Vale, dearest Dean.

Dean Sky-Lucas was one of those amazing friends who 6 months go by, you send each other endless memes and then a you have a flurry of contact. You message to vent about something, or reflect on a memory, which leads to a phone call, that leads to a catch up. And that catch up would lead to mutual bemoaning the world’s ills and lots and lots of laughter.

He was one of those people I thought of often - just small moments thinking “what would Dean make of this” or “I won’t if Dean has ever played this” etc

Dean and I worked together once, and from there it was like an instant connection, like two creative souls seeing eye to eye on the same level.

We plotted and schemed often to try and work together on something, so share that special common ground of pianist and conductor in a rehearsal room. But alas, that opportunity is no longer.

I will always remember with love our times in our little rare opera club during lockdown, where we had some truly memorable moments in the boredom.

I scrolled back in our chat history and came across this, a very typical moment of poetry from Dean.

Vale, you amazing human. 💕

Ian Parsons on LABYRINTH

“It is music that brilliantly brings together the diverse worlds that shape us, through ancient stories, through our physical location in the here and now”

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An ode to the pre-show meal.

As someone who probably spends more time standing around in theatre and concert hall foyers than in my kitchen preparing a nutritious, well-cooked meal, I have been ruminating on the odd, beautiful, and often dull pre-show meals I often have to eat.

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Boulez Rules!

ANAM has just announced its 2025 season, and as a part of that here is a piece I wrote about one of my favourite composers and conductors, Pierre Boulez. This fascinating musician will have 3 performances of his music at ANAM in 2025.

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Goodbye Peter and Wolfgang

Earlier this year, we lost a giant of the new music scene, composer and conductor Peter Eötvös. This week, I was saddened to hear of the passing of another giant of the contemporary music world, Wolfgang Rihm.

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Is the music really in my body?

It seems odd to admit it, something so basic to being a conductor and musician, but counting is hard. I have always found internalising pulse and rhythm difficult.

I’ve been reflecting on this recently, trying to ascertain why this may be, and it’s led me to a broader soul-searching self-discussion about my musical identity, ability, and intuitive sense. What I’ve started to discover is that for all the years of study and time I’ve put into understanding and conceptualising music, I feel like it has only been in the past few years, really growing into my brain in my 30s, that I’ve actually been able to put everything together and feel some sense that I am actually getting things ‘right,’ and that I’m conceptualising music on a level where it really is in my body and feels comfortable through gesture.

This is such a typical conductor thing to rabbit on about, but I am curious if others think the same way. I’ve also noticed it in my singing, as well. Only recently do I feel I’ve finally found my voice and that it resonates naturally, and reflects both myself and my ability.

What do you think? Does it take time for all that learning and study to finally embed in the body and brain?

New video of ‘The Sea’

I am delighted to share this highlights video of the recent Forest Collective and BK Opera collaboration on my new opera The Sea.

I have been working on this piece on and off for a few years with the amazing poet Nicole Butcher, and it was such a thrill to finally bring this piece to the stage.

This piece has been nominated for a Green Room Award for best new Australian opera.