MAY

13illuminating notesn e w s l e t t e r f o r t h e s U B s C r I B e r s , p At r o n s & f r I e n d s o f t h e w e s t A U s t r A l I A n s Y M p h o n Y o r C h e s t r A

wAso Appoints Assistant Conductor

© Nik Babic

only four years after he began studying the clarinet in an undergraduate music degree, 22 year old Christopher dragon has been appointed Assistant Conductor of wAso.

Christopher explains that conducting is something that he was always fascinated with and found himself “transfixed by the movements of the conductor” when watching concerts. however, when he started tertiary study in wA, Christopher discovered that conducting was not offered as an undergraduate degree so he found his own ways of learning about conducting and developing his skills, from observing wAso rehearsals to co-founding a new orchestra, the swan philharmonic.

In 2012 Christopher was accepted into the symphony services Conductor development program where he worked with the tasmanian symphony orchestra and Auckland philharmonia. In the same year he was invited as a conducting fellow to the pacific Music festival in Japan by fabio luisi, principal Conductor of the Metropolitan opera.

earlier this year Christopher participated in the Järvi winter Academy in estonia, studying with leonid Grin. At the start of the course participants conducted their repertoire on two pianos, with the rest of the week spent in front of an orchestra preparing for a performance.

“the most valuable part of the course was learning from leonid Grin,” said Christopher. “he was previously leonard Bernstein’s assistant conductor and it was so insightful to hear about his experiences during that time.”

Christopher was the only participant of the winter Academy to be chosen to also participate in the forthcoming Järvi summer Academy. later in 2013, Christopher plans to participate in the Blue danube Musik Impresario Masterclass in ostrava, Czech republic, as well as complete more training modules around Australia and new Zealand as part of the symphony services Conductor development program.

As wAso’s first Assistant Conductor, Christopher will have unique opportunities to develop his skills and gain invaluable experience by working with wAso’s musicians and staff, principal Conductor paul daniel and other guest artists throughout 2013. Christopher was offered the role following an audition with wAso earlier in the year, which he says was an extraordinary opportunity for him. “we are so lucky in western Australia to have such a strong orchestra,” he said. “the audition was such a supportive environment.”

Although Christopher has had a lot of experience conducting community orchestras, he said that he will need a different skill set for conducting a professional orchestra like wAso. “Community orchestras require very clear basic beating to hold it together whereas with professional orchestras you have more freedom to shape the music with gestures,” Christopher explained.

principal Conductor paul daniel is also excited about the appointment. “I am thrilled that wAso has been able to offer an Assistant Conductor position to such a talented west Australian conductor,” said paul. “Christopher has already begun making an international profile for himself by working with prominent conductors around the world and I look forward to seeing how he develops during his time with us.”

following his tenure as Assistant Conductor, Christopher would like to travel overseas to study conducting either at an institution or as an assistant to a conductor. the Assistant Conductor position has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the simon lee foundation and symphony services International.

Christopher Dragon.

Message from paul daniel

I’m writing this from Moscow. I arrived in the darkest winter; dirty, ice-solid snow piled up higher than our heads on the sides of streets. And then, a few days later, the famous russian thaw arrived: blistering dry air, fierce freezing sun, ice-blue skies. every day, crossing the river in the car on the way to rehearsals, the metres-thick ice was cracking and breaking up.

I’m here for a concert with the russian national orchestra, and we’re performing a great rarity in this country: a concert performance of debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. It’s a humbling experience: music that I’ve known and performed for years, which speaks completely differently to musicians who are discovering this extraordinary score for the first time. phrases and sounds come alive with a completely different style of playing – every phrase ‘spoken’ by wonderful musicians learning a completely foreign language.

It’s easy to speak of music as a ‘universal’ language, but I’m not so sure that’s always the case. of course music translates much quicker than words, and anyone anywhere in the world can ‘speak’ Beatles or Beethoven.

to misquote André previn, they're the same notes, in the same order, wherever you play or sing them. But what if you've never heard those notes before? You hear them with different ears, and relate them to your own emotional world. sometimes a best-loved work in one place makes no sense in another: a beloved folktune in one country is cacophony in another.

At wAso, we played liza lim's Pearl, ochre, hair string a few seasons ago. I’ll never forget the excitement and pleasure on the faces of one group of regular wAso subscribers I met afterwards who had been transported perfectly to the dry shimmering heat of the Kimberley by lim’s evocative music, countered by the agony and antipathy her music had given to another group. And all that before Beethoven’s ninth (featured in the same programme), whose ‘ode to Joy’ was written by a playwright to unlock the new thinking of a philosophical enlightenment, translated into a symphony by a composer with very different views about the shackles of despotism, and often wheeled out to support any number of completely opposing political doctrines.

here in Moscow, debussy’s same notes, in the same order, are being discovered by musicians whose musical Gps is tuned to a completely different frequency: their imagination is touched by completely different emotional signals in the score, and my goodness, they express those emotions at white heat in their playing!

thank goodness the world is still a very big place, and ears hear, and souls feel, so differently. It’s not such a small world after all: while the Internet and travel make the rest of it into one big shopping mall with all the same must-buy labels, perhaps music is one of the great forces to keep us all individual.

