Oliver Shermacher

"Shermacher evokes a spherical weightlessness and transfers the tension to the audience, as one would expect only from first-class musicians." - Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

Oliver Shermacher is a multi-award-winning clarinettist known for his virtuosic and imaginative performances. Winner of the 2022 Aeolus International Wind Competition and recipient of the Audience Award, Oliver lives between Australia and Germany and works internationally as a soloist, orchestral musician, and teacher.

A central focus of his artistic work lies in music-theatre and interdisciplinary practice, encompassing both theatre and opera in Australia and across Europe. He creates and realises performances in which the clarinet functions as a scenic and dramaturgical element, integrated with dance, acting, composition, and sound design. He has a long-standing collaboration with the Australian Little Eggs Theatre Company, for which he received the 2022 Sydney Theatre Award for Sound Design. Building on this experience, Oliver works with the Australian Youth Orchestra as a music educator, project developer, and artistic lead for participatory formats, creating innovative education and performance projects with a particular focus on inclusive practice for young people with disabilities.

In Australia, Oliver is a recipient of the Freedman Fellowship and was a finalist in the ABC Young Performers Award, where he also received the Audience Award. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Vogtland Philharmonic, Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, and Apex Ensemble, and was Artist in Residence with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, with whom he premiered the Clarinet Concerto by Alice Chance.

A passionate chamber musician, Oliver has performed at Nicolas Altstaedt’s Lockenhaus Festival, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein, Kissinger Sommer, Rheingau, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festivals. He has appeared as Principal Clarinet with leading orchestras including the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra. As Principal Bass Clarinet, he has performed with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, and the Australian World Orchestra, and he currently holds a permanent position as Bass Clarinet with the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Oliver completed his Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Francesco Celata and his Master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg with Kilian Herold and Anton Hollich. He has also been a guest teacher at all major Australian music institutions, including the Sydney, Melbourne, and Queensland Conservatoriums, as well as the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).