Faculty

Sebastien del Rosario Hibbard started learning piano and cello at age 8 at the Central Coast Conservatorium. He studied with Susan Blake and is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Rising Stars program. Between 2016-2019, Sebastien was the recipient of the Rising Stars William McIlrath Foundation Music Scholarship. He was also a full Music Scholar at Central Coast Grammar School from Year 7 through to Year 12.

Sebastien has obtained the LMUS Cello diploma, the highest qualification attainable by the Australian Examination Board (AMEB) as well as his 8th grade AMEB Piano certificate at the age of 10 in 2013.

At age 11, Sebastien was one of the soloists for the Festival of Instrumental Music at the Opera House. Sebastien is a spirited and lively solo performer who always expresses his musical conviction and constantly embraces the audience into his artistic presentation. Last year, he was one of the guest artists for the Annual Charity Gala at The Radisson Blu Hotel. Guest artist for the Pearl Beach Scholarship concert and the Bouddhi Foundation for the Arts Award presentation.

In 2019, Sebastien achieved many solo performance awards as well as engagements with several Symphony Orchestras. He was the 2019 Overall Winner of the prestigious Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO) NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition and also received the KPO Players Award on the night. The following day, Sebastien performed the full Shostakovich Cello concerto with Symphony Central Coast (SCC) as the 2018 SCC Concerto Competition 1st prize winner. This concert was a part of the Symphony Central Coast subscription concert series in 2019.

Sebastien has been awarded the John Bell grant for the 2019 Bouddhi Foundation for the Arts. He received an Encore nomination by the NSW examination board for exemplary musical performance work in his HSC practical examinations for Music 2 and Music extension.

His rhythmic stability and verve, combined with his amiable personality and people skills, have given him concert opportunities playing with Charmian Gadd and Erin Hellyard in the Crossroads Chamber music Festivals in 2018 and 2016.

In 2017, Sebastien performed the Vivaldi Double Concerto with the L’Estro Armonica String Orchestra.

As an Orchestral musician, Sebastien has been appointed as Principal cellist for the CCGS Symphony Orchestra, CCGS String Orchestra, Central Coast Youth Orchestra and HICES Music Festival Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he was invited as a guest Principal cellist for the NSW Youth Orchestra. Sebastien has worked with renowned Orchestras such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra project, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra project, Australian World Orchestra project and Australian Youth Orchestra.

As the 2019 KPO Overall winner, Sebastien has been invited back in November 2020 to play the sublime and intensely difficult Sinfonia Concertante by Prokofiev for KPO’s 2020 subscription concert series but due to the recent pandemic, this event has been postponed until 2021.