Paul Daniel Principal Conductor & Artistic AdviserPaul Daniel appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts.

wAso Chorus tour reflectionsnovember 2012 saw the wAso Chorus embark on their first international tour, travelling to hong Kong to perform Brahms’ A German Requiem with the hong Kong philharmonic under the baton of principal Conductor Jaap van Zweden. eighty-two wAso choristers were joined by 25 members of the tasmanian symphony orchestra Chorus (tso) to again present this towering work. we asked some choristers to share their tour experiences.

“the wAso chorus tour to hong Kong was an experience of intense hard work and immense concentration tempered thankfully by exquisite sounds. working with Maestro Jaap van Zweden was as terrifying as it was inspiring and we gained a deeper understanding of Brahms’ German Requiem – only occasionally breaking to become caught up in the melee of almost 24 hour shopping that is hong Kong!” Katherine langdon

“the experience of singing in hong Kong under Maestro Jaap van Zweden’s well-disciplined baton and the hong Kong philharmonic was thrilling and uplifting. the Brahms came together in a way I have never experienced before. I will never forget seeing the conductor close his eyes during the concert on the friday and be taken away by the music we were helping to produce it was a really special moment in my choral career.” nicole Zago

“pushing through exhaustion and finding we could still sing; fighting sore backs and shoulders by standing straighter and finding we could sing better; feeling some of the sublime moments in the music and becoming part of a harmonious whole. Cementing old friendships and discovering new ones and seeing the friendly and familiar faces of the tso members again. taking up the challenge from the maestro to ‘not sing low’ and ‘not be afraid to sing out’ and finding

it was possible. the best highlight though, was coming home and knowing what an excellent orchestra and concert hall we have here in wA and how much music is a great unifier across all cultures.” olga ward

“It was a privilege to have been able to spend an extended period of time immersed in such magnificent music with such a focussed and meticulous conductor. he brought the music to life in new and unexpected ways and was endlessly patient and determined in his efforts to elicit the best possible musical response from us. we were made very welcome by the orchestral management and concert hall staff and altogether had a most wonderful time.” Margaret warburton

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In June we welcome the young russian pianist denis Kozhukhin for his wAso debut. Kozhukhin was launched onto the international scene after winning first prize in the 2010 Queen elisabeth Competition in Brussels. since then he has been in great demand and we are lucky to have him feature in both our Masters series concert prokofiev & sibelius and in recital as part of our new International recital series.

Do you enjoy all the travelling that comes with being as concert pianist? How do you manage to keep a practice schedule when you are travelling?

travelling is of course a very big part of this job. I must say that in the beginning when I started to have this amount of travel sometimes it was not easy because it was a completely different rhythm of life and work. But with time I got used to it and now I enjoy it a lot. sometimes of course it is nice to have a week at home to rest and work quietly but after a while I start to feel the need to go somewhere. regarding practice, this kind of life really keeps you alert all the time so you get used to using all the opportunities that you have with a piano.

Last year you performed the complete cycle of Prokofiev’s piano concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. What is it about Prokofiev’s music that you enjoy?

prokofiev is one of my favourite composers; his music made an impact on me when I was a small boy. the expression, the variety, the sarcasm and his lyrics, the list is really very long. But most important his music is so human; it is so connected to his country which he loved with its beautiful nature, its energy and melancholy. he lived a very intense and interesting life and through his music I am also learning many things about his life. I am extremely happy that in the last two years I achieved one of my dreams: playing all his piano concertos and sonatas.

It is 25 years since WASO last performed Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. What are some special moments the audience should listen out for when you perform this work in June?

this concerto is really a breakthrough for his music, I think. After his second piano Concerto, which is one of the darkest pages in his music, the third is full of life, the energy it has is incredible and when I play it I feel that the music has electricity in its notes. But at the same time there are moments which are purely lyrical, sentimental even and the way he changes the mood of the piece in no time is something spectacular.

At the age of 27 you are already in such great demand. What, or who, has inspired you on your journey to incredible success?

of course my parents first; thanks to them I started to love music very early on in my life. I actually sang in my father´s choir for many years and that also has made a contribution to my professional life. I am extremely thankful to my teachers and I feel lucky that I studied with them. My first teacher, natalia fish was someone who really gave me a strong technical and artistic training which allowed me to study abroad and continue learning from an early age. dmitri Bashkirov, who is a wonderful pianist and a unique teacher, was a huge influence for me.

spotlight on denis Kozhukhin

In the years I studied with him I learned not only from his great musical and human personality but also I learned to think on my own which really is a gift because one day sooner or later we must go on our own. I keep a very close relationship with all my teachers and I still use every chance I have to play for them. to hear any advice is important, at any stage of professional life.

We are very excited to hear you perform in recital while you are in Perth. Do you prefer performing in a solo recital or on stage with orchestra?

performing with an orchestra, playing a recital or playing a chamber music concert, all these things have the same value for me. each one is unique in a way with its difficulties and charms, and this variety in my professional life is very important. Intimate is a very good way to describe a recital as the audience is close to you, there are no other musicians, only you talking to people through music. Also a recital can say many things about an artist, probably much more than you can hear from an orchestral concert.

