John L'Estrange & pianist Jamie-Lee Xu in Recital

The RACA Arts and Culture Community Group is delighted to publicly launch with a special recital, presenting Sydney tenor John L’Estrange and pianist Jamie-Lee Xu.

This program celebrates the golden age of 19th- and early 20th-century European art song, with music by Tosti, Saint-Saëns, and Wolf, alongside English treasures from Vaughan Williams, Quilter, and Elwyn Edwards—culminating in Jake Heggie’s breathtaking arrangement of Danny Boy.

The ‘Art Song’ flourished in the salons and drawing rooms of Europe, created for intimate spaces rather than grand concert halls. The Royal Automobile Club offers the perfect setting to experience these works as they were meant to be heard: up close, personal, and deeply moving.

Join us as we journey through the salons of old Europe and the British Isles, in the first of a new RACA recital and humanities series hosted by the Arts and Culture Community Group.

About the performers:

John L'Estrange is an emerging Australian singer rapidly establishing himself as a versatile performer across opera, oratorio, and art song. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he holds a Bachelor of Music (Performance – Classical Voice) and studies with Maree Ryan AM. Recognised for both academic and artistic excellence, he was named on the Dean’s List of Excellence in Academic Performance at the University of Sydney.

As a concert soloist, John has appeared in major works including Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Sparrow Mass, Dvořák’s Mass in D, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Haydn’s Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo. His operatic experience spans Handel, Monteverdi, Purcell, Gilbert & Sullivan, and contemporary Australian repertoire.

An accomplished recitalist, John has collaborated with Dr Graham Johnson OBE for the Sydney Schubert Society and presented solo recitals at the MCA Australia, Sydney Conservatorium, and the Consulate of France, supported by the Embassy of France.

Equally at home in the studio, he has recorded for film and television and participated in masterclasses with Dame Emma Kirkby and leading artists.

Jamie-Lee Xu recently completed her Master of Music Studies (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, following her Bachelor of Music (Performance). She was awarded the Keith and Eileen Ong Prize for Piano on entry to her Master’s degree, the John and Dorothy Vimpani Pianoforte Fund Scholarship in 2018, the Molly Neale Memorial Award in 2021 and 2022, and the George and Margaret Henderson Scholarship in 2023, which enabled her to attend the Collaborative Piano Institute in the US.

In 2022 she won both the David Miller Award and the Sydney International Song Prize. She studied with Dr Jeanell Carrigan, specialising in collaborative piano, and formerly with David Miller AM and Natalia Ricci. She has participated in masterclasses with Graham Johnson OBE, Christian Müller, Warren Jones, and Rita Sloan.

Jamie-Lee has performed with Rockdale Opera Company in Die Fledermaus, L’Elisir d’Amore, La Bohème, The Pirates of Penzance and Lucia di Lammermoor. She works as a vocal coach, rehearsal pianist, and casual academic at the Sydney Conservatorium.