Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke to Make Sydney Symphony Orchestra Debut

Australian music sensation Kate Miller-Heidke will bring her inimitable vocal ability to the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall next month in her debut collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The virtuosic singer-songwriter will perform a selection of her most popular hits with the orchestra, including Last Day on Earth, O Vertigo! and Sarah, as well as highlights from her award-winning opera The Rabbits.

Miller-Heidke has described the feeling of performing on stage with a full orchestra as exhilarating.

"Standing in front of an orchestra, it's like piloting a big jet plane," Miller-Heidke told Fairfax Media in January, "... so it's terrifying, but it's just like riding this enormous wave of energy to have all these brilliant musicians up there behind you, the feeling is like nothing else I've ever experienced."

One of Australia's most gifted and versatile musicians, Miller-Heidke is famous for her ability to effortlessly traverse the worlds of contemporary pop, folk and opera. She has released four chart-topping albums, achieved multi-platinum status and has been the recipient of multiple Helpmann awards.

Trained as a classical singer at the Queensland Conservatorium, Miller-Heidke has performed roles in John Adams'The Death of Klinghoffer at New York's Metropolitan Opera and in Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Sydney Opera House. Her debut opera as a composer, The Rabbits (based on the book by Shaun Tan and John Marsden), was commissioned by Opera Australia and premiered at the Perth Festival in February 2015, followed by sold-out seasons in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The Rabbits was awarded two Helpmann Awards in 2015 for Best Score and Best New Australian Work.

Miller-Heidke is one of three Australian female singer-songwriters featured in the SSO's three-part Kaleidoscope series in 2017. Megan Washington will perform with the SSO on 21-23 September while Katie Noonan and her band Elixer will collaborate with the SSO on 2-4 November.