Events

Published on July 3rd, 2025 | by Adrian Gunning

MSO announces 3rd show for Piano Man: Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel

Due to popular demand, the MSO today announced a third and final performance of Piano Man: Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel, at 7.30pm on Saturday 15 November.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to Piano Man: Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel—it’s clear how deeply audiences want to come together to celebrate his iconic songs and honour the man behind them. We’re excited to announce a third show for Melbourne audiences,” said Director Mark Sutcliffe.

For more than 50 years, legendary singer, songwriter and pianist Billy Joel has made an indelible mark on the American songbook. With 33 top 40 hits, five Grammy Awards and more than 160 million albums sold worldwide, Billy Joel is one of the most successful artists of all time.

Following their critically acclaimed world premiere in Adelaide, a cast of powerhouse vocalists will join the MSO this November to celebrate the legendary Billy Joel in Piano Man.

The concert showcases the incredible versatility of stage and screen stars Phil Burton (Human Nature) making his MSO debut, Alinta Chidzey (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), genre-defying Indigenous singer-songwriter Jess Hitchcock (MSO’s Classic 100, Hopelessly Devoted), along with musical theatre sensation and star of the MSO’s An Evening on Broadway, Josh Piterman (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables).

With Leonard Weiss conducting, Piano Man features showstopping new orchestral arrangements of Billy Joel classics by Nicholas Buc.

“Buc’s arrangements are superbly done. Wisely, he doesn’t recompose Joel’s music so much as to elevate what is already present and implicit in the original piano part of each song, carefully handing out each strand to different sections of the orchestra to provide extra richness and expressive colour.” (In Daily SA)

The 23-song set list covers Billy Joel’s greatest hits including Just the Way You Are, She’s Always a Woman, New York State of Mind, Only the Good Die Young, Vienna and of course Piano Man.

‘5-Stars – It was a rather incredible experience to hear his songs reimagined for orchestra. The layer and texture of the Orchestra elevated the classic rock hits…to give them almost cinematic quality.’  Glam Adelaide

Piano Man is presented in association with Make My Mark

Alinta Chidzey

Jess Hitchcock

Josh Piterman

About the Author

Adrian Gunning Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.

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