Luke Dollman
Conductor

Luke Dollman began his musical life as a violinist, performing professionally with orchestras on both modern and Baroque violin. After deciding to focus on conducting, he furthered his studies at the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, gaining a Master of Music degree with Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula, as well as studying at the Aspen Music Festival as a Fellow with David Zinman. He was a participant in the inaugural Allianz International Conductors’ Academy in 2004, studying with Kurt Masur and working with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the process. In 2000, he was awarded First Prize at the Symphony Australia Westfield Conducting Competition hosted by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

A recipient of the Bernard Haitink Scholarship, Dollman held the position of Assistant Conductor to Edo de Waart at the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra from 2001-2003. During this time, he performed with the orchestra regularly, conducting public performances for national radio and television. In 2005, Dollman made his UK début with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a main series concert which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and has since returned to them many times for concerts and recordings. A laureate of the Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors, he made his French début conducting the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for the opening concert of the Besançon Festival in 2009. 2011 saw his German début with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Other orchestras he has worked with include the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, Sinfonietta de Lausanne, Pori Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Brabants Orkest, Holland Symfonia, Belgian National Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsingborgs Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and all of Australia’s professional orchestras.

Having earlier worked as an assistant at the Dutch National Opera, Dollman made his opera début at Opera Australia with Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in 2004 and was immediately reinvited to conduct Die Zauberflöte. In 2005, he made his Finnish National Opera début with Puccini’s Manon Lescaut to great acclaim, and has since returned regularly to conduct works such as La Rondine, Rigoletto, The Taming of the Shrew and the world première of Lera Auerbach’s Cinderella. 2011 saw Dollman make his début with State Opera South Australia conducting Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and he has since returned to conduct Die Zauberflöte, Don Pasquale and Dido and Aeneas. In 2018, he released his first CD on the Decca label with soprano Greta Bradman and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Dollman has guest conducted regularly at leading conservatories such as the Guildhall School of Music, Royal Conservatoire The Hague, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and Sibelius Academy. He is also a recognised authority in the field of conductor training, and has taught at the Sibelius Academy, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Adelaide and the masterclasses of Symphony Services International. He is currently Associate Professor of Conducting and Deputy Director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide.