About us
One from the north, one from the south...
Dual Aura is a cross-cultural meeting of friends with a love for communication through music.
In our performances we create journeys of musical story-telling that entrance and delight audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
With the highest level skills as classical performers, we draw on music and improvisation from baroque and folk traditions, as well as new pieces with this spirited flavour.
As if speaking through our instruments and performing by memory, our performances are crafted with movement and narrative to take our audiences into a different realm.
Come and let us transport you!
Ben Dollman
Ben is one of Australia’s leading performers on baroque violin, having held the position of Principal Violin in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for over fifteen years.
Studies in early violin began at Indiana University with the Australian baroque violinist Stanley Ritchie. Upon returning to Australia, Ben was mentored by Lucinda Moon and joined the ABO in 1999.
He has performed as soloist and concertmaster on a number of occasions, and was a featured soloist on two ARIA award-wining albums for best classical album. His performances have been praised across Australia, for 'tone like a brilliant beam of light' (Sydney Morning Herald), a 'powerhouse of imaginative ideas' (Adelaide Advertiser) and 'dizzying levels of virtuosity (Melbourne Age).
Ben is active in a diverse range of musical style: in early music with the ABO, Adelaide Baroque and Ensemble Galante; in folk music, contemporary and improvised music, and symphonic music as a regular guest with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Monica Schmidt Andersen
Monica is one of Denmark’s finest emerging musicians and enjoys a creative career in performance on recorders in diverse forms.
Having graduated from her soloist diploma at The Danish National Academy of Music in 2016, she recently won the 1st prize in Nordhorn Solo Recorder Competition in 2016 and is now active as a soloist (Odense Symphony Orchestra, SDMK Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Zimmermann) and chamber musician creating projects and ensembles ranging from early and folk music to contemporary music and music theatre.
Monica is a lead performer with the Nordic Baroque Band who were recently nominated for Best Classical Album in the Swedish Grammys. The album has been praised by magazine KlassiskMusikk as being 'so exciting, the game was so fierce and thrilling that I was greatly excited... and have often heard it again with utter joy.' In 2014 she released her first album “Puls” together with Trio Nebula featuring all new commissions for the group; and in 2018 a solo album with organ.
She has also completed a Masters in Psychology for Musicians from The University of Sheffield and as a teacher has developed her own concepts ‘Performance Lab’ and ‘Performatorium’, where children and professionals across all instruments, voices and ages explore stage presence and the psychology and art of performing.
Read more on: www.monicasandersen.com