Music Teachers' Association
of New South Wales

Leonie Cohen

Stephen Kiely

Piano | Guitar | Bass Guitar | Singer-songwriter | Performer | Music Producer | Creative Director

Introduced to the piano at the age of five, Stephen completed all grades by age thirteen, gaining credits in every exam.

He then decided to take up guitar and bass guitar and at age eighteen he rediscovered piano via jazz, and specifically due to hearing the piano virtuosity of Keith Jarrett and Oscar Peterson, began developing his skills at the keyboard via jazz and pop music.

Stephen's teaching career began at age 17, during his first year at the University Of New England. In a bid to earn extra-curricular funds, while on a Federal Govt. scholarship he took employment with a local music shop in Armidale, NSW as guitar teacher to some 30 students.

Stephen's creative nature led him to write songs from an early age. However, he soon learnt an important lesson when dealing with the music industry: Industry attention is always focussed on songwriters who have a platform for their material. He formed the touring band, RadioActive, which, on the strength of his songs, was signed to record company EMI. The band toured Australia constantly, gaining rave reviews as a live act, as well as chart success both in Europe and here in Australia, where they appeared on television shows such as Countdown and Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, among others, while maintaining a gruelling national touring schedule. Stephen was the sole songwriter in the band, providing a repertoire of songs, which allowed the band to perform for two hours or completely original songs.

Taking a break from the constant touring schedule, Stephen began working solo around the nightclubs of Sydney, while he turned his hand to film music, co-writing the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed 'Stallion Of The Sea' as well as having songs placed within films such as the cult noir film, 'Early Frost', at the same time performing in an advertising jingle band.

For many years, Stephen has been entertaining audiences in Sydney, with brief working trips to New York and Berlin. If there is a bar, club or room in Sydney with a grand piano in residence, chances are Stephen has been booked to play on it.

www.ScoopFX.com The ScoopFX Music School situated in Sydney's North West, comprises Stephen and his wife Roxanne Kiely. Both are accomplished singers, musicians, performers and song-writers; who bring a wealth of knowledge to their lessons in vocal development, piano, guitar, bass guitar, music theory, song-writing, studio production, camera technique and staging.

Julie Spithill

John Garrick

Zeljko Bedic OAM

Examiner 50

ASA TDip, MOAA, MMTA, MASME, MISME, MUMT, MAATA, MASA

Zeljko Bedic OAM commenced piano and violin studies in Croatia, Europe and subsequently continued with his professional music studies in Sydney, Australia on piano, pedagogy and music theory under the baton of Dr Margaret Brandman, and on accordion, with Maestro Dante Simonelli and Mr Ross Lombardo.

Mr Bedic was included on the Australia Day 2019 Honours List and presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for distinguished services to humanity in Australian and global communities and the performing arts, particularly through music.

He is a university academic (successfully prepared students for their Bachelor of Music Degrees and AMEB Performance Diplomas), and a Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Music Teachers’ Association (NSW) accredited professional music teacher in piano, accordion and theory.

Mr Bedic is the founder, and has been the Owner / Director, of Bedic Music Studio, now Paddington Music Studio for over 35 years. He has over 40 years of professional teaching experience and has been an AMEB Examiner for over 30 years. He was awarded his Teacher’s Diploma in 1983 and received his AMEB Examiner 25 Year Service Award Shield in 2016.

He has successfully prepared and trained numerous music teachers to become AMEB examiners and has written, reviewed and edited AMEB syllabi for many years. Most recently, he led and collaborated with other examiners, on a comprehensive and extensive syllabus review / rewrite which was successfully submitted to the AMEB for publishing.

Mr Bedic has delivered solo and duet performances at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and at the Sydney Town Hall. He is a former first prize recipient of the ASA NSW state championships and the City of Sydney Eisteddfod. He was also a former recipient of the second and third prizes in the ASA Australasian Championships. Mr Bedic has adjudicated at international, national and state championships, and the City of Sydney and St. George Eisteddfods on many occasions.

His students have won International, Australasian, Australian National and NSW State Solo Championships. One of his students was selected by the NSW Board of Studies to perform at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, HSC ENCORE Concert. Another one of his students has won the prestigious Music Teachers’ Association (MTA) – Margaret Chalmers Memorial Scholarship and received an invitation to perform as a soloist at the MTA’s Centenary Celebration at Parliament House in Sydney in 2012.

He was the Musical Director and Orchestra Leader of the Koleda and Dubrovnik Croatian folkloric ensembles and the Musical Director of the Klapa Koleda a capella ensemble and choir. Mr Bedic recorded an album at the Sydney Opera House in the capacity of Musical Director / Orchestra Leader with the Koleda ensemble and a studio album with the Dante Simonelli Orchestra and Choir at EMI Studios.

Mr Bedic was the Australian National Coordinator, promoter, manager and publicist for two highly successful charity recordings / CDs, ‘Side by Side – Song for Port Arthur’ and ‘Stop the War in Croatia’. Both were highly successfully on the Coca Cola ARIA Charts (10 weeks in the Top 10), with extensive national television, radio and print media coverage, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, but more importantly, provided moral support for the victims’ families. At the time, he received letters of commendation and support from the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. Mr. John Howard MP and Premier of NSW, The Hon. Mr. Bob Carr MP and numerous prominent senators.