Beethoven's Eroica

Riccardo Minasi
Conductor

Italian conductor Riccardo Minasi currently serves as Principal Guest Conductor of Ensemble Resonanz who are resident at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and Artistic Director of Orchestra La Scintilla at the Zurich Opera House, positions he has held since 2022. His previous appointments include co-founder and conductor of Il Pomo d’Oro from 2011 to 2016, Chief Conductor of the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra from 2017 to 2022, and Music Director of Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa from 2022 to 2025.

In the 2025/26 season, Minasi is Artist in Residence at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie where he conducts four programmes with Ensemble Resonanz, including a concertante performance of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ. He also performs in Hamburg with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as part of his European tour with Beatrice Rana, followed by concerts in South America alongside James Ehnes.

Other highlights of the season include his first appearances with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Dresdner Philharmonie with Martin Fröst. He also leads Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No.3 with Marianne Crebassa in Essen, Dortmund and Köln, and two symphonic programmes with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Following his concert with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra last season with Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion, Minasi returns to Accademie Nazionale de Santa Cecilia to perform the same work at Easter. Additional returns include engagements with Gurzenich Orchester Cologne and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra with Sayaka Shoji. Recent highlights include performances with Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden (ZDF Advent concert), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

His ongoing collaboration with Ensemble Resonanz takes him to Beethovenfest Bonn, Kölner Philharmonie and Concertgebouw Amsterdam and their 2024 BBC Proms debut was met with critical acclaim. Minasi returned to the BBC Proms in summer 2025 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro previously staged at Glyndebourne.

Past opera performances includes Die Zauberflöte, Le nozze di Figaro and Rodelinda at the Dutch National Opera; Dialogue des Carmélites and Don Giovanni at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía; Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte for Glyndebourne Festival Opera; The Turn of the Screw, Idomeneo, Cenerentola, Beatrice di Tenda and Norma at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; Les Pêcheurs de Perles for Salzburger Festspiele; Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Turco in Italia and Orlando Paladino for Opernhaus Zürich; Le nozze di Figaro, Iphigenie en Tauride, Alcina and Agrippina for Hamburg State Opera and Carmen for Opéra National de Lyon.

Riccardo Minasi has a wealth of recording experience with the world’s top artists. In 2016 alone, he appeared on four Echo Klassik award-winning albums and most recently his Harmonia Mundi recordings with Ensemble Resonanz of Joseph Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross (2018), the C.P.E. Bach’s Cello Concertos (2019), and the Antonín Kraft’s Cello Concerto with Jean-Guihen Queyras (2024) were awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. His last album with Ensemble Resonanz, Mozart: Haffner-Akademie, was released in April 2025.

Minasi’s performances are characterised by their musicological integrity. He has acted as a historical advisor for the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Minasi was curator and editor with Maurizio Biondi of the 2016 Bärenreiter critical edition of Bellini’s Norma, a piece he later performed with Ensemble Resonanz in Hamburg, Köln and at Teatro Carlo Felice, following the great success of the production at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2022.

Jenna Smith
Trumpet

Jenna Smith is the Principal Trumpet of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Prior to this she held the position of Associate Principal Trumpet at WASO from 2019–2022.

Jenna performed as Principal Trumpet with the Australian World Orchestra in 2025. She has played with the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Opera Australia Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the SSO Sinfonia.

Jenna enjoys playing solo repertoire and has performed as a soloist with WASO, The Metropolitan Orchestra, and the Sydney Wind Symphony.

Jenna is a passionate educator and enjoys teaching at the University of Western Australia’s Conservatorium of Music. Jenna has also appeared as a Guest Lecturer at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

When Jenna isn’t playing the trumpet, she enjoys playing board games with her husband, taking her singing greyhounds to the beach, and watercolour painting.

Jenna’s Chair is supported by John & Nita Walshe through the Duet program.

When did you join WASO and where did you play before then?

I joined WASO in 2019 as Associate Principal Trumpet after 2 years of the Sydney Symphony Fellowship Program.

Can you remember your first WASO concert?

My very first WASO performance was as a casual trumpet in 2018. We played Debussy’s La Mer and it was great because the program was about 6 weeks before my WASO Associate Principal Trumpet audition, so I could get to know the hall and how the Orchestra played before I auditioned for a full-time position.

Do you have any stand out concerts or performances in your time with WASO?

One of my favourite performances with WASO was playing Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto (2024). Usually the trumpets sit at the back of the Orchestra and so it was such a thrill to stand at the front of the Orchestra and play a concerto! Another special performance was Mahler’s Third Symphony in 2022 with Asher Fisch. It was one of my last performances as Associate Principal Trumpet. I played the offstage post horn solo part, and I had the privilege of sitting side-stage after I had finished playing and listening to the final movement of the symphony from there by myself.

Do you have a shortlist of works or composers that you love to play the most?

Mahler is by far my favourite composer. I’m a typical trumpet player who loves Strauss, Prokofiev, and Wagner, as well. I love playing works by Australian composers like Nigel Westlake, Elena Kats-Chernin, and WA’s own Lachlan Skipworth.

What is your top piece of advice for students interested in pursuing a career as a trumpet player?

My top advice for aspiring trumpet players is to go out and get feedback about your playing as often as you can, and from as many different musicians (not just trumpet players) as you can. Approach your practise with honesty and discipline but don’t wait for your playing to be “perfect” or “right” before getting feedback.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would choose to have with you?

If I was stranded on a deserted island I would bring my husband and my two dogs!