© Marco Borggreve

Prokoviev & Sibeliusfriday 14 & saturday 15 June, 7.30pmperth Concert hall

Denis Kozhukhin in RecitalMonday 17 June, 7.30pm Government house Ballroom

for bookings phone wAso on 9326 0000 or visit waso.com.au

denis Kozhukhin is one of wAso’s 2013 world Artists.wAso will present an International Artist Masterclass with denis Kozhukhin on thursday 13 June.

full details are available at waso.com.au

WASO’s Masterclass Program is presented in partnership with Apache.

Denis Kozhukhin.

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At the end of last year John ford (principal 2nd Violin) and dorothy ford (violin) retired from wAso. Both musicians were highly valued members of the orchestra. John took time to share some of their journey with wAso.

dorothy has a long association with wAso. having been a member of the ABC training orchestra, she joined as a wAso member in 1969. At that time the perth Concert hall had not yet been built and performances were held in winthrop hall at the University of western Australia. In 1973 she played for the opening of the perth Concert hall and in 1974 travelled to the UK to freelance and further her studies. she studied with frederick Grinke and howard davis who became a life-long friend and mentor, and in 1978 she joined the philharmonia orchestra with whom she had been a regular freelance player.

dorothy and I met as freelance players in london. I joined the philharmonia at the same time as dorothy. I had previously been a member of the Ulster orchestra, a principal member of the orchestra of the welsh opera and Associate Concertmaster of the orchestra of the royal Ballet.

dorothy was always determined to return to perth. she had experienced too many extreme winters in the UK, and they contrasted too starkly with her early years on the Atherton tableland in Queensland and the long wA summers! she also looked forward to rejoining the strong wAso ‘family’ with its rich social life and its fast developing concert program.

farewell to dorothy and John ford

In 1980 dorothy and I visited wA to see the lay of the land, bought a house and returned to the UK to celebrate our wedding in August of that year. following the births of our two daughters, tamsin and Janna, we arrived in perth in november 1982. dorothy resumed her job and I was a ‘house father’ until April 1983 when I joined wAso, succeeding stan Kowalski as principal 2nd Violin. In 1984 dorothy left wAso for a period of full-time mothering but still freelanced with the orchestra until 1993 when she re-auditioned and joined the orchestra once more.

we have enjoyed our career in music knowing that we have been lucky enough to be part of an exclusive club that gave us deep friendships and deep musical rewards. outstanding wAso experiences have been, for dorothy, any one of simone Young’s inspirational appearances. I particularly remember wAso’s performances of Mahler’s fifth in China, played in novel acoustics with all the heightened sense of responsibility of being ‘on tour’.

retirement offers the opportunity for us to get to grips with all the facets of our life which have necessarily received little attention while we have been preparing and playing for wAso and teaching at the same time. this means frequent visits to Melbourne and london to see Jack and leonard our two magnificent grandchildren, weekends given up to dinner parties catching up with our long suffering friends, and ‘estate duties’, maintaining a house and garden. every spare opportunity is spent on our boat Aegina, putting ourselves in peril on the sea.

wAso acquires new tait bassA recent instrument acquisition by wAso has involved the purchase of another double bass handcrafted by our very own double bassist Andrew tait. the new double bass will be played by louise ross and takes the number of tait basses in the section to five (an Australian record!) when we have a full section of seven double basses. three of the double basses are five stringed and two are four stringed.

In 2009 Andrew tait received a grant from the department of Culture and the Arts to travel to london to study with renowned double bass maker roger dawson. the new double bass he has crafted for wAso is a copy of his personal instrument which he designed and built in london while working with roger.

demand for tait basses continues to grow and Andrew has been commissioned by the tasmanian symphony orchestra to produce a four stringed double bass. this instrument is now under construction and you can follow its progress on tso’s facebook page www.facebook.com/tasmaniansymphonyorchestra

Andrew’s next project is to build a violin for wAso violinist shaun lee-Chen – a copy of shaun’s lovely rocca violin.

Louise Ross and Andrew Tait with the new double bass.

Dorothy and John Ford.

© Matt Galligan

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private Giving

we are launching our 2013 Instrument Campaign with the aim of raising $80,000 to purchase a celeste and five German trombones. You are invited to be a part of this campaign. All donations are tax deductible and you will have the opportunity to ‘meet’ and hear our new instruments once they have been purchased.

we are delighted to announce that wAso patron and subscriber robert May has made a donation of $20,000 to our Celeste and Brass Campaign. this means we are already a quarter of the way there! robert says “every gift makes a difference, whether it is $100 or $1000” and encourages others to be involved.

The Celestethe celeste, or celesta, appears on the wAso stage every year. It is a beautiful wooden instrument with a heavenly sound – hence the name. Most people start humming tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker whenever we refer to our need for a new celeste!

our celeste was purchased in 1974. we believe it was purchased second hand from sydney. It has been lovingly overhauled a number of times but is sadly reaching the end of its life. we are seeking to replace this instrument in preparation for the 2014 season. the cost of a new celeste is $40,000.

this year you will see our ‘old’ celeste on stage during:

Versbitsky’s Europe – 9,10 & 11 May respIGhI Pines of Rome

Prokofiev & Sibelius – 14 & 15 June rAVel Valses nobles et sentimentales

Strauss & Ravel – 18 & 19 October JAMes ledGer Violin Concerto (world premiere)

and it often features at our annual Symphony in the City.

the celeste also featured in our first Masters series concert during John Adams’ Slonimisky’s Earbox. this performance was a webcast and you can now view it by going to http://freezone.iinet.net.au/vod/freezone/music/waso/15930. there are some great close ups of the celeste near the end of the first piece!

German Trombonesthese beautiful instruments feature throughout the German repertoire – Beethoven, wagner, Brahms to name a few. At present we either use our current trombones or we hire a bass trumpet and/or a contrabass trombone for certain repertoire. for example, wAso will hire a contrabass trombone for respighi’s Pines of Rome during our second Masters series concert, Verbitsky’s europe.

principal trombone Joshua davis says, “In the quest for an authentic German sound, the sound Mahler, Brahms, wagner and strauss had in mind, nothing else comes close to these hand-crafted Kromat instruments. to have instruments made using traditional German techniques and materials means that we can hear what strauss and Mahler expected to hear when they wrote their music.

the world over, trombonists in many orchestras are investing in German-made instruments for the purpose of taking the listener back to the 19th century. I am so excited by this project, and I hope you are too.”

the use of these German trombones is also important in terms of sound consistency when it features with certain other instruments, including the wagner tubas. wAso’s wagner tubas were purchased through a generous donation by robert May and daniel shing Kong in 2007.

In anticipation of the arrival of our principal Conductor designate Asher fisch, who specialises in German repertoire, we hope to purchase a set of German trombones which will include two German tenor trombones, a German bass trombone, a German contrabass trombone and a German bass trumpet.

the cost for this set of trombones is $40,000.

please support our Celeste and Brass Campaign!

to make a donation to our Celeste and Brass Campaign, please contact Jane on 9326 0014 or email clarej@waso.com.au, or to make a donation online, please go to waso.com.au and click on the red Make a donation button and choose Celeste & Brass from the drop-down menu.

we seek your support in raising funds for the purchase of a celeste and German trombones.

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private Giving

patrons and friends events 2013each year a number of events are held especially for our community of patrons and friends, offering unique access to our orchestra. All income raised from these events goes directly to the friends of wAso scholarship.

To book for these events please call the WASO Box Office on 9326 0000.

WASO in Rehearsal 2013would you like to see how an orchestral rehearsal is run? Attend wAso rehearsals and get a ‘behind the scenes’ insight into the orchestra. After the rehearsal you will have the chance to mingle with players and guest artists over morning tea at the perth Concert hall. You may also wish to arrive a little early and join the informative pre-rehearsal talk at 9.30am.

WASO in Rehearsal Three Friday 2 August, 10am Perth Concert Hall* simone Young Conducts

WASO in Rehearsal Four Friday 18 October, 10am Perth Concert Hall* strauss & ravel

Tickets are $25 for Patrons and Friends, $30 for guests, including a lovely morning tea with the musicians.

*for these rehearsals there will be a pre-concert talk starting at 9.30am

Meet the Double ReedsWednesday 26 June, 6pm Chapel, Aquinas College

Come and hear some beautiful music and learn more about the oboe, bassoon and cor anglais. At this event you will be joined by wAso’s double reed musicians, who will give a fascinating insight into their instruments and life in the orchestra, over wine and nibbles.

Tickets are $42 for Patrons and Friends and $45 for guests.

Meet the Double BassesSunday 15 September, 2.30pm Llew Woodford Function Centre, Penrhos College

Meet the ‘Grandfathers’ of wAso, the double basses. Between listening to some great music you can learn more about these majestic instruments and the musicians that play them. Catch up on wAso news over nibbles and a glass of wine.

Tickets are $42 for Patrons and Friends and $45 for guests.

Annual Patrons and Friends Christmas PartyThursday 12 December, 4.30pm Perth Concert Hall

our annual Christmas party is always great fun and a lovely opportunity to celebrate a year of wonderful music together. this year, however, is particularly special as it will be your last opportunity to watch and listen to the last hour of principal Conductor paul daniel’s rehearsal of symphony in the City. You can then join Maestro daniel and our wAso musicians for a stand up light dinner and drinks.

Tickets are $45 for Patrons and Friends, $55 for guests.

Private Giving Partner6

friends of wAso scholarshipthe friends of wAso scholarship was created to provide full time members of the orchestra with an opportunity to apply for funding to support their professional development, both in Australia and overseas. funds can be used to assist with travel, tuition, conferences, masterclasses and other learning activities.

louise sandercock was the 2012 recipient of the scholarship and was able to put the grant towards a six-week period of study in Italy and Austria, attending two summer schools and having multiple lessons with professor helfried fister.

the purpose of louise’s trip was to work towards fulfilling the requirements of a fellowship of Music which she subsequently qualified for in october of last year. for a fellowship of Music one is required to present, for assessment, a full solo programme of works in a public recital.

