Our people

Meet some of the talented people who are helping to bring Sydney Festival to life.

• Brett Weymark, Musical Director of the Sydney Philharmonic Choir
• James Domeyko, Bachelor of Arts (Music) graduate and performer at Sydney Festival
• James O’Loghlin, Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Law graduate and MC of Bright Club
• Jessie Leung, Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Science (Adv) student and a 2012 Sydney Festival intern
• Jo Gray, Masters of International Law student and works at Popfrenzy providing touring artists for Sydney Festival
• Marion Potts, Bachelor of Arts graduate and Director of Meow’s Little Match Girl
• Mat Yeo, Bachelor of Commerce student and a 2012 Sydney Festival intern
• Peter Dezarnaulds, Bachelor of Law graduate and cast member of L'Effet de Serge
• Samantha Bell, Masters of Commerce student and a 2012 Sydney Festival intern

Brett Weymark

What is your involvement with Sydney Festival 2012?
I am involved in two projects in the Sydney Festival in 2012 – Assembly featuring Chunky Move Dance Company, Victorian Opera and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs as well as conducting the Sydney Symphony in Symphony in the Domain.

What did you study at the University of Sydney?
I started as an arts student and then became an arts/law student before auditioning for the bachelor of music course, which I actually completed! I graduated with first class honours in vocal performance before going to the Conservatorium to complete a Masters of Music in conducting.

How would you describe your university experience?
I really enjoyed my time at the University of Sydney. The music course was intense and very demanding, but it also allowed time to study other disciplines and I found the English department a wonderfully eye opening experience. It was also my first introduction to languages so I studied both French and German while I was there.

Did the University of Sydney help you get to where you are today?
The atmosphere, friendships made and degrees taken at the university all helped get me to where I am today. My first professional gig was as a tenor soloist with the Sydney University Grads Choir and from that, I went onto a job with the Song Company before returning to complete my bachelor of music degree. I also met Antony Walker with whom I went on to sing in many projects with from Contemporary Singers to Pinchgut Opera. When I enrolled at the Conservatorium to study conducting, I made the contacts that resulted in being offered my current position with the Sydney Philharmonia choirs.

What has been your career highlight to date?
Hard to say, but getting to conduct many great Australian orchestras, work with fantastic singers from Sara Macliver and Emma Mathews to Michael Lewis and Teddy Tahu Rodes and perform repertoire of the highest quality are all highlights. This year, working with John Bell on Symphony in the Domain and recently Die Fledermaus with the extraordinary students at WAAPA have been highlights as have performances with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs of Faure’s Requiem, Bach’s St John Passion and Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem.

What is the best thing about being involved with Sydney Festival?
January is the most wonderful time to be in Sydney. The sun is shining, the new year is slowly starting to lock into place and there is a wide range of challenging and interesting work on offer. It is about the only time I get to the beach! But in recent years, the way in which the entire city shuts down to celebrate the arts on Festival First Night is a real delight. Sydney Festival is also one of those great organisations where the word no is hardly ever heard – people are passionate, open, dedicated and amazingly creative. Anything is possible.

James Domeyko

What is your involvement with Sydney Festival 2012?
A musical one. I am playing 20 January as Domeyko/Gonzalez at the Keystone Festival Bar with tUnE-yArDs and Jonti. Nick Zinner will also be DJing.

How did your studies at the University of Sydney contribute to what you are doing at the Festival?
I studied with some world class composers, some were very encouraging with my ideas and work e.g. one year I composed a piece for piano, percussion and string quartet in the style of Charles Ives, Ligeti and Alfred Schnitte; another year a piece for guitar and voice the finale of which was violently loud noise mimicking a plane crash. Each of them had social consequences.

Having access to a library of scores, academic papers and some brilliant people who inspired my analytical ideas about particular works and music. All of these have made their way into what we do with Domeyko/Gonzalez which seems to be about exploring things that are beautiful or pulsing and then spiraling violently into their polar opposites. Between my output and music’s importance as a practice, my time at University of Sydney contributed greatly.

Did you take part in any activities or clubs at the University apart from studying?
Initially I was part of a lot of clubs. I participated in drama groups, the Spanish club etc but I got to a point where I didn’t have time to socialise as much as I wanted.

I think the biggest extracurricular thing I took part in was directing Eclipse festival during Verge which now that I think about it had Jonti as a headliner and that was an immersive multi-arts festival for emerging artists.

What is the best thing about being involved with the Festival?
Sydney Festival was a huge influence on Eclipse festival. It’s exciting being a part of events that have clearly had a lot of thought put into them. Those are just part of a bigger picture which is an incredibly diverse range of performers and artists at the top of their game.

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
PJ Harvey. She is one of the few artists I was into at a young age that I still follow and continue to be humbled and mesmerised by. I haven’t seen her since the end of 2004 when she did the Uh Huh Her tour.

What has been your career highlight to date?
One that has been realised was the Wormwood Showcase at Sound Summit this year. The one that will be happening is at Keystone Festival Bar, 20 January at Sydney Festival.

James O’Loghlin

What is your involvement with Sydney Festival 2012?
MC of Bright Club on 11, 18 and 25 January, three nights of stand-up comedy featuring Sydney University academics doing stand-up about their area of expertise.

How did your studies at the University of Sydney contribute to what you are doing at the Festival?
At Sydney Uni I was in a few plays and a law revue, and they helped give me the confidence to try stand-up comedy, from which most things good in my career sprang.

Did you take part in any activities or clubs at the University apart from studying?
The law revue in 1988 and a few plays at Wesley College.

What is the best thing about being involved with the Festival?
You feel important. It’s a great thing the festival, and being a part of it, even a small part, makes me feel as if I matter, and that makes me feel good.

