Our staff
Rosie Cocklin – Artistic Director
Rosie grew up in the foothills of Mount Macedon in a musical family and has been immersed in music from an early age. After beginning piano lessons as a child, she discovered classical singing in high school and commenced formal vocal training at 14.
She holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and has received several accolades, including the Merlyn Quaife Award at the National Liederfest. Rosie has performed widely as an opera singer, musical theatre artist, and choral soloist, and was a member of Opera Scholars Australia and an inaugural Choral Scholar with the Melbourne Bach Choir.
Alongside her performing career, Rosie is passionate about music education and community music-making. She has taught singing, piano, early childhood music, and directed musical theatre productions. In 2023, she completed a Master of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne, combining her love of music with its potential to support health, wellbeing, and connection.
Dianne Gome – President
A graduate of the University of Melbourne (B Mus, M Mus) and the University of Toronto (PhD) Dianne lectured in Music History and Theory at Australian Catholic University. She has participated in many choirs, including the Scots Church Choir (Melbourne), Melbourne Chorale, Canterbury Fellowship and Gisborne Singers.
Dianne moved to Macedon in 2008, and on retiring from academic life in 2010 she founded Young Voices of Macedon (initially Macedon Ranges Childrens' Choir).
She is also a pipe organist and is currently Director of Music for the Anglican Parish of Gisborne. Within this parish, she is Organist and Choir Director at the Church of the Resurrection, Macedon.
Catherine Hutchison – Accompanist
Catherine is a graduate of the University of Melbourne in both Music Education and Arts. She has a long career in music education, teaching classroom music and piano to students of all ages. In these roles she accompanied choirs, singers and instrumentalists and acted as musical director for musical productions. She completed her Master's degree in music education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
She has lived in the Macedon Ranges for the last twenty years, teaching piano at Sacred Heart College and being musically involved in activities including the Gisborne Singers, the Mount Players, St. Patrick's Macedon and currently St Ambrose Woodend and St. Patrick's Macedon’.
She has composed music for the Catholic liturgy and has written the musical scores for seven musicals for Primary aged children.
Josie Barnes - Assistant Conductor
Josie is a talented young singer / songwriter who loves working with other young people to see them reach their performing potential. In addition to her work with the choir, Josie works as a support worker at Full Spectrum Theatre, helping children on the autism spectrum to build confidence and develop good social skills. Josie has been a long term choir member, starting when she was only 8 years old and loves the breadth of musical styles covered by the choir.
Juliarna Clark - Occasional Conductor
Juliarna has a Master of Music (Performance Teaching) and a Bachelor of Music, and has been involved in high quality choral music, as a chorister and as a conductor, for her whole life. As a youngster she performed in the top levels of the Australian Girls Choir, later working as a conductor for them for over a decade. She has been a conductor here for YVM in the past and presently steps in from time to time in support of the choir, alongside her employment as a senior speech pathologist in the Education Department and as a Speech Pathology Lecturer for La Trobe University.
Other manifestations of the love of music in her life include singing in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus and presenting the show, The Romantics, on 103.5 3MBS FM. In her spare time, she enjoys performing jazz and presenting classical concerts with her trio, The Classical Collective. Music has been a gift that has kept on giving; she loves nurturing that potential in our young choristers.