Our Team

Sarah Ellison: Violin

Violinist Sarah Ellison graduated from the University of Western Australia completing a Bachelor of Music degree (Performance) with honours and a Master of Music Practitioner Studies. She also completed her Diploma of Education at the University of New England and is a versatile musician possessing piano, violin and viola skills.

As a freelance musician, she has played for companies such as the Australian Opera Studio, Australian Ballet Orchestra, W.A. Ballet Company, W.A. Philharmonic Orchestra and Perth Pops Orchestra. Sarah has also been part of many recording projects for local and international artists in Western Australia.

Since coming to Melbourne in 2017, she has had the opportunity to perform with the George Ellis Orchestra, Australian Discovery Orchestra, Pro-Musica Orchestra, Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra 21 and Eclective Strings.

As a music educator, she has taught violin and coordinated string programs at Methodist Ladies College, Hale School, Vasek School for Violin and Strings, and was Head of Strings at Perth College. Sarah has been the Co-ordinator of Suzuki Strings at Scotch College in Melbourne for six years.

Sarah has also been a casual violin tutor, conductor and auditioner for the Melbourne Youth Orchestra’s MYS (Melbourne Youth Strings), Conductor for the Melbourne Youth Orchestra 2020 and 2024 Summer School, and Violin tutor for State Music Camp. She has also conducted for the Cloud Concert Youth Orchestra and the Suzuki Music Victoria Orchestra.

Billie-Jean Clancy: Violin

Billie-Jean Clancy
Violin Teacher
BMus (Hons), MMus, DipEd, Suzuki Method Trainee

Billie-Jean Clancy is an accomplished violin teacher and ensemble director with a wealth of experience in orchestral conducting, violin pedagogy, and music theory education. Based in Melbourne, she studied conducting with Robert Rosen and has taught at several leading schools and continues to cultivate a vibrant private teaching studio. Billie-Jean is passionate about nurturing both technical mastery and ensemble musicianship in her students, from beginners to advanced performers. Her students have gone on to achieve success in ensemble settings and have been recognised with music scholarships and performance opportunities.

A lifelong musician, Billie-Jean began her Suzuki Violin and Piano training as a child in Nagoya Prefecture, Japan. She returned to Australia for high school and attended the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, where she studied violin, piano, and voice. Her principal violin teachers included Gerard van der Weide and William Hennessy. She holds a Master of Music from the University of Melbourne and a Diploma of Education from Monash University. Billie-Jean has further refined her teaching approach through violin pedagogy studies with Mr Ilya Isakovich, a pupil of Professor Gennady Kogan and a renowned violinist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

As a performer, Billie-Jean has worked with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and in major professional music theatre productions such as The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King. She now focuses on music education, bringing music into students’ lives through individual lessons, group classes, and the coordination of masterclasses with guest artists like Mr Isakovich.

Programs at Ellison String Studio

Located in Hawthorn, Ellison String Studio offers two core programs:

  • Standard Program – One private lesson and one group class each week

  • Acceleration Program – Two private lessons and one group class each week (limited spaces)

To give each student the best experience, Billie-Jean teaches only children whose violin instruction takes place entirely at Ellison String Studio. She does not provide tutoring for students who are learning from another violin teacher at school. If a family would like two private lessons per week, they are welcome to apply for the Acceleration Program—a great alternative to learning from two different teachers.

Families are warmly invited to book a free trial private lesson and attend a free group class observation to see if the program is a good fit for their child.

About the Group Classes

Group classes at Ellison String Studio are fun, friendly, and based on the Suzuki Method. This method helps children learn by listening, watching others, and playing together. Students perform pieces from memory, play musical games, and become comfortable performing in front of others.

Group classes also give children a chance to build friendships and enjoy learning with their peers. Many parents say that group lessons improve their child’s motivation to practice at home, and are worth the weekly trip to the studio.

Special Studio Events

  • Term concert and celebration party

  • School holiday programs

  • Suzuki Method member-only events, parent education, and festivals

  • Termly masterclasses with Mr Ilya Isakovich (Australian Chamber Orchestra)

New teacher coming soon…

New teacher coming soon….

Sarah Ellison: Piano Accompanist

As a piano accompanist, Sarah has had over twenty years of experience accompanying students of all different instruments in school recitals, AMEB exams, Suzuki Graduations and various concerts.

