Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumnus Kate Miller-Heidke delivered a stunning performance at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest final, placing in the top ten.
Miller-Heidke won millions of fans across the globe and generated serious buzz with her performance, declaring her Eurovision journey “one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life”.
“I’m on such a massive high – to get top ten is amazing, and far beyond what I expected coming into this,” she said.
“Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me, and all my lovely Australian fans, you really lifted my spirits going through this whole crazy circus.
Thank you Australia for letting me be your representative.”
Miller-Heidke performed her genre-bending ballad Zero Gravity in the grand final to a global television audience of 200 million.
The talented singer-songwriter graduated from Griffith’s Queensland Conservatorium in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music, majoring in classical voice.
Queensland Conservatorium Director, Professor Scott Harrison said the Con was proud to be associated with Kate’s vocal training, through the work of renowned teacher Associate Professor Margaret Schindler.
“Kate is one of many Queensland Conservatorium graduates who are making their mark on the world stage,’’ he said.
Miller-Heidke is the second Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumnus to represent Australia at Eurovision, after Dami Im was crowned runner-up at the 2016 Eurovision finals. Young Conservatorium alumnus Nicole Blair penned the UK’s entry in last year’s Eurovision competition.
Her Eurovision anthem Zero Gravity was co-written by fellow Queensland Conservatorium graduate Keir Nuttall and it provided a showcase for Miller-Heidke’s soaring vocals — a legacy of her training at the Queensland Conservatorium.
Miller-Heidke exploded onto the Australian music scene in 2008 with her debut album Curiouser, which included chart-topping hits The Last Day on Earth and Caught in the Crowd.
Despite becoming a pop icon, Miller-Heidke has continued to make the most of her classical training, composing an award-winning children’s opera, The Rabbits, and performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Miller-Heidke’s teacher at the Queensland Conservatorium, Associate Professor Margaret Schindler, remembers her as “a really special talent”.
“There was never any doubt that she was destined for great things,” she said.