Both summer schools were held in small townships, the first being in a commune called farra d’Isonzo. situated in the uppermost northern reaches of Italy, very close to the slovenian border, farra (as it was locally known), is a typical small Italian town with multiple vineyards in its surrounds.

the summer school itself had a strong chamber music programme and a considerable number of participants who attended did so specifically to rehearse and perform together as a group. Many participants came from neighbouring hungary and slovenia. As a result, louise was constantly surrounded by people speaking a whole variety of different languages, from German to Italian, hungarian and slovenian. luckily, most people spoke english (except perhaps for the majority of the residents in farra!) and with the help of a very basic Italian phrase book, louise managed to get by.

from the first lesson louise commenced an intense period of study on her chosen programme of works. lessons took place every second to third day (with copious amounts of practice in between) so the two weeks passed quickly. louise also managed to watch a couple of masterclasses as well as attend some concerts, one of which featured pinchas Zukerman playing César frank’s Violin and piano sonata.

the second summer Course took place in the town of st paul im lavanttal in Austria. the town itself is recognised within the Austrian region of Corinthia principally for its very prominent saint paul’s Abbey. during the two-week period louise was there she continued with lessons and had the opportunity to play in front of a local audience along with other course participants.

louise said, “It was fabulous to be able to spend a considerable period of time in europe itself, not only in terms of receiving valuable professional development, but also to be able to experience in a very real way (from a classical music point of view) where ‘it all began’. It was great to meet so many other people from different countries and to be able to have the opportunity to experience the deep history which europe has to offer and to appreciate how this contributes substantially to the europeans’ approach to their daily lives.

“I wish to applaud the generous contributions of the friends of wAso for the setting up the friends of wAso scholarship, which I believe has proven to be of invaluable benefit, not just in terms of individual professional development, but also in terms of the contribution a player can make within his/her playing capacity to bring to the concert stage itself. It will also bring benefits to the community at large with an increased potential for one to connect with and pass on more refined skills and artistic ideas to students and other musicians, professional or otherwise. the commitment to a fellowship of Music was considerable with a huge amount of extra practise and preparation required, and as a long-term member of the orchestra, I have been encouraged to experience the reality that it is still ‘never too late’ to learn something of value for the future.”

Louise in Farra d‘Isonzo.

Friends of WASO Scholarship recipient Louise Sandercock.

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Roslyn Warrick.

private Giving

roslyn warrick’s love of music and wAso lives on“Rosyln was an absolute delight and had such a wonderful manner and a way about her – she was Ros until the end.” Geraldine roxburgh, friend of roslyn warrick

roslyn warrick and Geraldine roxburgh were great friends with Geraldine living in Morley and roslyn in Mandurah with her beloved schnauzer, rommy. every so often Geraldine would receive a phone call: “Could rommy and I come up for the weekend? there’s a wAso concert on!” roslyn had previously been able to drive up on her own, but as ovarian cancer took its toll, Geraldine would drive roslyn from Mandurah to the concert and babysit rommy.

di and Bob Mitchell were ‘wAso neighbours’ of roslyn. since 1995 they sat next to her at wAso concerts and over time they formed a deep and genuine friendship. “she loved the good things in life, especially good food, wine, travel, clothes and jewellery,” they said. “But most importantly she loved good friends and good music. roslyn was great fun to sit next to, providing an entertaining account of what she thought of the outfits of the musicians on stage each week!” In choosing the music for her funeral, Bob said, “she was a classical lady in more ways than one. ros fought through adversity with style and determination, as did one of her favourite composers, Beethoven.”

originally from country new south wales, roslyn was from a family of classical music lovers and has always loved attending wAso concerts. rosyln was one of our 20 year plus subscribers and was thrilled to attend the concert at winthrop hall in 2010 to celebrate 20 years of being part of the wAso family.

roslyn died of ovarian cancer on 19 december 2011 and left a gift to wAso in her will. A few years ago wAso established the endowment fund for the orchestra to ensure bequest gifts are preserved. over time endowment capital will provide a critical income stream for the company and help ensure your family and future generations of western Australians can continue to be inspired by the power of music.

If you are interested in learning more about leaving a bequest to WASO, please contact Alecia Benzie, Executive Manager, Private Giving on 9326 0020 or benziea@waso.com.au. All enquiries are treated in confidence.

A symphony of eastern europe tourwAso private Giving partner renaissance tours creates wonderful travel and musical experiences for classical music lovers. each outbound tour booked from western Australia assists in supporting the activities of your orchestra.

the 16-day symphony of eastern europe tour is led by ABC Classic fM presenter Mairi nicolson and runs from 1 to 16 september 2013, travelling from Bucharest to Budapest.

enjoy the opening week of romania’s acclaimed George enescu festival, a star-studded affair featuring some of the world’s top orchestras such as the staatskapelle Berlin, pittsburgh symphony orchestra, national philharmonic of russia and the orchestre de paris, conducted by the likes of daniel Barenboim, Manfred honeck, Vladimir spivakov and paavo Järvi.

then journey through the heart of transylvania to Budapest, for a gala season opening weekend with the Budapest festival orchestra and a night at the hungarian state opera.

for more information and to book, call renaissance tours on 1300 727 095 or visit www.renaissancetours.com.au/music/a-symphony-of-eastern-europe/

