In Conversation

Soprano Jessica Pratt has well and truly established herself as an international opera star. She's been hailed by The New York Times as a soprano of “gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace”, and is considered one of today’s foremost interpreters of some of belcanto’s most challenging repertoire. She’s back in Australia to appear in two Opera Australia...

It’s often said that the Australian Chamber Orchestra is best described as an orchestra of soloists, and violinist Liisa Pallandi is one such soloist. She is ACO through and through, having been part of their emerging artists program back in 2012, and she’s been playing with the orchestra ever since, becoming a permanent member in 2015. She’s also performed with the Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania...

British violinist Thomas Gould is no stranger to Australia. The leader of the Britten Sinfonia, he has been described by The Guardian as an artist who “refuses to be defined by a single genre”. His repertoire certainly backs that up, having performed and recorded extensively with classical and jazz ensembles. He’s back now in Australia to perform Philip Glass’s 2nd Violin Concerto, The American Fo...

Masaaki Suzuki is internationally renowned as an expert in choral music and an accomplished organist, harpsichordist and conductor. The founder and artistic director of Bach Collegium Japan, he has recorded the entirety of Bach’s choral works, plus his concertos, orchestral suites, and solo works for harpsichord. His expertise extends well beyond Bach, having conducted repertoire as diverse as Bri...

David Greco has sung on some of the finest stages across Europe and makes regular appearances with Australia’s most renowned orchestras, including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra as well as the Sydney Symphony. Internationally regarded for his interpretations of Schubert lieder and the solo works of JS Bach, this ARIA award-nominated artist is also the first...

One of Australia’s best known and most performed composers, Ross Edwards has a career spanning more than 60 years, and counting. He has written for all genres, be it orchestral, chamber, choral, opera as well as for the screen. Now in his 80th year, Ross is still composing, and is helping to celebrate his 80th birthday by composing a clarinet concerto for David Rowden and the Omega Ensemble, to be...

Nicolas Fleury has been playing the French horn since he was 8. He’s been principle horn of the Aurora Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and made guest appearances with a slew of orchestras around the world including the Sydney Symphony and London Symphony Orchestras. He’s performed live on the BBC, appeared alongside conductors like Charles Dutoit...

An Australian UK-based musical theatre performer with a wide and diverse range of credits to her name, Kara Lane made her West End debut back in 2011 with Lend me a Tenor, and has appeared in The Rocky Horror Show, The Addams Family, Oliver! and most notably as Mrs Banks in the international touring production of Mary Poppins. She doesn’t just hang around between roles, either, founding a vintage...

Umberto Clerici has gained quite the reputation as an artist of diverse and multifaceted talents. He made his solo debut as a cellist at the age of 17, and his career took him to roles as principal cello of several orchestras, including the Sydney Symphony where he made his conducting debut in 2018. He’s now Chief Conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, but he still finds time to play his...

One of the most sought-after violists of his generation, Timothy Ridout is appearing this season as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, amongst many others. He’s worked with conductors like Andras Schiff and Christoph Eschenbach, and collaborated with Stephen Isserlis and Joshua Bell. At 27 years of age he’s already record...

Australian born composer and pianist Tom Donald is known worldwide for his mesmerizing piano improvisations and award-winning compositions for the stage and screen. The founder of the London Contemporary School of Piano, he’s presented and performed with the BBC, recorded at Abbey Road, and written for the media. He’s not afraid to bend and merge genres, with his latest album, Pax Aeterna, a music...

A much loved pianist who Australia has adopted as one of our own, Ukrainian-born Alexander Gavrylyuk began as a teenage prodigy and has been dazzling audiences around the world ever since. He’s performed at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, the Lincoln Centre, and played with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, and closer to his adopted home he’s recorded all the Prokofiev piano conce...

Mezzo-soprano Sian Sharp has been singing with Opera Australia for nearly 20 years. Her significant repertoire includes key roles in seminal operas including Il Trovatore , Otello , The Marriage of Figaro , Rigoletto , and Carmen – most recently late last year performing the title role in the much admired production on Cockatoo Island.  And she’s back singing in the open air once again, as the loy...

