Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Oboist of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Leanne Nicholls studied oboe and singing at The University of Adelaide in Australia and graduated with First Class Honours in performance. Her stage roles include Gilmer in Schwartz’s Godspell, Mrs Noye’s Gossip in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, Papagena in The Magic Flute (understudy) and Miss Orb in Bug Symphony. She has also performed as a member of the RTHK Singers. For RTHK Radio 4 she appears as an occasional host for Morning Call. Leanne Nicholls began her orchestral career at the age of 18 and has performed as an oboist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macao Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Based in Hong Kong since 1989, she started orchestral management on the cuff of producing the orchestra for Jackie Chan’s action-comedy film Twin Dragons. In 1999 she founded City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) and has led the orchestra’s executive and artistic planning for the past 20 years. For CCOHK she has also scripted and produced numerous original shows for young audiences combining the orchestra with theatrical elements. Her script-writing credits include Vivaldi Unmasked (2018), The Star Bach (2018), Magnificent Mozart (2017) and Bug Symphony (2015) which was nominated for the category of Best Large Ensemble at the YAMawards 2017 in Portugal and won the Public Choice Award. Her productions have also been presented at the International Arts Carnival and at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In 2022 Leanne Nicholls received a commendation in the HKSAR’s Chief Executive’s Honours List for her outstanding contribution to the development of classical music in Hong Kong.

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"She found a ‘cultural desert’ and spent 20 years making it bloom”

South China Morning Post