Choral specialist LUCY MCALARY is a versatile musician and educator with a rare ability to work across the entire age range.  


Lucy returned to Australia in 2005 after 15 years in England.  There, as Director of Music at Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts in south-east London, she was responsible for an extensive performance program which saw Conservatoire choirs and instrumental ensembles undertake regular European tours and perform with distinguished professional groups including London Sinfonietta, Goldsmiths Sinfonia and Chorus and Lambeth Concert Orchestra in venues such as Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room (South Bank Centre) and Blackheath Halls.Lucy’s choirs earned high praise for their performance on the CD ‘Glad Day’ with the Mike Westbrook Band (Enja Records) and also benefited from substantial grants from the National Foundation for Youth Music which supported the Conservatoire’s ground-breaking work with adolescent voices.  As a music educator Lucy was much sought after to provide professional development training, working with students from Trinity College, London and the University of Greenwich as well as serving classroom teachers.  

Born in Australia, Lucy undertook studies at the University of Sydney and the Sydney Conservatorium with David Miller and Nicolai Evrov prior to travelling to London to continue work with Geoffrey Parsons, Paul Hamburger and at the Britten Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies.  As vocal coach and

 coach and accompanist she worked with singers and instrumentalists in concerts, recitals and recordings.  She studied choral conducting in workshops with Christopher Bell, Doreen Rao and John Høybye.


Director of Penrith City Choir based at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre since 2005, Lucy also acts as chorus master for the choir’s performances with ensembles such as Penrith Symphony Orchestra.


In addition to teaching classroom music at St Paul the Apostle Primary School, Lucy works as a freelance choral conductor, clinician and workshop leader for local and regional choirs.  In 2006 she was Key Presenter at the Mitchell Conservatorium’s Choral Weekend in Bathurst and in 2007 appeared for the Moorambilla Festival, Coonamble.  


She established the Blue Mountains Youth Choir in 2007 and Penrith City Youth Choir in 2011, providing much-needed musical experiences for the young people of our area.