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wAso welcomesthe musical talent of wAso’s newest recruit, horn player francesco lo surdo made him something of a black sheep in his family, being the only one to pursue a career as a professional musician. however he’s not the only one in his family with a passion for music; his dad claims to have played the drums at some point in his life and it’s his Mum’s life-long dream to learn the marimba.

frankie made the move to perth from sydney over a year ago with his wife Megan, who also works at wAso, in the administration team. they are both thoroughly enjoying their new hometown, in particular fremantle and the swan Valley, the amazing perth beaches and lack of peak hour traffic.

perth has also given frankie a renewed passion for cycling. “the incredible network of bike paths in perth means I get anywhere I need to go by bike and cycling has become a major hobby of mine,” he said.

the horn wasn’t frankie’s first choice of instrument. he started learning the trumpet at primary school but after his rented trumpet was given to another kid, he ended up playing the french horn.

frankie says the highlight of his time with wAso so far was in november last year when he had “the privilege of playing 8th horn/4th wagner tuba in back to back weeks of strauss’ Alpine Symphony and wagner’s The Ring: An Orchestra Adventure. It really doesn’t get better than that for a horn player!” he said.

playing for wAso’s dedicated and educated audience has been another highlight for frankie. “I’ve never seen such a passionate following for a city’s orchestra and it definitely makes concerts much more enjoyable to have that exchange of energy,” frankie said.

frankie is looking forward to learning from his colleagues and performing new repertoire in 2013 that he hasn’t previously had the opportunity to play.

“I have a lot to learn but I’m lucky to sit amongst amazing musicians who’ve got so much experience to share, and have lots of stories about all the different conductors and musicians (and tempi!) they have previously performed these works with,” he said.

orchestra news

Welcome Mika Rose PearnMika rose pearn was born on october 14, weighing 3.7kn (8lb 1oz). Much loved second child for Melanie pearn (violin) and husband Brendan and little sister to leo.

Farewell Berian Evansearlier this year we bid farewell to Berian evans, our Associate principal Viola. Berian retired from wAso after more than two decades with the orchestra and over 40 years as a professional musician.

Berian’s orchestral career began with his school orchestra, followed by the County orchestra and then the english national Youth orchestra. After studying history at university he completed post-graduate studies in music at the royal Academy of Music and then played with the london symphony orchestra. he joined wAso in 1990 after playing chamber music for a number of years.

we wish Berian well in all of his future adventures and thank him for his outstanding contribution to the orchestra.

subscriber Benefits 2013Use your west Australian symphony orchestra subscriber card to receive some great discounts and special privileges from the following companies:

ABC shopsAdelaide symphony orchestraAustralian Chamber orchestraBlack swan state theatre CompanyClairault winesellington Jazz Club Grace removals Grouphutton wineshyatt regency perthlimelight Magazineluna palace Cinemas

Melbourne symphony orchestra Musica Vivaopera Australiaperth Concert hallthe perth Mintperth theatre Companythe Queensland orchestrastella Bella wines Margaret riversydney symphony tasmania symphony orchestraVasse felix

west Australian Balletwest Australian operawest Australian Youth Jazz orchestrawestern Australian Youth orchestras

All you need to do is show your 2013 wAso subscriber Card to take advantage of some great deals. Visit waso.com.au for further details.

Francesco Lo Surdo.

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secondary students receive a musical education“Prue and Peter were both so inspiring and passionate, and after 9 years of teaching, it inspired me as well. What they had to say was wonderful, our students were extremely impressed and gained so much from the concert. Thank you also to the fabulous musicians of WASO – their skill in performance, regardless of genre or era, never ceases to amaze me.” ellen Broderick, prendiville Catholic College

Business class luxury for wAso subscriberone lucky wAso subscriber won two return business class airline tickets courtesy of singapore Airlines, simply for renewing their 2013 subscription! Congratulations to suzanne Cukrov, a Morning symphony subscriber since 2007, who was the lucky winner. suzanne was presented with the prize by richard tan, singapore Airlines wA state Manager and paul daniel, wAso principal Conductor.

All subscribers who purchased or renewed a 2013 subscription in full by 30 november last year automatically went into the draw to win the prize,

which was generously donated by singapore Airlines to celebrate wAso’s new international airline partnership.

“we are absolutely thrilled to have this wonderful opportunity to fly business class with singapore Airlines, having never flown in this class before,” said a delighted suzanne. suzanne and her husband len will use their prize to travel to london and new York in the middle of the year.

wAso is thrilled to have singapore Airlines on board as a corporate partner in 2013, ensuring that paul daniel and other visiting artists will travel to perth in style and luxury. Richard Tan, Suzanne Cukrov & Paul Daniel.

