview series with emerging musicians across Australia.

Article: CutCommon
“Chamber music is life”: Interview with Tim Hannah

Writing:

ANAM: Music Makers: In discussion with alum Justin Beere [clarinet, 2014]

CutCommon: Con Fuoco [November 26, 2015]

Sublime Mozart: Paul Dean & QSO: Melba Records
Australian Clarinet and Saxophone (Australia), Spring 2009