Golden

Hailing from Townsville, North Queensland, Luke Kennedy began his musical journey writing songs and performing at local pubs and clubs with his high school band. This early experience saw him sharing the stage with iconic Australian rock bands such as Jebediah, Killing Heidi, The Choir Boys, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Whitlams, and Jimmy Barnes.

Luke’s impressive list of musical theatre roles includes performances in The Sound of Music, The King and I (as Louis), My Fair Lady, Victor Victoria (as The Jazz Singer), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (as Judah), Les Misérables (as Marius), Chicago (as Mary Sunshine), The Wiz (as The Lion), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (as The Beast), Children of Eden (as Cain/Japheth), The Last Five Years (as Jamie), Songs for a New World (as Man 1), and Grease (as Teen Angel). Notably, he has played the role of Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” in five different Australian productions over the past decade.

In 2008, Luke joined The Ten Tenors, performing in countries around the world including Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, Peru, Norway, Germany, Russia, South Korea, the USA, Austria, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia. His TV appearances with the group include the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, the Emirates Melbourne Cup, Channel 7 Telethon in Perth, Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight, and the 2012 UEFA Euro FanZone opening in Warsaw, Poland.

As a solo performer, Luke has appeared on nationally televised events such as Carols in the City for Ten Network and Nine Network, performing alongside stars like Marina Prior, Paulini Curuenavuli, Silvie Paladino, Stan Walker, James Morrison, and Guy Sebastian. He also headlined Creative Generation for Ten Network in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Luke’s participation in the Australian series of The Voice marked a significant milestone in his career. His Blind Audition performance of Un Giorno Per Noi (A Time For Us) earned a standing ovation from all four coaches, leading him to choose Ricky Martin as his mentor. Highlights from his time on the show include his rendition of Time To Say Goodbye, which topped the iTunes charts, Please Don’t Ask Me by John Farnham, which reached #2, and George Michael’s Freedom 90, which climbed to #3.

Irena Lysiuk is a versatile operatic soprano, music theatre and pop singer. Since graduating from the Queensland Conservatorium majoring in Classical Voice, she has worked extensively with companies Opera Queensland, The Little Red Company and Little Match productions.

In 2022, Irena made her debut with Queensland Theatre as the lead role of Rose in their musical The Sunshine Club, written and directed by Wesley Enoch. Irena has also worked with Brisbane favourites The Little Red Company in their live stage shows Christmas Actually (2020, 2021) There’s Something About Music (2021), Your Song: The Music of Elton John with the Stories of Real People (2021, 2022) and Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves (2022, 2023).

In 2023, Irena helped develop Opera Queensland’s Lady Sings the Maroons and 2021 helped develop Opera Queensland’s country music/opera show Are you Lonesome Tonight. Both shows went onto to tour Queensland for more than two months.

Irena has performed in Opera Queensland’s main stage QPAC productions as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro (2021) as well as ensemble roles in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore (2017), Don Giovanni (2018), A Flowering Tree (2019), Tosca (2019) and Orpheus and Euridice with CIRCA (2019).

Turning to musical theatre, Irena played ‘Carmen’ in Sweet Charity at the Brisbane Powerhouse (2019) and Anne Egerman in the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra’s production of Sondheim’s i (2018).

Damian Sim is a highly regarded pianist/keyboardist renowned for his versatility across a broad range of musical styles. Since returning to Brisbane in 2020, Damian has performed and toured extensively with The Little Red Company for productions including The Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols (Channel 9), Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves, Rumour Has It, Golden, and Christmas Actually. He also regularly performs with party band Imessa at venues, festivals, weddings, and corporate events throughout the region.

Based in New York from 2012-2020, Damian performed in wide-ranging contexts including jazz, global corporate events for Google, touring with rock band Animal Years, club dates, and even accompanied David Bowie’s daughter when she was cast as Dorothy for her middle school production of The Wizard of Oz. He is a graduate of The City College of New York (MArts) and The Queensland Conservatorium of Music (BMus).