Being an orchestral musician, she brings that expertise with her when following the student for their performance. Sarah is experienced with the Suzuki and AMEB repertoire having taught it for many years also.

Sarah travelled with the Vasek School of Violin and Strings to Malaysia to participate in the 27th ISME conference in Kuala Lumpa in 2006 as the piano accompanist.

Stephie-J: Piano Accompanist

StephieJ is a versatile, multi-instrumental performer and passionate educator.

She currently teaches at Huntingtower School and Sacred Heart Girls’ College as an upper strings (violin and viola) teacher, string ensemble director and choral accompanist. She regularly tutors at Melbourne Youth Orchestras, State Music Camp, State Music Camp North, and various school camps around Victoria.

As an accompanist, StephieJ has played for the AUSTAVic String Performers Festival, the Monash Youth Music Festival, the Victorian State School Spectacular, and the Australian Children's Choir, among many others. She regularly accompanies AMEB exams in musical theatre voice, strings, brass, and woodwind. Presently, she serves as the accompanist for Cloud9 Women’s Choir.

StephieJ is the State Treasurer for the Australian Strings Association (AUSTA) Victorian Chapter and is in the final stages of completing the Australian Kodaly Certificate (Primary) and a Bachelor of Music degree (Performance) from the University of New England.

StephieJ’s other love is musical theatre, and she worked on the 2023 Australian productions of Mary Poppins and Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat as a keys player.

Erica Tucceri: Theory Teacher

Erica is an energetic and passionate educator who hopes to encourage a lifelong love of music in all of her students, from beginners through to advanced. She teaches flute, piano, recorder and music theory and has experience guiding students through the AMEB syllabus, performance preparation, improvisation, playing as a soloist, in bands and in orchestras. 

Her upbeat teaching style draws on her extensive experience as a performing artist across classical and improvised styles of music, spanning live performances, session work, band leading, composing and arranging, artist residencies, recording, and local and international touring.

Erica runs a private music teaching studio, has taught in schools both as an instrumental teacher and ensemble leader, as well as working as a casual lecturer at the JMC Academy, VCA Saturday School, and with YoWo Music, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities and mentorship to young female and non-binary musicians. Erica holds a Bachelor Degree with Honours in Music Performance (Orchestral), alongside a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Contemporary Music and Improvisation), both awarded by the Victorian College of the Arts.

Guest Violin Teacher: Ilya Isakovich  

Mr Ilya Isakovich is a violinist and Core Member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He lives and teaches in Sydney and gives Master Classes throughout Australia to elite university level violin students as well as mentoring chamber music groups. Interestingly, Ilya Isakovich makes time to teach young beginners and foster their love of music and sound technical development from a young age. He visits Melbourne regularly to work with students of Sarah Ellison and Billie-Jean Clancy at Ellison String Studio. He is a proud Suzuki parent with a child who progressed through the method.

Born in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, Ilya Isakovich began violin lessons at the age of six. His early promise was clear when, in 1991, he graduated by performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Dnepropetrovsk Symphony Orchestra.

After immigrating to Israel in 1991, Ilya continued his musical development at the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music, studying under Professor Moshe Girshovitch. He completed his studies in 1995 and went on to serve in the IDF Chamber Orchestra during his military service. In 1997, he began working with Professor Gennady Kogan to further refine his craft.

From 1994 to 2000, Ilya played a vital role in the Young Israel Philharmonic, rising to the position of concertmaster in 1996. His musical career expanded internationally when, in 1999 and 2000, he served as the concertmaster of the West-Eastern Divan Workshop Orchestra in Weimar, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

In 1999, Ilya became the concertmaster of the Israeli Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra. By 2000, he joined the first violin section of the esteemed Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, where he performed until 2004. That same year, Ilya embarked on a new chapter of his career with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) in Sydney.

Since 2004, Ilya has been a prominent member of the ACO, performing on a 1590 Brothers Amati violin, graciously provided by the ACO Instrument Fund. Throughout his time with the orchestra, he has performed works by renowned composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms, as well as Israeli composers Marc Lavry, Paul Ben-Haim, and Moroccan-Israeli composer Shimon Buskila.

Mr Ilya Isakovich travels to Melbourne to give Masterclasses to young and or beginner students once per term.

Guest teacher… coming soon

Guest teacher coming soon…