In early December, ASPIRE ‘17 Artistic Director, Peter Luff handed over the baton to new Artistic Director, Sean O’Boyle AM.

“It was an honour to be the Artistic Director of the Inaugural ASPIRE International Youth Music Festival. The very high calibre of the industry and tertiary adjudicators and clinicians helped to make it an extra special music experience for the young musicians participating. The combination of competition and learning and development ensured for a highly enjoyable and worthwhile experience for students and teachers alike. ASPIRE 2017 was a great success. I am confident in the team at ASPIRE, led by Sean to build on this success and present a truly international youth music festival in 2019, attracting some of the very best school music talent to Queensland from around the world.” 

Peter Luff – ASPIRE Artistic Director 2017 and ASPIRE 2019 Ambassador

We are incredibly grateful for all that Peter Luff has done for ASPIRE over the last two years and we are delighted to announce that Peter will be remaining in the ASPIRE fold as an ASPIRE Ambassador, joining Jason Barry – Smith and Sarah-Grace Williams in this important role for ASPIRE.

We are thrilled and very excited that Sean O’Boyle AM is taking on the position of ASPIRE Artistic Director. Sean is an internationally renowned composer, conductor and performer. Mr O’Boyle was awarded the Order of Australia in 2015. Sean has collaborated with artists such as The Whitlams, Kate Ceberano, Tommy Emmanuel and James Morrison, and has written and produced music for more than 150 albums. The former artist-in-residence at Moravian College in the United States is now looking forward to helping talented musicians – both vocal and instrumental – turn their passion into sustainable careers at the University of the Sunshine Coast where he has recently taken up the role of Artistic Director of Music.

Sean O’Boyle’s compositions have been performed and or recorded by all of the major Australian orchestras and by European Orchestras including; Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique Divertimento, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and by North American orchestras including the Dallas, Tacoma, Lexington, Atlanta, Spartanburg, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

“I am honoured to take on the role of Artistic Director at ASPIRE. Peter Luff and the team at ASPIRE steered the inaugural festival to great accolades and I look forward to building on this success as we head towards July 2019.” 

Sean O’Boyle AM – ASPIRE Artistic Director 2019