About our accompanists
Sam Hartley
Sam Hartley is a pianist, composer and tutor based in Melbourne. After commencing piano studies at the age of 5 years, Sam went on to complete a Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne in 2013 where he studied piano with Professor Ian Holtham. While at university, Sam performed extensively, both as a soloist and as an accompanist for numerous choral groups in Melbourne, and during this time he was the recipient of numerous faculty, university and college awards.
Following his undergraduate studies, Sam went on to complete a graduate law degree (Juris Doctor, University of Melbourne), before working as a management consultant. Resuming full time work and study in music in 2018, Sam relocated to the United Kingdom to undertake an MPhil in Music Studies at the University of Cambridge, completing an MPhil in Music Studies from the University of Cambridge in 2019.
Since returning to Australia, he has worked full time as a performer, composer and music tutor. Active as a freelance accompanist in Melbourne, Sam has worked as a rehearsal pianist for several choral and opera organisations, including the Victorian Opera, the Box Hill Chorale, Melbourne University Choral Society, Cloud9 Women’s Choir, the Melbourne Chamber Choir, and appeared at the "Carols in the Cathedral" concerts for the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic at St Paul's Cathedral in 2021.
An active composer, Sam has released several albums of original piano works, recorded at Move Records. Sam’s original compositions include contemporary classical works for piano, choir and instrumental ensembles, as well as popular songs. Sam’s recordings include Visions and Recollections, Fantasy on the Theme of Faust, Clouds of Chaos, and most recently his latest album "Autumn Reflections" has been released.
Links to the music on Spotify, Apple Music and more can be accessed from https://samhartley.hearnow.com/
Dean-Sky Lucas
The Australian pianist, harpsichordist counter-tenor and lecturer, Dean Sky-Lucas, graduated from the University of Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, NSW, studying with Professor Michael Duddman (organ) and Professor Robert Constable (piano). Having enjoyed a busy career since that time in both Australia and New Zealand, Dean commenced as the MUCS Principal Accompanist in 2017 and with Box Hill Chorale in 2018.
Previously, Dean has been the accompanist to the wind and opera departments of the Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne, teacher and lecturer at the Melbourne Conservatorium, and for four years was an associate artist with the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). He departed ANAM to pursue further studies in speech pathology at Latrobe University, placing him at the forefront of vocal performance from a biomedical perspective.
As a performer, Dean Sky-Lucas has appeared as a harpsichordist, pianist and organist with groups such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), Orchestra Victoria (OV), and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO). He has regularly toured New Zealand, Australia and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician on keyboard, and also performed extensively as a singer.
Dean is widely known to Australian audiences through numerous national broadcasts, both live and pre-recorded with ABC FM, Sunday Live and Radio National. He became known in high prominence as a repetiteur and vocal coach at the Victorian Opera and with Australia’s most lauded opera singers. Festival engagements have included the Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane International Festivals.
He performs widely in Australia and his repertoire is vast, encompassing the 13th through 21st centuries. He combines the versatility demanded in early music performance practice with the fastidiousness that new music requires and as such is respected by peer and patron for the illumination brought forward in new and old scores.
Dean Sky-Lucas was an artist-in-residence at the University of Auckland in 2008 with the string, collaborative piano, voice and early music departments, and in 2010 he took on the position of Lecturer and Head of Collaborative Piano at at the School of Music, University of Auckland, New Zealand. During his time in New Zealand Dean performed widely as a soloist, and in recent years returned to Melbourne where he continues to enjoy an active freelance career as solo pianist, organist, accompanist, vocal coach and teacher.