Geraldton Senior College student Rowan Kerrigan talks clarinets with Lorna Cook & Allan Meyer.

on a beautiful warm day in March, 21 schools groups converged on the John Inverarity Music & drama Centre at hale school for wAso’s wA Certificate of education (wACe) designated works concert. As one bus unloaded senior secondary school students, another joined the queue, and students moved in to the venue foyer to collect their resource notes whilst listening to the orchestra warm up on stage. the scene was set for one of the education program highlights of the year.

this year is the first for the 2013 – 2015 school Curriculum and standards Authority list of designated works for music students. prue Ashurst, in her last concert as education Manager, programmed a wonderful selection of works that spanned the musical ages from Baroque to neoclassical 20th Century, and highlighted the symphony and concerto genres. Conducted by peter Moore, and presented by prue, the two combined for a lively and informative presentation of some of the greatest works in musical history. together with the orchestra, prue and peter dissected the set works to perform themes and passages, highlight structure and composition style, while engaging the students with historical facts throughout the concert. the full program included selections from Mozart’s symphony no.40 and horn Concerto no.3, J.s. Bach’s Brandenburg

Concerto no.2 and prokofiev’s symphony no.1 Classical.

As an added treat for the students, two wAso musicians performed the solo parts for the two concerto pieces on the list. performing from memory, principal horn player david evans brought the audience to attention with his beautiful tone in the Allegro movement from one of Mozart’s finest works. the opportunity for students to hear the layout of the sonata movement live and the conversation between the soloist and orchestra and the fine cadenza, was a treat. Guest principal trumpet Brent Grapes, in his first performance with wAso this year, played what is often referred to as the Mt everest of solo trumpet parts for piccolo trumpet – the gruelling passages from Bach’s playful Brandenburg Concerto no.2. wAso musicians performed this piece in its intimate setting with one musician on each instrumental line, without conductor.

students travelled from around perth and wA to experience selections from the set works including a group from Geraldton senior College, and one student from Albany who braved a very early morning start with her Mum and drove straight to the 10am concert. the students from Geraldton also had the opportunity to meet some of the musicians after the concert, with one even

taking the time to talk reeds with clarinettists Allan Meyer and lorna Cook.

the response from the large audience was unanimous as students and teachers alike walked out of the auditorium chattering about the value of the live performance experience, and the fun that they had in prue’s final presentation as education Manager with the hale school Auditorium as her classroom, complete with full symphony orchestra.

while prue’s unparalleled enthusiasm and commitment to music education will be missed around the office, and by students at wAso education programs, we can all still enjoy listening to her engaging and informative manner by tuning in to ABC radio. prue will continue to talk about classical music on 720 ABC perth Breakfast with eoin Cameron, every friday at 6:15am.

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Jack Harrison & Allan Meyer.

Pre-Concert Talk Speakersfree pre-concert talks are held on the terrace level of the perth Concert hall at 6.45pm prior to every Classics and Masters concert. Morning symphony pre-concert talks take place on the stage of the perth Concert hall at 9.40am prior to each concert.

Verbitsky’s Europe thu 9, fri 10 & sat 11 May pre-concert talk with Claire stokes

Debussy, Haydn & Poulenc fri 7 & sat 8 June pre-concert talk with Jonathan paget

Prokoviev & Sibelius fri 14 & sat 15 June pre-concert talk with phil robertson

Beethoven & Copland fri 28 & sat 29 June pre-concert talk with sally Kester

Simone Young Conducts fri 2 & sat 3 August pre-concert talk with prue Ashurst

Mozart & Mendelssohn/Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto thu 8, fri 9 & sat 10 August pre-concert talk with Margaret seares

Pre-Concert Talks are supported by Wesfarmers Arts.

Post-Concert Meet The Artist following the concert on friday evening join guest artists in the terrace level foyer for an informal interview. discover more about the music and gain an insight into the life of an artist.

Prokoviev & Sibelius fri 14 June post-Concert talk with denis Kozhukhin

Meet the Artist is supported by Wesfarmers Arts.

Post-Concert Meet The Musicianfollowing the concert on saturday evening join us in the terrace level foyer for an informal interview with one of wAso’s talented musicians. 

Debussy, Haydn & Poulenc sat 8 June post-Concert talk with Andrew nicholson (principal flute)

Beethoven & Copland sat 29 June post-Concert talk with Allan Meyer (principal Clarinet)

Meet the Musician is supported by Alessandrino Property Group.

wAso remembers Jack harrisonJack harrison, wAso’s longest serving member, passed away on Monday 1 April 2013 after a short battle with cancer. Jack made an enormous contribution to wAso, playing clarinet with the orchestra for 42 years, 22 of those as principal Clarinet.

from the age of seven Jack contributed to Australian music. Initially Jack played the harmonica, the instrument on which he won the 1940 6Ml radio Search For Talent and the 1941 Australia’s Amateur Hour. during his primary years he performed at hundreds of fundraising and community events. Aged 12, Jack moved on to clarinet and saxophone. his talents on these instruments were recognised in 1945 when Jack gained a place as the youngest member of the Amateur Youth orchestra.

Jack formed a jazz trio with his twin sister, Jill, and brother ray, and their success quickly rose to pop star popularity after an appearance on national fair, an Australia wide radio show. In 1948 the trio won the Battle of the Bands at the Capitol theatre and by the time he was 15, Jack harrison’s dance Band was earning so much money their father took them out of school.

Jack’s classical clarinet career spanned 42 years in Australian orchestras and he performed many times as soloist. some of his many career highlights include the world premiere performance of david tunley’s Concerto for Clarinet, which was dedicated to him, performing as soloist under conductor Arthur fiedler, and playing

The Facade Suite in front of the composer, william walton. Jack performed on the first recording of Margaret sutherland’s sonata for Clarinet and piano as well as the Australian premiere of richard strauss’ duet-Concertino for clarinet, bassoon, harp & strings.

