Dr Andrew Filmer

Andrew began his research career as a first prize winner of the David Dalton Viola Research Competition, and earned his PhD from the University of Otago in New Zealand for research into alternative tunings of the viola, ranging from Baroque to contemporary composition. His editions of Bach, Mozart and Telemann have been published by the American Viola Society and the International Viola Society, as well as Comus Edition in the UK.

This research led him to presentations for International Viola Congresses in Germany, Poland and New Zealand, and peer-reviewed articles in the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia. He is a former Editor of the Journal of the American Viola Society.

Andrew’s interest in music editing produced research on editorial practices and biases, published in European Drama and Performance Studies in France, and his research in the collaboration of performers and researchers was published by the Centre for Intercultural Musicology at Churchill College, University of Cambridge.

With diversity as a hallmark, Andrew has co-authored research on the evolution of meaning in leitmotifs of John Williams’ music for Star Wars films. He is currently exploring cross-disciplinary collaboration of a musician, a painter, and a videographer. He was also part of a three-person team that constructed the first harpsichord built in Malaysia.

Andrew is a recipient of numerous citations for teaching at Sunway University where he is an associate professor, including a Certificate of Commendation for the Award for Excellence in Teaching. In addition to teaching music, he is an Associate of the Academic Enhancement Division, where he facilitates workshops in educational technologies with a specialization in the innovative uses of PowerPoint for student engagement.

As a music pedagogue, Andrew is a frequent speaker for Trinity College London, and has facilitated numerous workshops for ABRSM’s music teacher conferences. Publications include articles on online teaching for the Australian and New Zealand Viola Society Journal, and prize-winning research on the use of technology in education from the 4th International Conference on Education and Multimedia Technology.

Andrew has been a guest speaker at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, and the Elder Conservatorium in Australia. In addition to his music degrees, he has an honours degree in communications and a certificate in User Experience (UX).

Andrew is violist of the Sutera Ensemble and the Anjung Trio and has performed as a guest with Ensemble Virama both as violist and conductor. He has performed as a concerto soloist in Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, and Germany, and is scheduled to be a Featured Artist at the 2023 International Viola Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. Andrew studied with Donald Maurice in New Zealand, and Anthony Devroye of the Avalon Quartet in the United States.

Andrew combines his early background in communications with his training as a musician to engage audiences during his performances, and was engaged as a TEDx speaker, championing “How to Fail Magnificently”. He has both conducted and narrated for the Selangor Symphony Orchestra, and conducted Musica Sinfonietta Penang. In his role as a director of the SEA Music Academy Online, he has conversed with keynote speakers Benjamin Zander, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Hilary Hahn.

Outside of classical music, he was a member of the jazz band The Troubles, whose inaugural recording was released by Rattle Records.