Meet Dmitry Sinkovsky and his 17th Century travelling companion

Not only is famed Russian violinist and countertenor, Dmitry Sinkovsky, back in Australia for his second tour with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, he's brought a special guest with him: a 350-year-old violin (or thereabouts) on loan to the young "singing violinist" as he's known, from Dutch not-for-profit Jumpstart Jr. Foundation.

"I've been lucky enough to play this violin since 2010," Sinkovsky told AFR Weekend. "I'm supposed to give it back around 2019 – I'm already dreading that!"