Sue Newsome studied clarinet at the Sydney Conservatorium with Gabor Reeves, gaining her Bachelor of Music with merit and becoming a State Finalist in the ABC Concerto Competition. She embarked upon a busy freelance career including many performances with the Windbags Quintet for Musica Viva.
Sue completed the Uitvoerend Musicus on bass clarinet with Professor Henri Bok at the Rotterdam Conservatorium for which she was awarded an Australia Council International Study Grant. Whilst in the Netherlands she made premiere recordings for Belgian Radio and collaborated on a CD of new works with Entente Musicale and Duo Contemporain.
Sue has played as Guest Principal Bass Clarinet with the Sydney Symphony,
the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed and recorded with leading new music ensembles including the Seymour Group, Sydney Alpha Ensemble and Aark Ensemble and was a founding member of the electro-acoustic duo TouchBass.
Major solo appearances include the Sydney Spring Festival, the Australasian Clarinet and Saxophone Conferences and the World Bass Clarinet Convention. Sue has given lecture/recitals and master classes in Australia and the Netherlands and is currently Lecturer in Clarinet at the Sydney Conservatorium.