Music Team
Olivia Swift
Artistic Director
Olivia is a composer, singer and choral conductor based in Canberra, Australia. She has completed a Masters with Paul Stanhope at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, researching contemporary examples of madrigals. She is a graduate of the ANU School of Music, where she studied under Larry Sitsky and Jim Cotter.
Olivia sings with both The Australian Voices, and the sextet Sidenote, touring with these groups around Australia and internationally. She directs Kompactus Youth Choir and the long-running Woden Valley Youth Choir, now in its 53rd year. As a composer, she has been commissioned by various choirs including the Sydney Children’s Choir, The Australian Voices and the Sydney Chamber Choir.
Lucus Allerton
Conductor (Centauri Voices)
Lucus Allerton graduated from the ANU School of Music with Honours in Piano in mid-2013. He is yet to regret that, which makes him happy. At the piano, Lucus enjoys ensemble and piano accompaniment work most of all, in 2012 winning the overall Margaret Smiles Accompaniment Prize (and in 2010 winning the prize for Best Vocal Accompanist), and reaching the finals of the Sydney Eisteddfod’s 2013 Victoria Jennifer Warren Piano Accompaniment Award.
Lucus has very much enjoyed a number of musical partnerships and ensemble memberships, both during and after his time at the School of Music, and cherishes the friendships that have arisen from these experiences.
Jacob Wu
Accompanist
Born in Wollongong and raised in Canberra, Jacob has a long record of engagement
in the local music scene, from solo recitals to work with choirs and ensembles. In his
last year of high school, he became a scholar with the Wesley Music Foundation. He
now studies at ANU under Dr. Scott Davie, and combines his degree in Music with
PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics). In his first year at the School of Music, he
received the Dennis Griffin Undergraduate Scholarship for Piano and Second Prize
at the Whitworth Roach Competition, and was invited to perform for the Governor-
General. In his second year, he began working with the Woden Valley Youth Choir.
Jacob is also an avid teacher and have taken his students from complete beginners
to AmusA. His pedagogy focuses on a comprehensive understanding of musical
elements, including harmony, form, and musical narrative, in the effort to strengthen
the enthusiasm for music and appreciation for its history with his students.