Isaac Hayward

Musical Director

Isaac Hayward

Isaac is an award-winning music director, multi-instrumentalist and arranger who has worked on a wide range of projects across Australia and internationally.

Since making his professional debut at age seventeen as the co-creator, music director, arranger and multi-instrumentalist for The Rock Show, Isaac’s music direction credits have included Ladies in Black (QTC), for which he was nominated for a 2016 Helpmann Award, The Rabbits (Opera Australia), The Secret River (STC), Rapture (Sydney Festival), Beating the Blues (MTC), and The Mikado (New Zealand Opera).

In 2018 Isaac won a Helpmann Award for Best Music Direction for Muriel’s Wedding the Musical (STC & Global Creatures), for which he also orchestrated, arranged and wrote additional music. He then became music supervisor for the 2019 Australian tour and the 2020 New York City workshop.

His other USA credits include assistant conductor, keyboard and co-electronic music designer on King Kong (Broadway), electronic music consultant on Beetlejuice (Broadway), associate conductor for Little Shop of Horrors (ACT of CT), and associate conductor, keyboard and guitar on Unmasked (Paper Mill Playhouse / RUG). In the UK, Isaac was the music director, cellist and pianist for the 2019 production of The Secret River at the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre London.

Isaac is also highly in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, having written for Ladies in Black, ABC TV, Ambience Entertainment, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, New York University, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and has also co-orchestrated with Alex Lacamoire for the USA Hamilton casts, Vivo (Sony Pictures), In the Heights (Warner Bros) and Message in a Bottle (Sadler’s Wells Theatre).

IG: @isaac.hayward

Isaac Hayward