Dane Lam Email & Phone Number

Hawaii, United States

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Internationally acclaimed conductor and UQ alumnus Dane Lam will join our School of Music as Conductor and Director of the UQ Symphony Orchestra (UQSO) early next month.Dane’s illustrious career has most recently centred on a major appointment as the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, China.Previously based in London, Dane returned to Australia early in 2020 and has since led the orchestral revival in Australia following the COVID-19 lockdowns.In recent months he has conducted the first performances in front of live audiences for Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.“UQ is a dynamic community of great minds and spirits and I believe UQSO's place is at the heart of this community of artistic and intellectual ferment,” he said.Head of School, Professor Liam Viney spoke about the significance of welcoming Dane into the UQ community.“We are so fortunate to have Dane on board, he’s a fantastic conductor and a very creative and intellectually curious musical mind,” Professor Viney said.“I’m excited for our students and audiences, and the fact that he’s an alumnus adds a layer of pride.” In addition to his position at UQ, Dane has also been appointed as the Associate Music Director and Resident Conductor of Opera Queensland.“This broader relationship with industry has tremendous potential for our student experience and music research agendas,” he said.Dane will also be immersed in the School’s wider teaching programs as he trains a new generation of conductors that he hopes can make significant contributions all over the country and the region.“There are very few tertiary-level programs that provide elite conductor training in the Asia-Pacific region and I hope that with UQ's links with our top performing institutions, as well as my professional networks, we can foster a new generation of Australian-trained conductors,” he said.

Xi'An, Shaanxi, China

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Dane said he was thrilled to join Opera Queensland as Associate Music Director and Resident Conductor.“Opera Queensland is one of the most exciting, innovative performing organisations in the country and I look forward to contributing to the musical and operatic life of my home state,” Dane said.“For a Brisbane boy and former Opera Queensland Young Artist, it feels like the right time to come home and work with the fantastic team.“Patrick Nolan’s artistic leadership of the company continues to bring vital, transformative, engaging opera to the entire state and I look forward to collaborating with him, with Head of Music and Chorus Director Narelle French, with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and all the excellent artists and team at Opera Queensland.”Opera Queensland Artistic Director & CEO, Patrick Nolan, said it was both rewarding and exciting to see a former young artist return to Brisbane in this exciting new role.“We have followed Dane’s career outside Australia in recent years as he has built a name for himself in Europe and beyond. Under Dane’s stewardship the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra has enjoyed remarkable artistic growth,” Mr Nolan said.“It feels only apt that our first Associate Music Director should be a conductor who started as a talented and promising young artist here at Opera Queensland and who has come full circle, returning to his home after more than a decade forging a successful international career.”“As well as his remarkable artistic talent, Dane brings an energy and a passion to his performances that lifts the orchestra and the singers and shines through in the performance,” Mr Nolan said.“This also resonates across the audience. From our loyal opera patrons to our newest opera-goers, Dane’s energy is both compelling and totally joyful.“This is why we have chosen to work this closely with one conductor on a longer-term basis. We are looking forward to the exciting opportunities this collaboration brings.”

London, England, United Kingdom

“He was able to get the kind of precision in the complex ensembles that one expects of a top Italian maestro in this repertoire… Thanks to Lam’s witty and precise conducting, the ensembles went with an authentically madcap Rossinian zing.”-HUGH CANNING, OPERA MAGAZINE“Cilea’s vividly coloured score, superbly played by the City of London Sinfonia under the detailed direction of Dane Lam, takes this mundane tale of a broken heart to the level of grand tragedy, driving it ever onwards towards doom.”-STEPHEN PRITCHARD, THE OBSERVER“As ringleader in the OHP big top, Dane Lam was endlessly uncompromising on rhythmic detail”-FLORA WILSON, THE GUARDIAN“This production drives forward unstoppably and clutches all in its relentless grip, enabled by some superb verismo singing and led insightfully by conductor Dane Lam. The latter demonstrates finely tuned verismo instincts, a sure ear for a surging melodic phrase and a telling orchestral detail in equal measure, and the ability to make six desks of violins sound like sixteen when required. The prelude to Act 1 was a microcosm of such skills, as the dark muted opening relaxed into the tender romanticism of the upper strings’ lyricism, with textures so transparent that we could hear every tantalising woodwind gesture.”-CLAIRE SEYMOUR, OPERA TODAY

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Paris, Île-De-France, France

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Master Of Music, Orchestral Conducting

International Artist Diploma, Music Performance, General

Activities and Societies: Junior Fellow in Conducting

Bachelor Of Music, Conducting, First Class Honours

Diploma Di Merito, Conducting