Bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor has built a remarkably varied career spanning opera, chamber music, choral repertoire and contemporary Australian work. In this conversation, Andrew discusses Transformations, his new album with Van Diemen’s Band, which journeys through early German Baroque music while pairing works by composers including Schütz and Buxtehude with newly commissioned responses from Brooke Shelley and Alice Chance. He reflects on the particular richness of this repertoire for the bass voice, the pleasure of having new music written specifically for him, and why working with living composers has become such an important part of his musical life.

Andrew also looks back on growing up in Perth, beginning as a trumpeter before discovering his voice almost by accident, and the opportunities that allowed him to begin working professionally at a remarkably young age. He talks about learning his craft on the job, his years with The Song Company, the unpredictable but rewarding life of a freelance musician, and his belief that different kinds of music-making continually feed into one another. Along the way, he discusses his passion for education and the life-changing potential of music.

Transformations is out now on the Van Diemen’s Band label, and via streaming platforms.

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