Audience member fills in as pianist at La La Land concert in Sydney

On Saturday night at the ICC’s Darling Harbour theatre, a 21-year-old university student was called from the audience to replace the orchestra’s keyboardist who had fallen ill during La La Land in Concert. The interval had stretched to 40 minutes before composer and conductor Justin Hurwitz walked out and asked, "Is there by any chance a pianist in the house?

And one with exceptional sight-reading skills?" Musicians phoned local contacts and offers arrived from backup players 15 to 20 minutes away, but Hurwitz turned to the audience of 2,500. Sterling Nasa, who plays piano and organ and tutors bagpipes at his old school, Scots College, hesitated when a friend put his hand up for him and then took a seat at an electric keyboard to face a complex, unrehearsed score.

The biggest test came during the John Legend piece Start a Fire, whose intricate synthesiser solo was written to match the onscreen character’s erratic hand movements.

Australia, Sydney

la la, justin hurwitz, darling harbour, icc, sydney, pianist, sterling nasa, john legend, synthesiser solo, sight reading