When an Old Andrean plays at the Opera House, we make sure our students are given exclusive access. 

How lucky our Year 11 and Year 12 Elective Music Students were to meet Old Andrean Virtuoso Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk (OA2002) at the Sydney Opera House last term. Alexander (Sasha) played Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra - a spellbinding performance of a fiendishly difficult piece which led to no fewer than SEVEN curtain calls and an encore. 

Sasha was incredibly generous with our students who were treated to an exclusive meet and greet at the interval. The Old Andrean legend answered questions, signed autographs and took plenty of pictures. He mentioned that he did Music 1 for his HSC at SACS (much to the consternation of our Music 2 students!) and told them he'd been playing this piece since he was 15 - and still discovers something new every time he revisits it. 

Sasha's performance reminded us of the Evening of Celebration and Prizegiving in 2024 when he was inducted into our Hall of Honour and left our audience speechless when he performed some Rachmaninov that night on the Town Hall stage. Thank you Sasha for your exquisite performance and your time with us, we are incredibly lucky to hear and spend time with one of our most celebrated Old Andreans