Young Greek-Cypriot Australian Paul Nicolaou is set to feature in two upcoming concerts with the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), in what is the world premiere performance of acclaimed composer Nigel Westlake’s piece ‘Ngapa William Cooper’.
The concerts take place on Sunday 9 July at Canberra’s Llewellyn Hall and at the Sydney Opera House on Monday 10 July 2023, with Paul Nicolaou as the sole harpist.
The talented 19-year-old only started playing the harp at 16, quite late compared to when most advanced or professional musicians start their instruments.
He originally learned piano and violin at five and six years old respectively, like his older sister, as his parents, (his father coming from a village in Cyprus called Myrtou and his mother from Kastellorizo), were keen for their children to try new things.
He did not focus intently on music until high school where he became interested in music composition, followed by a spontaneous desire to learn the harp.
“At around 14 years old, for some reason, I don’t why but I just became extremely fixed on the harp. I was completely enchanted and entranced by it. I have no idea why, I had never seen one being performed, no one told me about it, I just really wanted to play this instrument,” Paul told Neos Kosmos.
Paul’s parents initially told him ‘no’, finding it a random request from out of nowhere, though they relented a few years later after it became clear that his interest was not going away.
“When I was 16, they let me have a lesson. I was so happy, and it was such a magical experience and I knew that I had to keep doing this,” the young musician said.
His skills quickly developed as he practiced harder pieces before eventually buying his own harp which he uses now as a professional.
The emerging harpist is in his second year studying a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, majoring in classical harp.
He successfully auditioned to join the Sydney Youth Orchestra in 2021 before being appointed the following year as principal harpist.
“In that same year, I also auditioned for the Australian Youth Orchestra and I was appointed harpist and then principal harpist, which is the position I hold now,” Paul told Neos Kosmos.
The AYO is made up of emerging musicians up until the age of 25 from around the country.
“The standard is very high and places are very limited. It functions practically as a professional standard orchestra,” Paul said.
He steadily has built up experience with smaller gigs, chamber music gigs, solo performances, recitals and functions like weddings and corporate events, even finding time for his own original pieces.
“I also now compose professionally, writing my own music, and that has been a similar process of being something I enjoyed doing while at school. I built up my portfolio to now where I’ve got a couple of short films that I’ve written music for, a couple of orchestras I’ve written pieces for and other things like that,” the musician said.
Paul is set to be the sole harpist as the AYO performs two concerts of Australian composer Nigel Westlake’s works, someone that the 19-year-old has followed intently since his early teens.
“Westlake is a composer I have been studying since I was an early teenager so it is such a privilege to be playing his music. He will also be conducting so we will be working with him directly,” he said.
The concerts will feature three pieces, the main being ‘Ngapa William Cooper’ which tells the story of the first non-Jewish protest worldwide against the Nazi government in 1938.
The protest was directed by Yorta Yorta activist Uncle William Cooper who led the Australian Aborigines’ League through the streets of Melbourne in 1938 to oppose the events of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany.
The piece itself was born from the collaboration of Westlake with singer-songwriter Lior, and performer and academic Dr Lou Bennett AM, the latter two to perform the vocals for this performance.
“‘Ngapa William Cooper’ is a song cycle. It is a series of seven songs for two voices accompanied by orchestra. Uncle William Cooper identified the parallels between what was happening there and what had been happening to the Indigenous people since colonisation,” Paul said.
“The piece is telling the story through music of what his legacy was, what he did, and the stories he had to tell through the Jewish background voice of Lior and the Indigenous voice of Dr Lou Bennett accompanied by Nigel Westlake’s orchestrations.”
Paul labelled it a “moving, emotional and colourful” work he believes will leave a mark with a lot of people.
The concert opens with a piece called ‘The Glass Soldier’, a suite originally written for Hannie Rayson’s play of the same name that is dedicated to the memory of WWI veteran and artist, Nelson Ferguson.
The other piece to feature (in its orchestral premiere) is called ‘Beneath the Waves’, which is based on the film score Westlake made for the 2022 film ‘Blueback’.
“It is inspired by the sea and ocean and the creatures that live in the waters. A lot of people associate the harp with water so there are lot of harp solos that you hear in that piece,’ Paul said.
The young musician admitted that he still has to pinch himself about the successful start to his career that has seen him reach the AYO, even so far as feeling imposter syndrome when looking around at all the talented artists he plays with.
“It’s really amazing and it’s inspiring to see close friends who are doing so well and playing at professional standard. To be immersed and enveloped in that environment, it’s really special and exhilarating,” he said.
“It’s also quite scary at times because the standard is so high and there is so much expectation placed on your abilities, but it is so worth it. It makes for such an electric and magical atmosphere in the performances and when we’re making music together.”
Paul feels very comfortable with where he is at in his music career, especially among his peers in the AYO which “feels like a family”.
“I get asked a lot about what I want to do when I am more established, or what the next step is e.g. if I want to play harp in one of the big symphony orchestras or if I want to be a professional film score composer. The reality is I really am not sure,” he said.
“For the moment, all I can say with certainty is that I know I want to be in music and continue doing music…I love composing, I love playing harp and so as long as I am doing something in those realms, I’ll be happy.”
The premiere orchestral performance of Ngapa William Cooper will be held during 2023 NAIDOC Week, which will coincide with the Canberra performance.
Bookings are available in Canberra (Llewellyn Hall, Australian National University at 5pm) and Sydney (Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House at 8pm) on 9 and 10 July respectively, with discounted tickets for First Nations audience members available for both performances.