An acclaimed musician of great versatility, Roland Peelman has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative musical directors. Originally from Belgium, he’s been active in Australia for over 30 years as a conductor, pianist, artistic director and mentor to composers, singers and musicians alike. He’s worked with Opera Australia, been artistic director of The Song Company, and is...

A man whose name is now synonymous with Australian theatre, David Williamson shot to prominence in the early 70s with  Don’s Party  and  The Removalists  and never looked back. He is so prolific that it’s hard to imagine anyone in this country who hasn’t seen one of his works, whether it’s plays like  The Club , Emerald City , or  Soulmates  or his screenplays which include  Gallipoli  and  The Ye...

An actor who has graced the stage both here and internationally, Philip Quast is the winner of three Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, unsurprising when you consider he is widely regarded as the definitive Javert from Les Miserables . He’s also well known for his roles in Sunday in the Park with George , South Pacific and Mary Poppins , and he’s performed innumerable Shakespeare plays pl...

An award winning actor, director, writer and producer, Jay James-Moody has collaborated with an impressive range of Australia’s arts organisations, from Opera Australia to the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and the Sydney Theatre Company to the Darlinghurst Theatre Company, plus New Mardi Gras, to name only a few. He is the founder and artistic director of Squabbalogic, an independent theatre company...

As chief conductor and artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil in Montreal, violinist Alexandre Da Costa’s multi-dimensional artistic vision has brought him increasing renown. He’s made 25 albums across a number of recording labels, and he’s performed as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras, such as London’s Royal Philharmonic which included performing as part of Eliza...

Carmel Rodrigues has always loved performing and has been singing, acting and generally dancing up a storm since a very young age. She’s making her professional musical theatre debut as everyone’s favourite nicest kid in town, Tracy Turnblad, in Hairspray , currently playing at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. In this bonus edition of In Conversation, Tracy talks with excitement about landing her first pro...

Not yet 25 years old, Marie-Ange Nguci has exploded onto the international scene in just the last few years, having performed with Orchestre de Paris, Konzerthausorcheter Berlin, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to name just a few. She certainly fit the model of a child prodigy, being accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at 13, completing her Master of the Piano at 16, and releasing her first album...

A leading Canadian-American cellist, gambist and researcher, Elinor Frey has made numerous recordings, many of which are world premieres and the result of long collaborations with other artists. The artistic director of Accademia de Dissonanti, an organisation for performance and research, she’s performed throughout the world, and is now in Sydney making her Australian debut with the Australian Br...

One of Australia’s foremost guitarists, Slava Grigoryan is counted as among the finest musicians of his generation. He appears on a whopping 29 albums and, along with his brother and fellow guitarist Leonard, has won 4 ARIA awards and been nominated for countless more. He’s performed in venues around the world, from London’s Royal Albert Hall to Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and is not afraid to perform a...

One of the most thrilling violinists on the planet, Ilya Gringolts is renowned for his extraordinary technical command and musical sensitivity. He’s equally at home with contemporary and rare works, as much as with the great orchestral masterpieces. Rising to fame as the youngest ever winner of the Paganini International Violin Competition, he's since appeared with the world’s top orchestras, incl...

Lebanese-French pianist/composer Rami Khalifé has been hailed as one of the most exciting young composers of the 21st century. His work is as eclectic as it is bold, whether it’s improvised concerts, recording a Prokofiev concerto, or performing with his father, Marcel. His compositions include two piano concertos, a cello concerto, and a requiem, as well as writing for the screen, plus writing an...

An award-winning director who is taking the Sydney arts scene by storm, Shaun Rennie has received three Sydney Theatre Award nominations for Best Director, and won the Broadway World Award for Best Direction for both his productions of Rent at the Hayes, and Baby Doll at the Ensemble. Most recently, he directed the highly acclaimed The Lovers , a musical version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream , prod...