Executive Producer – Peter Sjoquist AM (BA MSc FCPA FAICD FAIM)

Peter Sjoquist is the Executive Producer of Rock Eisteddfod Challenge^® and J ROCK™ as well as all Global Rock Challenge® events across the world. Peter has been involved with the event for more than 23 years and has 40 years experience in live events, film and television production.

Peter’s credentials and  memberships equip him with a depth of understanding and experience in the areas of drug prevention, entertainment and business management. Additionally Peter was involved in the Royal Charity Concert for the Queen (1980), opening of the Sydney Entertainment Centre (1983), Narara Festival (1984), Crocodile Dundee (1985), opening of the Bicentenary (1988), and Ferngully- the Last Rainforest (1990).

In the eighties, he also acted as co-producer for the entertainment at several AFL, Rugby League and Rugby Union Events, and as producer for television specials for John Farnham, Boy George, Cliff Richard, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan’s segment in the 2001 Academy Awards.

In 1996, he was Executive Producer for the movie The Phantom starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Zane. In 2000, with the eyes of the world on Sydney, Peter was responsible for producing the television coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Peter became a member of the Order of Australia on January 26th 2004 in recognition of his work with young people through Rock Eisteddfod Challenge^®, Croc Festival® and producing the telecast of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympic Games.

Producer- Helen Sjoquist (BA MUA MTCP)

Trained as an urban planner Helen worked in both the private and government sector providing advice on large and small scale development projects including community development proposals, Aboriginal health, environmental impact statement for major infrastructure and planning advice for a number of the Sydney 2000 Olympic sites.

Helen has been involved with Rock Eisteddfod Challenge^® since 1988 and was the Producer of Croc Festival^® since the inaugural event in Weipa in 1998. Internationally, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge^® concept is staged in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and the United Arab Emirates forming the Global Rock Challenge^® (GRC) with some 80,000 students on stage each year. GRC is committed to encouraging and ensuring opportunities for the education of children. Helen has a BA in Urban Geography from Macquarie University, a MUA (Master of Urban Affairs) in Environmental Policy from Boston University and a MTCP (Master in Town and Country Planning) from Sydney University.

Co-Producer – Rachel Peek (BSc Comm)

Rachel has been working for Global Rock Challenge® and the Australian Channel since 2006. During this time she has taken on several roles for the live Events and TV including Assistant to the Exectuve Producer, Tour Coordinator, Media and Communications Coordinator, Research/ Producer, Project Manager, Production Manager and more recently Associate Producer on the 2010 Stage Challenge^® TV Shows.

She has a strong belief in giving back to the community and as such has done significant volunteer work for organisations such as Children’s Discovery Museum, World Youth International and Street Work. She has also coached HSC English, Physics and Math as well as community dance and horse riding. Rachel is currently a Director oF Friends of Rang’I which is working on an education and orphan housing project in Kenya.

Although Rachel’s training is Science based, she has written plays, acted in movies and has a keen interest in photography. She believes the arts can be a compelling tool to engage all kinds of minds-hence her confidence that Rock Eisteddfod Challenge® has the potential to greatly assist and inspire the youth of Australia.

Stage Manager- Duane Inocencio (BA Dip Ent)- Stage Manager

Duane has worked for GRC since 2001. He volunteered at REC events until 2003, was Assistant Stage Manager until 2007 and is currently Stage Manager for the Australian and New Zealand GRC events.

Between GRC tours, Duane works on numerous events and festivals, some of which include: Commonwealth Games (2006), Asian Games (2006), St Kilda Festival (2009 and 2010) and Sydney Easter Show.

He studied technical production in Stage Management and Lighting and has a Bachelor of Arts and Advanced Dip in Entertainment.

Duane loves seeing the excitement, team work and passion that students demonstrate through Rock Eisteddfod Challenge^®, J Rock™ and Stage Challenge^®. He encourages creative backstage work and will be selecting the best backstage crew awards in 2011.

Lighting Designer- Jamie Schmidt

Lighting Designer/Programmer and Production Manager, Jamie has worked for many Australian and international artists including: Tommy Emmanual, Xavier Rudd, Hi-5, Yo Gabba Gabba and a multitude of corporate and sporting events.

He has been involved with Global Rock Challenge since 1997 starting off as systems engineer and lighting operator on regional events. In 1998, Jamie did the lighting design/operation on the 1st Croc Festival^® in Weipa and in subsequent years was LD at Croc Festival® and selected events across Australia.

In 2009, in addition to a number of REC shows, Jamie operated the North Island shows of the New Zealand Stage Challenge^® tour and in 2010 did the entire tour.

Jamie has toured all around the world including USA, Canada, New Zealand and parts of Asia and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every GRC show.