From Liverpool to the World: Celebrating LIPA Alumni with Global Careers

From touring the world’s biggest stages to building creative businesses overseas, LIPA graduates continue to take their skills far beyond Liverpool. These international success stories show how a LIPA education can translate across borders, disciplines and industries. As part of our 30-year anniversary celebrations, we’re celebrating alumni who’ve carved out careers in music, theatre, cultural leadership and live experiences all around the globe.

Louis Querelle

Louis Querelle has built an international career performing alongside some of the biggest names in pop music, such as Natalie Imbruglia, Olly Murs and Amy Macdonald. As he explains, “I work professionally as a pianist and keyboard player, touring and performing with a range of popular artists.” His career has taken him across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia, including extensive touring as part of Niall Horan’s band.

“With Niall Horan, I’ve performed at venues including Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium and Red Rocks Amphitheatre,” Louis says. Alongside live touring, he has also appeared on numerous televised performances in both the UK and the US, including Saturday Night Live, The Graham Norton Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In 2022, he also performed at the White House for President Joe Biden as part of an official event. LIPA’s practical, skills-focussed approach to education was the perfect training ground for Louis’ career as a touring musician, as he explains how versatility is a key component of his role, “my work as a keyboard player requires adapting to different musical styles, production setups and performance environments, ranging from arena stages to television studios.

Tom Seals

For pianist and performer Tom Seals, music has provided the opportunity to play to audiences all around the globe. “Music has taken me to over 100 countries, performing on some of the biggest stages,” he says. Over the course of his career, he has appeared at major international festivals and venues including Rockwood Music Hall (New York), the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Dranouter (Belgium), Once In A Blue Moon (Holland) and Dubai Opera House (UAE), to name just a few.

Tom’s work spans live performance, television and theatre, including hosting his own show on Sky TV, Tom Seals Presents, where he spoke to celebrities about their favourite songs, including Anton Du Bec, Tom Allen and Sir Kenny Dalglish. As a touring musicians, Tom has performed at shows around the world with the likes of Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Jools Holland, Strictly Come Dancing's Aljaz & Janette, and across Europe with West End show "Choir of Man". His international work has also included working on a major project with The Department for International Trade for the UK, having been invited by the government to perform in front of a 10,000 strong audience for Expo 2020 in Dubai. 

Throughout his career, Tom has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter, and Noddy Holder, who described him as being "in the top 5 boogie piano players in the world!"

Daniel Knapp

Daniel Knapp is a German-Austrian creative professional whose career spans continents and cultural sectors. Beginning as an artist, Daniel has built a career in event production, with professional roles taking him across the US, Europe, China, Egypt and the Middle East.

His previous roles include consulting for the Egyptian government on the City of Arts & Culture in the New Administrative Capital, advising on operations, training and staffing for its opera, concert and drama venues. Earlier in his career, he served as Managing Director of Production at San Francisco Opera, overseeing all production and construction departments, and working closely with creative teams on new shows. Prior to this, he worked as Artistic Production Director and Company Manager at the Bregenz Festival in Austria, producing opera on the iconic Floating Stage. To this day, Daniel continues to develop and deliver opera, musicals, festivals and interdisciplinary cultural projects internationally, now based in Germany.