Sydney-born Nicholas Kennedy (b. 1996) gave his first paid, public performance at the age of eight, and is now among Australia’s most exciting young musicians. Nicholas made his concerto debut in 2014, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Kuring-Gai Philharmonic Orchestra. He has subsequently appeared in Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout Australia. His debut album, featuring Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas, was released on the Orpheus Classical label in 2021 and is available on all major streaming platforms. Highlights of the 2023 season included a recital for the Sydney Schubert Society, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Modést Orchestra. Nicholas’s competition successes include: Open Instrumental Winner of the Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition (2023); Winner of the Mary Greville Piano Scholarship (2017); Winner of the Nan Price Piano Award (2017); Runner-Up in the Glass Sellers’ Beethoven Prize, London (2019); Finalist in the John Allison Piano Scholarship (2018 and 2019); and Best Prelude and Fugue in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition (2015). Besides his solo work, Nicholas is passionate about chamber music and collaborative piano-playing. He was a founding member of the Hutcheson Piano Trio, and enjoys performing with student singers at the Sydney Conservatorium. He is also an accomplished cellist.
An alumnus of the Rising Stars program, Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours, University Medal) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and a Master of Music (Distinction) from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. His PhD thesis, a practice-led study focussing on the late Beethoven piano sonatas, was submitted through Sydney Conservatorium in January 2024. Nicholas was supported in his studies by the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship, the Research Training Program Scholarship, the George and Margaret Henderson Scholarship, and the Chapple/Bremner Scholarship, among other awards. Nicholas’s principal piano teachers include Joan Havill, Clemens Leske, Rita Reichman, and Gerard Willems. He has additionally appeared in masterclasses with Richard Goode, Robert McDonald, Bernd Glemser, Dénes Várjon, and others.
An alumnus of the Rising Stars program, Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours, University Medal) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and a Master of Music (Distinction) from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. His PhD thesis, a practice-led study focussing on the late Beethoven piano sonatas, was submitted through Sydney Conservatorium in January 2024. Nicholas was supported in his studies by the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship, the Research Training Program Scholarship, the George and Margaret Henderson Scholarship, and the Chapple/Bremner Scholarship, among other awards. Nicholas’s principal piano teachers include Joan Havill, Clemens Leske, Rita Reichman, and Gerard Willems. He has additionally appeared in masterclasses with Richard Goode, Robert McDonald, Bernd Glemser, Dénes Várjon, and others.
Photo by Tom Psomotragos
