Pianist & Piano Teacher
The Harbour Piano Trio:
'Mozart & Mendelssohn'
Introducing the Harbour Piano Trio with their program, Mozart & Mendelssohn. A dynamic new ensemble bringing fresh energy to Australia’s chamber music landscape, Brieley, Katherine and Paul formed as the Harbour Trio in late 2025 over coffee in a Surry Hills Sydney cafe. Drawn together by their strong performance careers and backgrounds, they found that they each had a love of collaborative music making and a desire to explore piano trio repertoire.
2026 Performances:
Sunday October 25, 2pm | Coastal Waters Village, Worrowing Heights NSW
Wednesday October 28, 7.30pm | Sydney Conservatorium, Recital Hall West
Programme
The programme of music to be performed at the Four Seasons Concert Series at Coastal Waters Village and at the Sydney Conservatorium will centre on two major works.
The programme will open with a Piano Trio from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), a work of eloquence, subtle harmonies, textural transparency, and which, of course, showcases the Classical beauty of which Mozart is famous. The other major work on the program will be Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809-1847) first Piano Trio, described by his contemporary Robert Schumann as a “masterwork … a very beautiful composition which after years will still delight grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” And indeed, this work is still today widely performed and loved as a masterpiece of the Piano Trio repertory, a work of arching flow, careful structure, Romantic drama, and sparkling piano writing. Mendelssohn draws on aspects of both Classicism and Romanticism, and there is a lovely link on this program between Mozart and Mendelssohn, with Robert Schumann describing Mendelssohn as “the Mozart of the 19th century”, a declaration apparently given in response to this Piano Trio No.1.
Mozart: Piano Trio in B flat KV502 (1786)
I. Allegro
II. Largetto
III. Allegretto
Pärt: Mozart-Adagio (1992-rev.2005) / Rachmaninov: Vocalise from Op.34 No.14, arr. for cello and piano (1915)
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49 (1839)
I. Molto allegro agitato
II. Andante con moto tranquillo
III. Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato
Performers
Brieley Cutting - Piano
Described as “such a force!” (Tempo Rubato), “technically assured with excellent control of the keyboard” (Courier Mail), and as having “at her disposal a myriad of different colours and who knows how to take the time to let the music speak” (Auckland Scoop), Brieley is known for bringing her trademark energy and refinement to a career encompassing solo and collaborative performance, event curation, arts promotion and practice-focused research. Also a dedicated teacher, she enjoys sharing her love of music with young musicians. Brieley completed doctoral studies at Griffith University; is an alumna of the Royal College of Music and ANAM, as well as being a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Trust; and she has been winner of numerous competitions, including being National Keyboard Winner of the 2006 ABC Young Performers Awards. Brieley continues to produce DeClassified Music events, with the organisation and its concerts continuing to attract awards and rave reviews.
Katherine Lukey - Violin
Katherine Lukey is Deputy Concertmaster at the Opera Australia Orchestra, a position she has held since 2016. She is a member of the Australian World Orchestra with whom she appeared as concertmaster and frequently performs as a guest violinist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Katherine has appeared with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Orchestra, Sydney Conservatorium Orchestra, and Darwin Symphony Orchestra. She won the Hephzibah Menuhin and Kendall Violin Competitions and was an ABC Young Performers Award string finalist. Katherine frequently appears in guest leadership roles including guest concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2025/2026. Other guest principal appearances include London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Auckland Philharmonia, and the West Australian, Tasmanian, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. Katherine was also a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra. An Australian National Academy of Music alum, Katherine completed her Masters with Alice Waten (Sydney Conservatorium). Other teachers include Tibor Varga and Silvia Marcovici (University of Music, Graz), and William Hennessy (University of Melbourne).
Paul Ghica - Cello
Romanian-born cellist Paul Ghica spent his formative years studying with Corneliu Rădulescu before being awarded scholarships to study at Indiana and Roosevelt Universities. Other teachers have included János Starker, Richard Hirschl, Katinka Kleijn, Barbara Haffner, and Gary Stucka. An active performer in Sydney and abroad, experiences include serving as principal cello of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, collaborating on Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project as part of the Civic Orchestra’s MusiCorps fellowship, serving as Guest Principal Cello of the Opera Australia Orchestra and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and he also performs regularly with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. As a chamber musician, Ghica has appeared in concert with such musicians as Emanuel Ax, and his chamber music performances have been broadcast regularly throughout Chicago on WFMT and across Australia on ABC Classic FM and 3MBS. A dedicated teacher, Ghica maintains a private studio in Sydney and is teaching staff at the Sydney Conservatorium’s ‘Rising Stars’.
