About Us

The orchestra

The Kuringai Youth Orchestra (KYO) is a community youth orchestra based in Sydney’s upper North Shore, open to talented musicians aged 13-26 to join throughout the year.

Many of our musicians attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, but our players also come from far and wide – Macquarie Uni, Sydney Uni, UNSW, UTS, Abbotsleigh, Conservatorium of Music HS, Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School, Killara HS, Knox Grammar, Masada College, PLC, Ravenswood Girls, St Ives HS, Sydney Grammar, Turramurra HS, Wahroonga Adventist School, etc.

The orchestra won the Community Youth/Secondary School Orchestra 25 and under category at the Sydney Eisteddfod for three years in a row from 2014-16. Furthermore, KYO featured on the 2018 Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, which was broadcast on the Chinese national broadcaster CCTV to an audience of over one billion people.

The orchestra is incorporated as a not-for-profit association and run by an elected volunteer committee.

Musical director – Brad Lucas

Brad Lucas is a passionate educator and conductor in high demand in Sydney. He holds a Bachelor of Music Performance in Euphonium from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he studied under the tutelage of Scott Kinmont. Since 2015, Brad has lectured Euphonium at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and in 2022 has taken the role as Acting Coordinator of Brass. As a performer, Brad had performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the NSW Police Band, and is a founding member of the Sydney Ophicleide Quartet (SOQ).

As a conductor he has been fortunate to be mentored by both Stephen Williams and Dr John Lynch. Brad is the Musical Director of the Kuringai Youth Orchestra, and has been invited as a guest conductor to work with many of Sydney’s community orchestras, including the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra. Brad also works at the NSW Department of Education ‘Arts Unit’ as conductor of the NSW Public Schools Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and conducts Symphony Orchestras and Wind Ensembles at the NSW State Music Camps. He has been invited to work with ensembles across NSW and interstate. 

Brad is the Vice President of the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) after serving as a committee member and as Secretary since 2016. ABODA provides professional development to conductors and educators. In his time on the committee, Brad has organised and run numerous events for the organisation including their annual Conducting Summer School. He has also been engaged to provide professional development sessions on Conducting and Ensemble Direction for the NSW Department of Education.