I’d take public transport far more often if I could catch this train.
In April 2012 Copenhagen Phil surprised the passengers in the Copenhagen Metro by playing Griegs Peer Gynt. The flash mob was created in collaboration with Radio Klassisk (http://radioklassisk.dk/). All music was performed and recorded in the metro.
After wandering aimlessly around Melbourne for a while today I sat down to take a break for a few minutes.
A rather unkempt gentleman came and sat beside me. He asked me if I liked music. I couldn’t answer no to a question like that.
He then told me that if I gave him two dollars he would sing me the most beautiful song I’d ever heard. I had my doubts.
Somehow I couldn’t imagine sitting in the centre of a major city having another man singing to me. I said no.
I think I should have given Hume the two dollars anyway but I was a little surprised by the offer at the time. He was probably homeless or disadvantaged in some way and I should have coughed up two dollars or maybe a little more on the proviso that he didn’t sing.
The most beautiful song you’ve ever heard.
His promise to sing me the most beautiful song I’d ever heard got me thinking. Maybe I missed out on something amazing. Probably not. Either way, I’m wondering what you would consider to be the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard. Not your favourite or most popular but what is the most beautiful sing you’ve ever heard?
I’m trying to think what that might be for me. Maybe Diana Krall’s version of Joni Mitchell’s song A Case of You. If you haven’t heard it before you can check out the video, then tell me your most beautiful song.
Paul Daniel became Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in 2009.
He was Music Director of English National Opera from 1997 until 2005. He has worked with London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and far too many others to mention around the world. He’s conducted the internationally televised Last Night of the Proms in London with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1998 he received a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera and was awarded the CBE in the 2000 Honours List.
He’s now preparing for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 season and he joined me today on the Morning Café on 98.5 Sonshine FM. We talked about the very wide range of performances planned for the new year. Audiences are set to be taken on an incredible musical voyage.
Some people may think of classical music as pieces that were written hundreds of years ago, but WASO continues to premiere new works and be extremely innovative in taking their extraordinary talents to a wider audience.
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is Western Australia’s largest and busiest performing arts company. Established in 1928, WASO is the state’s only professional orchestra, playing a central role in the cultural life of Western Australia.
WASO’s vision is to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Each year the Orchestra reaches out into the community and gives people across Western Australia and beyond the opportunity to experience the magic of classical music through concert performances, touring, education programs, and other initiatives.
The Orchestra performs over 140 concerts each year with some of the world’s finest conductors and soloists to an audience in excess of 200,000. In addition to its own concerts, WASO regularly performs with the West Australian Opera and West Australian Ballet.
You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player below.
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A couple of years ago Mark Vincent was just another school boy, but he was a school boy with an amazing talent.
In April 2009 Mark won Australia’s Got Talent. He was just 15, and even more surprisingly, he wasn’t singing the latest pop music, he was singing what some have termed, pop opera. He was a young boy with a remarkably mature voice. His main inspiration then, and still now, was his late grandfather, Bruno, who raised him and taught him how to sing.
In October 2011, Mark has just released his fourth album and is looking to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Anthony Warlow.
Mark Vincent has grown into his skin, and it shows. Finally, the young man with the extraordinary voice has turned 18 and there is a subtle, fresh confidence to his persona, a slight swagger to his step – and yet, he exudes the same humility which has won him legions of passionate fans. It’s this constant young-yet-mature juxtaposition which defines his unique character, and has seen him now release album number 4 – entitled ‘Songs From The Heart’ – with a collection of timeless songs, sure to emulate the success of previous albums. Indeed, first album ‘Mio Visione – My Dream’ reached #2 on the ARIA album charts, followed by ‘Compass’, and then ‘The Great Tenor Songbook’, which went Gold and charted #2 and #18 respectively on the ARIA album charts.
And yet, this young man’s head – fresh out of high school, and ready to embrace a fulltime career as a recording and performing artist – is not at all in the clouds. His feet still firmly on the ground. His heart always connected to his much loved family, and a genuine affinity to his fans which is endearing and true. Despite the huge success of his first three albums, Mark declares his favourite pastimes to be simple ones: hanging out with his buddies, enjoying the company of older folk, and delving – for the first time – into the possibility of young romance. And of course, singing. Always singing – his first, last, undying passion. It’s something stamped in his DNA, the blueprint to his life.
Songs from the Heart is a collection of music that is sure to be loved by his wide fan base. Tracks on the album include Amazing Grace, Till I Hear You Sing, Climb Every Mountain, Bridge Over Troubled Water, My Heart Will Go On and several others.
Mark is in Perth this weekend for Channel Seven’s Telethon. I caught up with him yesterday, the day his new album was released. I chatted to him as part of the Morning Café, my radio program on 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.
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