Initially, his pursuits lay elsewhere, as he attended Melbourne University to study architecture. However, his early passion had been classical music, and he would later gain extensive experience as an orchestral conductor in settings as variegated as musical theatre and rock recordings. He first met principal Air Supply members Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell while he was working with the orchestra in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that included Hitchcock and Russell as cast members. He collaborated with many other musicians and songwriters throughout his career.
He died of pneumonia in 1991, at the age of 42. According to the website rememberme.org, Esler-Smith also had AIDS.

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