Dr Lotte Latukefu

Dr Lotte Latukefu, of Tongan/German heritage is Head of Performing Arts at Excelsia College in Sydney. Prior to that she lectured in the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong for 18 years. She is known, internationally, both as a researcher within the field of Higher Music Education as well as a world-class Mezzo-Soprano.

During high school, Lotte regularly performed with a Pacific Island cultural group, showcasing the vibrant traditions of her heritage. She pursued music at a tertiary level and has since published research on the preparation and performance of a distinctive canon of contemporary songs that engage inter-culturally with Asian and Pacific cultures, investigating Asian-Pacific identity within art music, particularly contemporary art song.

Lotte has performed with opera companies around Australia and New Zealand.  She was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship for postgraduate study in New York, studying at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. She was also the recipient of the Ian Potter Foundation Scholarship as well as the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship.

Lotte has premiered, nationally and internationally, eleven new Australian compositions in collaboration with composers and internationally recognised virtuosic chamber music performers.

Lotte has directed and coached many choirs, bringing to Musika Moana her decades of high level musical experience, but also her heart and passion for our pasifika people.