Buddy Lovett

Born in Sydney, Buddy completed a Bachelor of Music (Performance) with First Class Honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2024, having studied with Kevin Man, Shaun Trubiano, Daryl Pratt, and Mark Robinson. Whilst studying, Buddy was awarded first prize in the 2020 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Snare Award, won the 2023 Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Competition, and played for several seasons as Principal Timpani with the Australian Youth Orchestra. During this time, he also made multiple trips to Germany where he had lessons with notable German pedagogues, including Rainer Seegers, Manuel Westermann, Arend Weitzel, Tom Greenleaves, and Franz Lang.

Prior to commencing at Orchestra Victoria, Buddy held a seasonal contract as Associate Principal Timpani/Tutti Percussion with the Opera Australia Orchestra. He also worked frequently as a freelancer with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Opera Australia Orchestra. A personal highlight for Buddy was performing in the Sydney premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet with the Opera Australia Orchestra in 2024.

Buddy's favourite composer is Prokofiev, and favourite piece is Poulenc's Stabat Mater.