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
I can’t wait to see how the brave academics attempting stand-up at Bright Club will go. I am very confident they will do great.

What has been your career highlight to date?
My first stand-up comedy gig. That was the doorway through which I tentatively stepped from which many, many good things came.

Jessie Leung

What are you studying at the University of Sydney and what do you like about your course?
Currently I’m studying Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Science (Adv). One of the best things about this course is that I am able to pursue two areas of interest that often overlap, as there is an inextricable link between science and information technologies.

What has been the best thing about your university experience to date?
University is an amazing experience – the subject content can be challenging, yet inspiring at the same time. You meet lots of new friends, and we constantly learn new things from each other, building upon our existing knowledge.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?
I would love to have a career in which I am able to combine the IT component of my degree with the science component, whether it is in mathematics, statistics, biological sciences or elsewhere.

What does your internship at Sydney Festival involve?
I am a frontend developer intern, and I am involved in mainly using HTML, CSS and Javascript to develop different modules.

What has it been like working for the Festival?
Working for the Festival has been a great learning experience! The creativity, liveliness and in general, the artistic atmosphere is really inspiring.

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
Many of the theatre productions seem very exciting and interesting– such as ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Buried City.

Jo Gray

What is your involvement with Sydney Festival 2012?
I work at Popfrenzy, a Sydney based record label and touring company and for the past several years we’ve been lucky enough to work with Sydney Festival to bring out to Australia some wonderful artists. In previous years we have had Camera Obscura, Metronomy, The Books, WIRE, HEALTH, Juana Molina and Holly Miranda play at Sydney Festival. This year we have Sons & Daughters playing with Songs and The Laurels at the Keystone Festival Bar and Eleanor Friedberger at the Speigeltent.

How did your studies at the University of Sydney contribute to what you are doing at the Festival?
A university degree definitely equips you with important communication and critical thinking skills useful in any role. My post-graduate studies in International Law have been helpful when contracting internationally.

Did you take part in any activities or clubs at the University apart from studying?
While completing my undergraduate honours in Political Economy, I was involved in a couple of political events with a live music component and those events started me off in the industry.

What is the best thing about being involved with the Festival?
The Sydney Festival team – from marketing to production – tends to be the friendliest bunch around. I also love the venues they use, the Barracks are beautiful and the Speigeltent in Hyde Park is a great place to spend a summer evening.

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
Sons and Daughters, Songs and The Laurels at the Barracks.

What has been your career highlight to date?
Definitely getting to work with incredibly talented Australian musicians – it’s a constant highlight!

Peter Dezarnaulds

What is your involvement with Sydney Festival 2012?
I have a small part in L'Effet de Serge.

How did your studies at the University contribute to what you are doing at the Festival?
Numerous court appearances prepared me for this role as well as being francophone.

Did you take part in any activities or clubs at the University?
I played rugby for Sydney University Football Club.

What is the best thing about being involved with the Festival?
The excitement of the festival and getting your friends involved.

What Festival event are you most looking forward to seeing?
L'Effet de Serge.

What has been your career highlight to date?
Being able to help members of the French community with legal advice and spending long periods in Paris.

Marion Potts

How did your studies at the University of Sydney contribute to what you are doing at the festival?
Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) gave me the practical experience; Performance Studies gave me the theoretical. They informed each other beautifully.

Did you take part in any activities or clubs at the university apart from studying?
SUDS

What is the best thing about being involved with the Festival?
Being able to showcase our work in this environment – the hub that it is and the fact that it’s a meeting place for so many different artists.

What Festival event are you most looking forward to seeing?
May well be too busy working on my own show!

What has been your career highlight to date?
There are many – I wouldn’t want to favour any one over another.

Mat Yeo

What are you studying at the University of Sydney and what do you like about your course?
I just completed a Commerce degree majoring in economics and I enjoy having the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant students around.

What has been the best thing about your university experience to date?
Being sent to America for the inaugural Washington Internship Program! It was a joint collaboration between the Business School, the United States Studies Centre and the University of California. The study abroad components were top-notch and my internship with the East-West Center saw me attend events at Congress, the World Bank and the Brookings Institution.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?
I hope to make a difference wherever I am in the world. The aim is to be heading a development program for the World Bank sometime in the future. In the meantime, every step brings me closer to realizing that dream.

What does your internship at Sydney Festival involve?
My internship involves finding unexpected trends and unique people characteristics from Festival data. It has some relation to statistics and a strong connection to economic principles but also involves more ‘heart’ than typical statistical roles.

What has it been like working for the Festival?
Fun! It has led me to find my hidden creative spark beneath the ones and zeroes. The Festival staff and interns are an amazing bunch!

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
Festival First Night of course! Gotta be where all the action is.

Samantha Bell

What are you studying at the University of Sydney and what do you like about your course?
I am currently studying a Masters of Commerce, specialising in Marketing. I come from a Performance Studies background, completing honours at Sydney Uni in 2010 and I love being able to combine the two disciplines and apply marketing theory to the arts industry.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?
I hope to work in the marketing department of an arts organisation. To market art and performance would be the ideal job for me.

What does your internship at Sydney Festival involve?
As a marketing intern at Sydney Festival, I have been involved in an array of activities including research, filing, brainstorming, and copy writing.

What has it been like working for the Festival?
Working for the Festival is fantastic! There is a sense of energy and creativity in this company that completely intrigues me. It’s a wonderful environment to be in and watching the program come together with all the intricacies involved was an experience that I will carry with me into my future.

Which event on the Festival program are you most excited about?
We have such a great program this year! I am particularly excited to see Babel, it looks like a powerful piece of theatre. Also, As the World Tipped, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Beautiful Burnout.