Andrew O'Connor

G’day. If you’ve made your way to this page, you may already know a little about me and the work I do.

My name is Andrew O'Connor and I'm a freelance bass-baritone currently living and working in (and out) of Sydney, Australia. I have proudly maintained a busy portfolio career exclusively in music since 2012. I was born in Perth where I studied and worked before moving to Sydney in 2015. I specialise in vocal chamber music, opera, concert works, and music education. I have sung or worked with such organisations as Pinchgut Opera, The VOCES8 Foundation, Opera Australia, Australian Vocal Ensemble — AVE, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Bach Akademie Australia, The Song Company, St Mary's Cathedral Choir Sydney, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Opera, Moorambilla Voices, Gondwana National Choirs and more.

Like all freelancers and independent artists, I'm somewhat at the mercy of 'tides' of work availability (think of Easter and Christmas like peak periods) and what I call 'calendar tetris' when competing projects fall at the same time! This past year I’ve had to ‘pass’ on over $15,000 work because of such conflicting projects and schedules. Though I am very grateful and proud to have my ‘day jobs’ in Sydney singing at St Mary’s Cathedral and teaching at Sydney Grammar School, these only account for somewhere between 30-40 weeks of the working year depending on my other touring or performance commitments. Whilst I am fortunate to have a relatively busy schedule most of the year, I know all too well the feeling that no work equals no income — to say nothing of the lack of leave and other entitlements throughout the year. Creating a ‘crowd-funded’ income stream via your generous support would be game changing.

It remains a difficult time to be a freelance artist. Opportunities are often few and hard won and organisations are still struggling hugely with the ongoing impacts and ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic on funding allocations, planning cycles, ongoing ticket sales, uncertain audience numbers, increasing venue costs, global economic factors and more besides.

Any ongoing support you could offer would be gratefully and warmly received — and would be used to support personal artistic projects including recordings, producing concerts, engaging other musicians, commissioning new works for myself and others, and pursuing international opportunities. If you’d like to have a chat about how to support any or all of these elements in more detail, please write to mail@andrewoconnor.com.au and I’d be more than happy to have a conversation.

With whole-hearted and full-throated thanks,

Andrew