10 June 2026
Passing Notes: Paul Nicolaou talks career moves with harpist Jess Fotinos
Looking for advice and inspiration on how to navigate a career in classical performance? Is there a ‘right way’ to go about it? In this new AYO Podcast, Passing Notes harpist-composer and 2026 AYO Media & Communication Fellow, aims to demystify, debunk and explore the diversity of a career in classical music performance.
In the first episode of Passing Notes, Paul sits down with Australian harpist Jessica Fotinos. Now Principal Harp with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Jessica’s artistic practice has taken her across the globe, living and performing in Germany, completing residencies in Canada and France, and even joining a new orchestra in China as their first ever Principal Harpist.
“As young performers in Australia, there can often be the idea of a ‘right way’ to go about pursing a successful career in classical performance—a formula or ‘golden path’ which young musicians might feel pressure to conform to,” explains Paul.
“Throughout this miniseries, we learn how in reality, no two pathways look the same. By entering the worlds of some of Australia’s leading performers and artistic thinkers, we hear about what their journey has looked like navigating a career in classical performance.”
The first episode dives into Jessica’s experiences developing her craft here in Australia, her interest in contemporary music, living and working overseas, and what things have been like returning home.
In the following episodes, Paul chats with Australian violinist and Artistic Directo of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, SophieRowell and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboe Joshua Oates.
About Paul Nicolaou
Rapidly emerging as one of Australia’s most exciting young artists” (ABC Classic), Paul Nicolaou is a multi-award-winning harpist and composer based in Sydney. Praised as “brilliant” (classikON), he has quickly gained international recognition as a creative and virtuosic young artist, receiving accolades including the 2026 APRA Professional Development Award for Screen Composition, the 2026 Eva Pascoe Award, First Prize in the 2023 National Youth Music Arranging Competition and the 2021 Monash University Emerging Composer Prize. He was also a finalist in the 2025 APRA Professional Development Awards, and received the Highly Commended Award in Willoughby Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 Young Composer Competition.
A graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours, Paul studied under internationally celebrated harpist Alice Giles AM. After commencing harp aged 16, he has quickly established himself as an accomplished, versatile and sought-after performer, appearing as Guest Principal Harp with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia, as well as Omega Ensemble, Ensemble Apex and more.
Paul also regularly performs with the Opera Australia Orchestra, and was Principal Harp of the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) from 2022-24. A regular performer with AYO’s Momentum Ensemble, he was inaugural Co-Chair of the AYO Youth Council in 2024-25 and an AYO Media & Communication participant in 2026. Additionally, Paul was a featured artist at the 2024 and 2025 Orange Chamber Music Festivals and a Dots+Loops Performance Fellow for 2024.
Composer-in-Residence with Sydney Youth Orchestras for their 2026 International tour, Paul has been commissioned by organisations including ABC Classic and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), and was a selected composer for the Australian Music Centre’s 2025 MOMENTUM Plus project. His work has been widely acclaimed, the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, noting it “stood out as an exceptional example of both compositional craft and musicality”. Paul also has experience composing for the screen, his original score for the short film ‘Yannis’ receiving a nomination for Best Original Score (Made in the West Film Festival).
Paul’s works have been performed by both notable emerging and established artists such as the Sydney Youth Orchestras, Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony, Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, Caesura Ensemble, and musicians of the Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras.
With a strong interest in music for interactive media, Paul enjoys researching, arranging, and performing music from games. He was a recipient of Creative Australia’s Music Australia Export Development Fund, where he studied game composition with GRAMMY-winning composer Austin Wintory. His Honours study investigated facilitating expansion of the canonical harp repertoire through analysis, arrangement and canonical integration of video game scores.
Paul is also an experienced pianist, violinist, an accredited music arranger with the Music Arrangers’ Guild of Australia and Australian Music Centre Associate Artist.