Jasper Ly is an Australian oboist based in Melbourne. He is a versatile and dynamic performer who aims to captivate and transport his audience through musical settings ranging from classical to contemporary.
Photographs by Tan Yoowang
Jasper’s passion for audience engagement has seen him present chamber performances in both Melbourne and regional Victoria. Recent highlights include FOLKLORE in 2022, which was co-produced with the MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE; GLOW in May of 2022, which featured an all-Melbourne program; Beau Soir in 2020, presented by the AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL CONCERT HALL; Colour and Light in 2019, which featured works by Debussy and Ravel; Oboe Salon in 2018, which complemented LYRIC OPERA OF MELBOURNE’s production of Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and in the same year Jasper co-produced ‘Quietus’, a program for oboe, voice and piano presented as part of the WINTERWILD FESTIVAL in Apollo Bay.
A passionate advocate of new music, Jasper has performed with specialist groups such as ARCKO SYMPHONIC ENSEMBLE, INVENTI ENSEMBLE, ARGONAUT ENSEMBLE (BENDIGO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EXPLORATORY MUSIC), and the renowned ELISION ensemble. His 2017 solo recital Sonic Landscapes featured a number of scarcely performed works for oboe and electronics.
As an orchestral musician, Jasper performs with leading ensembles including MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRA VICTORIA, OPERA AUSTRALIA ORCHESTRA, VICTORIAN OPERA, MELBOURNE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA and SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA. Jasper’s experience also extends to musical theatre; in 2017 he played oboe/cor anglais in the Melbourne season of Disney’s Aladdin.
As winner of the MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC Concerto Competition in 2013, Jasper performed the Oboe Concerto by Richard Strauss with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Other concerto performances include the Lebrun Concerto with the MELBOURNE SINFONIA in 2022. He also appeared as soloist in the Vaughan Williams Concerto with the same orchestra in 2014. Alongside ORCHESTRA 21, Jasper delivered the Australian premiere of James Stephenson’s Concerto, Duels and Dances in October 2019.