Sudden death of Australian pianist

Australian musicians are mourning the death of the Melbourne pianist, harpsichordist and teacher Dean Sky-Lucas. He was apparently in hospital, recovering from surgery, when an advanced cancer was discovered.

The Melbourne conductor Benjamin Northey writes: ‘Dean Sky-Lucas is such a loss to our Australian music community. He was a supremely gifted musician and collaborator who always brought depth and integrity to everything he did. He’ll be deeply missed by us all.’

Berlin conductor Gordon Hamilton: ‘I’m very sad to hear of the death of Dean Sky-Lucas. He was a very good pianist (especially in accompanying). He was also a wonderful mentor. We had some memorable masterclasses at Newcastle Conservatorium. Dean spoke in a very evocative and ‘holistic’ way about music. He advocated for a few very potent practice strategies which I still use. I’ve read dozens of tributes from colleagues today, a testament to his extraordinary impact. I just looked at his Facebook profile, on which his into text is: “Give your best.”

Singer Kristy Baker: ‘Tonight my heart goes out to the Melbourne classical music scene. Without the life of Dean Sky-Lucas, half of us would still be working dead end jobs, never having dared to dream and let our creativity take flight, much less make a living from it. Thank you, dear friend and mentor. This is an immeasurable loss.’