Dene Olding, trained at the Juilliard School in New York, winner of a Churchill Fellowship for advanced studies and one of Australia's best-known instrumentalists, has won many awards including that of Bronze medallist of the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Violin Competition. He has had a distinguished career as a soloist in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, performing over forty concertos in recent years, including many world premieres.

His recording of Ross Edwards' Maninyas was the winner of the 1994 ARIA award for best classical recording and the Cannes award. He joined the Australia Ensemble in 1982, and was also at that time, leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Goldner String Quartet and frequent Guest Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In 2002, Dene again accepted the position of Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra which he previously held from 1987-1994. He plays a Joseph Guarnerius violin made in 1720.