A 21-year-old university student found himself in the spotlight at a La La Land concert in Sydney on Saturday night after the keyboardist suddenly fell ill. Sterling Nasa, who was in the audience, volunteered to play the complex score live with the orchestra, saving the performance from derailment.
The concert, which features the film projected on screen while a live orchestra performs Justin Hurwitz's Oscar-winning score, paused for an extended interval as backstage panic set in. Hurwitz addressed the 2,500-strong audience, asking if any pianist in the house could sight-read the demanding music. Nasa, a politics and international studies student at the University of Sydney, initially hesitated but, encouraged by a friend, made his way to the stage.
Sitting at an electric keyboard with an unrehearsed score, Nasa faced a particular challenge during the John Legend piece Start a Fire, which includes an intricate synthesiser solo designed to match Ryan Gosling's hand movements on screen. Hurwitz later admitted he feared even a professional sight-reader might struggle. However, Nasa improvised the solo, earning a standing ovation from the audience.
After the concert, Hurwitz praised Nasa's skill, calling it remarkable to improvise in the right key and scale with no rehearsal. Nasa described the experience as a blessing, reflecting that it was an unforgettable privilege to play a soundtrack he has long admired. The production team now plans to offer him a formal role for future performances.
