Emerging Concert Artists LYRICAL MAGIC Soprano & Piano

LYRICAL MAGIC  - A Musical Journey of Enchantment with soprano Molly Ryan and pianist Jamie-Lee Xu

The Emerging Concert Artist Series connects inspiring your musicians with communities through accessible performances.  The response to these concerts by audiences is one of joy. Each month brings an opportunity to enjoy the artistic excellence of our young performers. 

Molly is fast developing a reputation as a soprano who combines a voice of warmth and range with performance flair.  Based in Sydney, her reputation is already spreading, with frequent requests to perform as a soloist in choral performances.  We feel honoured to have Molly present a selection of her own favourite works. Molly is joined by Jamie-Lee who holds a Master's degree in Performance (collaborative piano) from the Syndey Conservatorium of Music.  She is rapidly building a reputation as a very promising collaborative pianist amongst the students and staff at the Conservatorium.

Program: Come scoglio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ebben ne andrò lontana Alfredo Catalani Lied der Mignon Franz Schubert Mein Auge Richard Strauss Verborgenheit Hugo Wolf'Air de Lia' - L'année en vain chasse Claude Debussy Elle a Fui, la Tourterelle! Jacques Offenbach Il est doux, il est bon Jules Massenet La rosa y el sauce Carlos Guastavino Ad una morta Giacomo Puccini Avanti, Urania! Giacomo Puccini Marrietta's Lied Erich Korngold Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiss Franz Léhar

MORE ABOUT OUR EMERGING CONCERT ARTISTS 

Soprano Molly Ryan is completing her Master of Music Studies (Opera Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium, studying with Maree Ryan AM. During her studies, Molly has received various scholarships and awards, including the PATIM Fund, the Greenberg Gurney Jensen Fund, the Helen Myers Scholarship, the Florence Mary Verga-Smith Award and the Henderson Travellers Scholarship. Additionally, Molly was named the winner of the 2023 Demant Dreikurs Song Scholarship Competition. 

Molly’s performed operatic roles include Theodora in Theodora (Handel), Die Hexe in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck), Piacere in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Handel), La Princesse in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel), Belinda and Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas (Purcell), Susanna in Il Segretto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferarri), Maguelonne in Cendrillon (Viardot) and various soloists in The Fairy Queen (Purcell). 

Her soloist concert repertoire includes Messiah (Handel), Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Krönungsmesse (Mozart), Missa in Angustiis (Haydn), Missa Cellensis (Haydn), Magnificat (Vivaldi), Requiem Op. 48 (Faure), BWV 191 (Bach) and Hierusalem (Dyson). Molly has performed as a soloist with the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, Illawarra Choral Society, Manly Warringah Choir and Orchestra, Radio Community Chest, Hobart’s Allegri Ensemble, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Ecumenical Choir and Musgrove Opera. 

Her Masterclasses include that by Dr Graham Johnson OBE, David Miller AM, Lynne Dawson and Christian Mueller. 

Jamie-Lee Xu is a pianist who recently completed her Master of Music Studies (Performance) degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music after completing her Bachelor of Music (Performance). She was awarded the Keith and Eileen Ong Prize for Piano on entry to her Master’s degree. Additionally, she received the John and Dorothy Vimpani Pianoforte Fund scholarship on entry to the Conservatorium in 2018 and the Molly Neale Memorial Award in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, Jamie-Lee was awarded the George and Margaret Henderson Scholarship, allowing her to attend a course at the Collaborative Piano Institute in the US. Jamie-Lee has had successes in 2022, winning both the David Miller Award and the Sydney International Song Prize. She has studied with Dr Jeanell Carrigan during her post-graduate studies, specialising in a collaborative piano major. Formerly, she has studied with James Muir, David Miller AM, and Natalia Ricci and has had masterclass experience with Graham Johnson OBE, Christian Müller, Warren Jones, Rita Sloan, Arno Bornkamp and Amir Farid.

Jamie-Lee has continued to work alongside singers and fellow musicians, rehearsing and performing frequently. She has worked and performed with Rockdale Opera Company in their Der Fledermaus Gala Concert in 2022, L’Elisir d’Amore and La Bohème in 2023, and is currently a repetiteur for their current production of Pirates of Penzance. Jamie-Lee has also frequently performed in several lunchtime concerts at St James, King St. and in many ensembles at the Sydney Conservatorium, including New Music Ensemble, Wind Symphony and Opera Orchestra. She is rapidly building a reputation as a very promising collaborative pianist amongst the students and staff at the Conservatorium. She hopes to continue to collaborate and perform with her peers.

We respect and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians Gundungurra and Tharawal people, Elders past and present, and extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.