NextSunday 25 August, 3:00pm
Mozart: Magic Flute Overture
Ella Macens: The space between stars
Brahms: Symphony no. 2 in D major
Conductor: Luke Spicer
Soloist: Hayley Lau, viola soloist (winner of 2023 Concerto Competition)
The second symphonic concert of the year for the KPO will be held on Sunday 25th August at St Ives Uniting Church. For an indulgent afternoon of Romantic music, join the KPO to hear one of the most beloved orchestral works, Brahms’ Symphony no. 2 in D major. Leaving behind the angst and emotional turmoil of the first symphony, the D major symphony is more pastoral in feel with a brighter sunny outlook.
The KPO welcomes Hayley Lau, overall winner of the 2023 NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition, as soloist with the orchestra. Hayley is currently continuing her musical studies at the Julliard School of Music in New York.
To complete the programme, an engaging work by Australian composer, Ella Macens will be performed. ‘The Space between Stars’ is inspired by imagining gazing at the night sky and wondering what happens up there between the stars. An expressive work, which draws out a range of colours from the orchestra, comprises chordal swells and swirling textures.
Luke Spicer
An acclaimed Violist and chamber musician, Luke Spicer is now establishing himself as one of Australia’s foremost young conductors. Graduating with a Masters of Conducting from the Sydney Conservatorium, he has furthered his studies in Freiburg, and Manchester; and attended the Fondazione Musicale Chigiana, Siena, working under Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti. Luke became a participant in the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program during 2016 working with Johannes Fritzsch, Giordano Bellincampi, and Marco Letonja.
Luke has been a regular conductor and music director with Opera Australia and has appeared as guest conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He has also been guest Assistant Conductor at The Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Göttingen Symphonie Orchester, the Saarländisches Staatstheater of Saarbrücken, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, working under Simone Young and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Luke has worked extensively with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, as well as conducting the inaugural gala concert of Coast Opera Australia, featuring Jose Carbo and Sally-Anne Russell.
In 2022 Luke conducted Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Australia’s National Tour, and Händel’s Alcina for National Opera – Canberra. During 2023 he was a recipient of the George and Nerissa Johnson Memorial Scholarship which allowed him to pursue professional development opportunities in Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.
In 2014 Luke was appointed Principal Conductor of the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, in 2016 he became Music Director of Blush Opera in Sydney and was the Associate Conductor of the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra for several years. Luke made his operatic debut in 2015 with an innovative production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by Shannon Murphy and featuring Silvia Colloca, Stacey Alleaume, and Catherine Bouchier in the principal roles, as part of the Spectrum Now Festival within the art gallery of NSW, and in 2016 conducted a powerful sell-out production of Puccini’s Il Tabarro, directed by Constantine Costi.