With interpretation described by Paul Badura-Skoda as “poetic”, Australian-Irish pianist Darryl Coote is a founding partner of the Team of Pianists. His professional life has encompassed activity as solo pianist, chamber musician, concerto soloist, teacher, adjudicator and administrator. He studied piano in Korumburra with Rennie Sullivan, then at the University of Melbourne with Max Cooke (a pupil of Alfred Cortot), where he completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours and subsequently, Master of Music. Following initial training in Australia, Darryl studied for a year with Kurt Bauer at the Musikhochschule in Hanover (Germany). In 1985 he was Victorian State winner of the keyboard section of the ABC’s Instrumental and Vocal Competition, as well as the inaugural winner of the national Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Scholarship. A few years later, he met the brother of Hephzibah Menuhin, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, accompanying the maestro at virtually no notice in a recital encore.

Darryl has appeared in concert in all states of Australia and in many of Victoria’s metropolitan and regional venues. Over 25 years he performed frequently in the Team of Pianists’ long-running concert series, Twilight Chamber Music at Rippon Lea. An all-round ensemble performer, he has performed many piano duets with the late Max Cooke, as well as major two-piano works with Robert Chamberlain. He is a sought-after chamber musician and accompanist, having worked with artists such as Anne Gilby (oboe), Stephen Robinson (oboe), David Thomas (clarinet), Richard Doumani (clarinet), Jacob Lawrence (tenor), Paul McMahon (tenor), Robert Macfarlane (tenor), Timothy Reynolds (tenor), Sally-Anne Russell (mezzo soprano), Brian Hansford (baritone), Kristy Conrau (cello), Rohan de Korte (cello), Josephine Vains (cello), Michelle Wood (cello), Christopher Cartlidge (viola), Lerida Delbridge (violin), Judith Hickel (violin), Charles Castleman (violin), Miwako Abe (violin), Roy Theaker (violin), Kathryn Taylor (violin) and Elizabeth Sellars (violin). Among numerous other works, his chamber music performances have included all the works for cello and piano by Beethoven, all three violin sonatas of Brahms, the two cello sonatas by Brahms and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. A fluent German-speaker, he enjoys presenting German art-song/Lieder, having performed Schumann’s song-cycles Frauen-liebe und -Leben (with Sally-Anne Russell), Dichterliebe (with Robert Macfarlane), Liederkreis Op. 39 (with Michael Petruccelli) and Schubert’s song-cycles Die Schöne Müllerin (with Timothy Reynolds) and Winterreise (firstly with Brian Hansford, later with Timothy Reynolds). A collaboration with mezzo-soprano Sally-Anne Russell, titled Janet and Gerald: A tribute, presented some of the favourite repertoire performed by Janet Baker and Gerald Moore. He is a member of the Australian-German-Association.

Darryl has recorded and broadcast extensively on Australian radio networks, including ABC Classic FM and 3MBS FM. He features prominently on all nine CDs produced by the Team of Pianists, including having made the first Australian recording of Bruch’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, with duo-pianist partner Robert Chamberlain and the New Monash Orchestra, conducted by André de Quadros (all recordings are available in the iTunes store, under Darryl Coote or Team of Pianists). He is an experienced teacher, examiner and adjudicator and has been a member of the piano faculty at Monash University since the mid-1990’s. He has adjudicated many music competitions in Victoria and interstate, as well as in Malaysia and China. He has presented masterclasses in Malaysia, Germany, China, various universities around Australia, Boston University (USA), the Eastman School of Music (USA) and the Kunitachi Academy in Tokyo (Japan). In 2012, he taught at Chethams Summer Piano School (Manchester, UK).

He has held administrative and leadership roles in music administration, including as organising secretary of the 2003 Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Melbourne. An honorary Life Member of the Victorian Music Teachers’ Association (VMTA), he was a Council member of that association for ten years, including a term as President between 2008-2011. Together with Max Cooke, he was one of the co-founders and a past adjudicator of the Australian National Piano Award, ANPA, a major national competition held every two years, for pianists aged between 21 and 35. Since late 2012, he has been President of the Award board.

With heritage from both Australia and Ireland, he is a citizen of both countries.