Vale Jack Colwell.
We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sydney singer-songwriter, musical director and choirmaster, Jack Colwell.
Colwell, who became a member in 2009, was an independent artist who rose to fame in 2015 with his debut single, "Don’t Cry Those Tears", followed in 2020 by his debut album, Swandream, produced by close friend and collaborator, Sarah Blasko. On his passing, Blasko took to social media to say, “Good night darling Jack, changed forever by your presence.”
His music earned widespread praise across the industry and beyond, in particular with Australia’s LGBTQI+ community, and he had spoken of a second album on the horizon.
Colwell soared great musical heights in his short career, from accompanying Patrick Wolf on stage in Australia and London to being a musical director for Architecture in Helsinki and arranging strings and vocals for an Avalanches tribute night at the Sydney Opera House. He was chorus coordinator for Karen O’s “psycho opera” Stop the Virgens at Vivid Sydney in 2013 and programed the 2017 Unity: the Equality Campaign concert.
Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time, and to all of our members who had the joy of working with him.