In 1985 wAso released a sellout recording conducted by richard Mills which featured Jack on clarinet and harmonica. Another career highlight for Jack was performing in 1987 with the world philharmonic where he met Audrey hepburn. Jack was invited to play as guest principal Clarinet of the sydney symphony orchestra and as guest artist at the Canberra school of Music. he has been featured in many publications, including Clarinet Virtuosi of Today by pamela weston.

Jack was awarded a Churchill fellowship in 1971 to study advanced clarinet teaching techniques in Britain and America, techniques which have produced some of Australia’s current leading clarinet players. his most notable student is Allan Meyer who took over as wAso principal Clarinet when Jack retired.

Jack was married for 51 years to Marcia Chayter who wrote the history of wAso, published in 2004. their oldest son, Jay, recently retired from wAso after 32 years playing cor anglais and oboe. other son, Kimberley, is the head of Music at st Mary’s Anglican Girls’ school and daughter, Jody, is an agent for classical and jazz musicians.

In 1963 Jack performed the Australian premiere of the Copland Clarinet Concerto. Fifty years later our Principal Clarinet Allan Meyer will be performing this piece as part of our Beethoven & Copland concert on June 28 & 29 at the Perth Concert Hall.

© Nik Babic

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wAso lights up the stage and screenwAso’s 2013 season is full of a diverse range of exciting events, but at the top of many people’s lists are the two epic concerts, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. wAso has performed with video before, but never with full-length feature films. Both of these events involve the orchestra and wAso Chorus performing the film scores live as the movies play on screen, complete with original dialogue and sound effects. Pirates of the Caribbean was performed in late April and featured an orchestra of 71 players and chorus of 40. In June we will present The Lord of the Rings with an orchestra of 82 along with 120 choristers from the wAso Chorus and st George’s Cathedral Choir.

Both the number of performers on stage and the complicated technical requirements bring many challenges to the presentation of these events. wAso’s production & technical Manager david Cotgreave explains some of the obstacles he had to overcome in the planning process.

Under normal circumstances the scoring of a film happens many months after principal photography with an orchestra in a recording studio that can be in a different country from where the editing is taking place. so what happens when you bring a live orchestra back to the finished film many years later like the films of the silent era?

Usually an overseas producer has done a fair bit of the hard work and sends a written ‘technical rider’ to an orchestra that contains all of the elements that make up the show. Armed with this information I had to find a venue large enough to stage the event and in this case it is the large screen size that dictated the venue. Both Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean require a minimum screen size of 6 metres by 14.5 metres, which makes the perth Convention & exhibition Centre’s riverside theatre a perfect fit.

for these events, wAso teams up with the wonderful sound engineer Guy smith who has his own challenges to conquer. the sound must be of the highest quality and cover the whole audience equally, which is no mean feat when the speakers are at least 25 metres apart. the solution for this is to use a perforated projection screen and put a centre speaker behind the screen, just as you would find in a normal cinema.

some people may ask how we remove the sound of the original orchestra while keeping

the dialogue and the effects and, believe it or not, this is one of the simplest parts of the process. the sound of the film is split into eight or so ‘tracks’, each containing their own part of the whole soundtrack, so removing the orchestral score is a simple as turning down the two tracks that contain the orchestra.

Another challenge with the sound is how to keep up to 82 musicians in perfect time with the film. while this is the conductor’s job they are only human and can sometimes speed up, slow down and get out of sync with the movie. Both productions solve the problem in different ways. for Pirates of the Caribbean, the conductor, synthesizer player and five percussionists had wireless earpieces that contained a ‘click track’ which is one of the audio tracks mentioned earlier that runs alongside the film but can only be heard by the selected players. the click track is a series of ‘clicks’ that set the tempo in exact time with the movie and with the percussion keeping time with the click track the rest of the orchestra can follow the conductor and the percussion. The Lord of the Rings has a simpler solution where the conductor has their own monitor in front of them showing the film and when there is a musical cue a large dot flashes on the screen warning the conductor that the cue is coming up. It’s up to the conductor to keep the orchestra in time with the film.

lighting also presents challenges for these concerts. to ensure stage lighting does not interfere with the projection of the film, the orchestra get a ‘sconce’ light each, which sits on the top of each music stand. the chorus, however, do not have this option because they don’t have music stands so we will use book lights instead – these will be

provided courtesy of hale school. Also be on the lookout for lots of percussion and some unusual instruments such as a dulcimer, and a ‘distressed piano’ that is played by a chain wrapped around a gloved hand.

All in all, there are some very large technical challenges to overcome but it’s worth it to make these exciting events happen for thousands of enthusiastic audience members.

ernst & YoUnG presentsThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringfriday 21 & saturday 22 June, 7.30pmriverside theatre, perth Convention & exhibition Centre

wAso also performs prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with a screening of the stop-motion animated film of the same name as part of the 2013 family series.

Peter & the Wolf Livesunday 28 July, 1pm & 3pm perth Concert hall