BRETT WEYMARK OAM
Patron
Brett is passionate about singing and the role that music plays in both the individual’s wellbeing and the overall health and vitality of a community’s culture. Music can transform lives and should be accessible to all.
He is one of Australia’s foremost choral conductors. With 150 voices of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Brett led a tour to the UK and the BBC Proms in July 2026, taking ‘home’ to England’s great cathedrals and the Three Choirs Festival an inspiring program of hymns and stirring anthems.
Since 2003 Brett Weymark has conducted the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs throughout Australia and internationally. He has also conducted the Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland, West Australian and Tasmanian symphony orchestras, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Sydney Youth Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic and productions for WAAPA, Pacific Opera and OzOpera. He has performed with Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera, Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Song Company and Musica Viva.
We are all delighted to have Brett in our team as Patron, and for his role as guest conductor for Celebration Sing Out! concerts.
Brett's leadership and advocacy is a great boost to Celebration Sing Out, especially as a key annual choral event in Sydney.
WARREN FISHER
Artistic Director
Warren was appointed Artistic Director of Celebration Sing Out! on the retirement of Mal Hewitt, in 2026.
Warren started his working life in the classroom and as a conductor of bands and choirs.
Warren’s equal love of performance took him away from the classroom for nearly a decade. On the stage he sang everything from Irish popular music with the Three Irish Tenors, and a singing snake in “Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing” (OZ Opera Schools Tour) to God/Dwight in “Jerry Springer: The Opera” for the Sydney Opera House Trust. Warren has more than 36 operas to his credit with the Opera Australia Chorus, as well as a couple of dozen roles and covers.
With great joy he returned to the world of education where he took over the reins of the choir program at Knox Grammar School. Warren is Director of Choirs and Tech Crew Co-ordinator at Knox.
He strongly believes that everyone should sing. Not because it helps brain development, concentration skills, or literary and numeracy skills, but because everyone can do it. "When we sing, we access areas of our being that may otherwise be left dormant; and it just feels so good," he says.
JAY HOUSE
Associate Artistic Director, Primary Choir
Jay believes in the importance of celebrating Australian music and giving young voices the opportunity to connect through song.
She is an Australian classroom music specialist and choral director with a passion for inspiring young people through the power of music. With extensive experience in teaching and directing, she is dedicated to creating inclusive, engaging, and musically rich learning environments where every student can experience the joy of music-making.
Jay commenced her music teaching career in remote Queensland as a high school music teacher and instrumental specialist. She was soon asked to teach primary music, where she discovered her love for it - a passion that has since guided her career across schools on the Gold Coast and in Sydney. She is currently the Director of Music and Choral Music at Knox Grammar Preparatory School.
A highly sought-after educator, Jay is also a sessional lecturer and tutor at the Australian Catholic University and serves on the NSW Kodály Committee. In both classroom and choral settings, she draws on the Kodály approach, focusing on aural development, music literacy, and Australian music.
FIONA LUCAS
Co-conductor and Vice President of The Occasional Performing Sinfonia (TOPS),
the collaborative partner orchestra for Celebration Sing Out! 2026
Fiona is an accomplished orchestral and wind ensemble conductor, educator and musician whose career reflects Celebration Sing Out!’s commitment to musical excellence, education, community participation and service. With Fiona's leadership, TOPS performs an annual concert season in addition to Celebration Sing Out!, raising funds for children’s charities, including the Music Therapy Unit at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
A respected figure in Australia’s wind orchestra community, Fiona has studied conducting with leading international teachers and is completing a Master of Music (Performance) in Wind Band Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has guest conducted major school, university and conservatorium ensembles and, in 2019, became the first female Musical Director and Chief Conductor of the Sydney Wind Symphony.
Across more than 30 years, Fiona has taught, conducted and mentored young musicians in schools, camps and community ensembles. Her work brings together professional musicianship, generous teaching and a deep belief in the power of shared music-making—qualities that sit at the heart of Celebration Sing Out!’s intergenerational and community-focused mission.
TO READ MORE ABOUT TOPS Click here
Co-conductor and Vice President of The Occasional Performing Sinfonia (TOPS),
the collaborative partner orchestra for Celebration Sing Out! 2026
Fiona is an accomplished orchestral and wind ensemble conductor, educator and musician whose career reflects Celebration Sing Out!’s commitment to musical excellence, education, community participation and service. With Fiona's leadership, TOPS performs an annual concert season in addition to Celebration Sing Out!, raising funds for children’s charities, including the Music Therapy Unit at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
A respected figure in Australia’s wind orchestra community, Fiona has studied conducting with leading international teachers and is completing a Master of Music (Performance) in Wind Band Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has guest conducted major school, university and conservatorium ensembles and, in 2019, became the first female Musical Director and Chief Conductor of the Sydney Wind Symphony.
Across more than 30 years, Fiona has taught, conducted and mentored young musicians in schools, camps and community ensembles. Her work brings together professional musicianship, generous teaching and a deep belief in the power of shared music-making—qualities that sit at the heart of Celebration Sing Out!’s intergenerational and community-focused mission.
TO READ MORE ABOUT TOPS Click here
LOIS DONNELLY
Primary Choirs Co-ordinator
Lois is a retired primary school teacher who taught for 30 years in Sydney’s northwest. She grew up in a musical family and has always loved music and singing in choirs. Lois remembers singing with a primary school choir in Sydney Town Hall for the first time in 1962 and enjoyed performing in a madrigal group and combined secondary choir at Sydney Town Hall while she was a student at St George Girls’ High.
Lois first became involved with the Celebration Sing Out! in 2011 and is now coordinating the primary school choirs.
Primary Choirs Co-ordinator
Lois is a retired primary school teacher who taught for 30 years in Sydney’s northwest. She grew up in a musical family and has always loved music and singing in choirs. Lois remembers singing with a primary school choir in Sydney Town Hall for the first time in 1962 and enjoyed performing in a madrigal group and combined secondary choir at Sydney Town Hall while she was a student at St George Girls’ High.
Lois first became involved with the Celebration Sing Out! in 2011 and is now coordinating the primary school choirs.
ELIZABETH (LIZ) SAMYIA
Secondary School and College Choirs Coordinator
Liz brings extensive experience as a music educator and a strong commitment to creating meaningful performance opportunities for young people.
Based at St Patrick’s College, Campbelltown, Liz teaches secondary music and has coordinated student participation in large-scale collaborative programs, including national initiatives such as Music: Count Us In. Her work has involved bringing together students from different schools and helping them take part in shared musical experiences that build confidence, musicianship and connection.
Within Celebration Sing Out!, Liz plays a key role in engaging secondary schools and colleges, supporting teachers and students, and helping young singers prepare for the experience of performing as part of a large combined choir with orchestra at Sydney Town Hall.
Her practical understanding of school music, student participation and the realities of busy school programs is central to Celebration Sing Out!’s inclusive approach. Liz helps ensure that secondary students can participate with confidence, flexibility and a genuine sense of belonging within the wider Celebration Sing Out! community.
Secondary School and College Choirs Coordinator
Liz brings extensive experience as a music educator and a strong commitment to creating meaningful performance opportunities for young people.
Based at St Patrick’s College, Campbelltown, Liz teaches secondary music and has coordinated student participation in large-scale collaborative programs, including national initiatives such as Music: Count Us In. Her work has involved bringing together students from different schools and helping them take part in shared musical experiences that build confidence, musicianship and connection.
Within Celebration Sing Out!, Liz plays a key role in engaging secondary schools and colleges, supporting teachers and students, and helping young singers prepare for the experience of performing as part of a large combined choir with orchestra at Sydney Town Hall.
Her practical understanding of school music, student participation and the realities of busy school programs is central to Celebration Sing Out!’s inclusive approach. Liz helps ensure that secondary students can participate with confidence, flexibility and a genuine sense of belonging within the wider Celebration Sing Out! community.
JOHN HIBBARD
Administration, Marketing and Fundraising Manager
John is a Music Educator with a body of work in classroom practice as well as in teaching and conducting school bands, orchestras and choirs. The building of connectedness and creativity are touchstones of his work, along with innovation.
He is an experienced presenter of large-scale music and education events and interviews live, online and interactive, including the utilisation of social media. Significant additional experiences include directing a large number of performing artists in the creation of hundreds of hours of instructional video for Music Viva.
His four years of projects with Musica Viva Australia featured the exploration and application of current and emerging technologies and media to improve the effectiveness and reach of music education in schools and communities.
As a music teacher in schools, John's work in the classroom and with music ensemble programs at Gorokan HS 1978-2005 and at Masada College 2005-2011 exemplified his principles and practices of excellence in student creativity, motivation and community engagement in classroom and group music education, and in public performance.
SIMONE KATZ
Advisory Committee
Simone is a veteran of Celebration Sing Out! As a high school student, Simone was heavily involved in performing ensembles both at Chatswood High School with Gavin Staines, and through the Performing Arts Unit with Mal Hewitt. These two great mentors inspired Simone to pursue a Bachelor of Music Education.
In 1995, Simone began her 30-year association with the Celebration Concert Committee, the same year she was appointed as a classroom music teacher at Cheltenham Girls’ High School.
Simone has been a member of the Cameraygal Wind Symphony for over 20 years and continues to instil a love of music in her students.
