Music

Paul Daniel Previews WASO 2011

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Paul Daniel is Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO).

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 2011 season and he joined me in the studio this morning during my radio program 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.

WASO’s vision is to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Throughout 2011 we’ll be turning that aspiration into reality, reaching out into the community and touching the lives of people across Western Australia.

Our 2011 season builds on the great successes of previous seasons, and also introduces some new ideas.

You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player below.

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Soundtrack of My Life – You Are in My System

Nov 1st, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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YouTube is full of memories. The video below of Robert Palmer takes me back over 25 years to the days when I’d walk into Happy Granny’s at Scarborough Beach sometime after midnight with a couple of good friends. It was a hamburger place and even before I got to the counter Ursula would be calling my order into the microphone. “One Tri-Burger, no salad, large chips, and a caramel thick shake.” Yes, I was really that predictable and I really did eat that badly.

Once I’d paid for my late night munchies I’d walk over to the video juke box and put in my money so that I could play Robert Palmer’s You Are in My System. I could watch it over and over again.

Back in those days we would sometimes be sitting around at home at 1:00 a.m. and decide to head off to Happy Granny’s for a burger. For the life of me I can not work out why any more. Back then 1 or 2 in the morning seemed like a perfectly reasonable time to grab something significant to eat. These days, the idea of being awake, let alone eating anything, at 11:00 p.m. seems completely unthinkable.

If I could swap one day from 2010 to revisit those times I’d probably do it, but I certainly wouldn’t want to go back there permanently. I’ve got great memories of those times but life is so much better here and now.

As for the song, I’ve never even owned a copy. I’ve got a couple of Robert Palmer CDs but neither contains You Are in My System. Maybe I should find a ‘best of’ that has it some day or maybe it’s just one of those songs that will remain a memory that I can find online every now and then when I want to wander down memory lane.

What songs make up the soundtrack of your life? What memories come flooding back when you hear a particular song?

Robert Palmer died way too soon in 2003 at the age of just 54 from a massive heart attack. An enormous loss to the entertainment world.

Enjoy watching the video …. and make sure you turn it up really loud.

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Talking to Aled Jones

Aug 25th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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Aled Jones began singing in public around three decades ago. He joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral when he was just nine and was lead soloist within two years.

His remarkable voice led to a recording career and before his voice broke at the age of sixteen he had already sold more than six million albums, sung for the Pope performed a private recital for Prince Charles and Lady Diana, and sung at the wedding of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.

After his voice broke he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

In 1995 he secured the leading role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and met his future wife, Claire Fossett, while touring in Blackpool. The couple married in 2001 and now live in London with their two young children, Emilia and Lucas.

These days he has a busy broadcasting career working in both radio and television.

In an age where those who find fame early tend to turn their careers and lives into a train wreck, it’s refreshing to see someone like Aled who still has his feet firmly planted on the ground.

He’s in Perth this week for a concert at Burswood Theatre and so I caught up with him during my morning programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning.

I last spoke to Aled a couple of years ago by phone so it was a real delight to meet him face to face today. If you’d like to hear what we chatted about just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

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Gina Williams’ Remarkable Story

Aug 24th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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For almost two decades Gina Williams has been dedicated to the telling of stories; both her own story and the story of her people.

Gina is a Balladong Noongar woman who uses the traditions of her elders to take audiences on an amazing journey of a proud Aboriginal woman who has struggled through the dysfunction of the past and embraced the hope of the future. Her story unfolded piece by piece in her younger years as she discovered that she was adopted and that she was indigenous. Life seemed to take turn after turn, as she went from one home to another. Gina says she’s one of the few people who can actually claim that she has four families.

Gina is a multi WAMi award winner including The Most Popular Local Original Indigenous Act and this Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings she’ll perform Downstairs at the Maj featuring songs from her album Brilliant Blue.

Gina was my guest during the morning programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM today. You can hear part of her story by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

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Talking to Michael Paynter

Jul 12th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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Even as a young child it was obvious that he had a special connection with music. At the age of 7 he was learning the piano, at age 12 it was the guitar, and by the age of 15 he was playing drums. Combine that with a big voice and you’ve got a winning formula.

Now at 24, Melbourne born Michael Paynter is releasing a five track EP, Love the Fall.

His musical influences are as diverse as Rick Price, Muddy Waters, Elvis, Blink 182, Sam Cooke, Stereophonics and a range of others. His voice has been compared with the big sound of John Farnham.

Clearly he is a guy who is ready to give the musical world a big shake.

I spoke to Michael Paynter on my morning radio programme today. You can hear our chat by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

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