WASO

Paul Daniel Previews WASO 2012

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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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WASO to Infinity and Beyond

Jul 9th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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Western Australia certainly has an incredible symphony orchestra. I’ve experienced the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in various settings and they never fail to impress.

I’ve seen them supporting acts like Human Nature and Glen Campbell through to playing for the West Australian Ballet and much more. They’re always superb.

Tonight was certainly no exception. Our family headed to the Perth Concert Hall for an amazing musical experience as guests of the orchestra.

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra launched the audience on a journey to infinity and beyond with Space Classics.

They played classics such as Holst’s The Planets and the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as John Williams’ music from Superman, the Thunderbirds theme, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Conductor and presenter Anthony Inglis was superb with a wonderful mix of music and humour. I only wish that he was spending more time in Perth. I would have loved the opportunity to interview him on my morning radio programme.

I loved the mix of familiar movie music with some more unknown music (at least to me it was) like three movements from Holst’s The Planet’s Suite. One interesting side note was that while I was listening to Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets, I recognised part of the music. I had to think for a few seconds but then it hit me; it was Daddy Cool’s song Make Your Stash. (Ross Wilson was obviously influenced by Holst. Who would have guessed?)

I don’t know if tickets are still available for the Saturday night concert but if there are any left and in in Perth, grab some and get there.

Late last week I spoke with Marshall McGuire, Executive Manager, Artistic Planning with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM about the concerts. Click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post to hear more about Space Classics and other concerts coming up with WASO.

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Touching History

May 30th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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Last night I touched history.

I took Emily and James to Bugs Bunny at the Symphony and after the show the conductor and show’s creator, George Daugherty, invited us backstage for a few minutes. In the picture I’m holding the original Dobro slide guitar that was used in the Looney Tunes cartoons of the 30s and 40s. George even let James have a quick go at making one of the classic Looney Tunes sound effects with the guitar. (Click the photo for a much closer look.)

I wrote about the show a couple of days ago in my post Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. Last night we got to experience it … and oh what an experience.

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony has been described as a spectacular fusion of classic Warner Bros. cartoons projected on the big screen, accompanied by their original scores played live by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. It didn’t disappoint. The richness of the orchestra combined beautifully with the genious of those early cartoons. George gave the audience an entertaining thumbnail sketch of the cartoons’ history, highlighting the amazing musical talents of those who created the scores of the pieces we experienced.

We were kept entertained by the antics of the world’s most popular Looney Tunes characters including Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, and of course Bugs Bunny, featuring in classics such as What’s Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, Long- Haired Hare, A Corny Concerto and many more favourites.

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony was performed at Burswood Theatre three times across Friday and Saturday.

Emmy Award winner George Daugherty has conducted almost every major American symphony orchestra as well as a long list of international ensembles. It was an absolute pleasure to catch up with him after the show. The invite to meet with him came after he was my special guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM several days ago. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

I do hope that George makes it back to Perth sometime soon.

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Rediscovering a love of music

Feb 8th, 2010

by Rodney Olsen.

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Ashley Arbuckle How long has it been since you picked up a musical instrument? Do your playing days seem long ago?

One man is hoping to make a difference for musicians in Perth as he helps them rediscover the joy of playing music.

Ashley Arbuckle is a past concertmaster of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and former co-leader of the London Symphony Orchestra.

He has developed a very high reputation as a teacher of the violin and is currently artistic director of the WA Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ashley has now developed plans to lead a new string orchestra with a difference. Encore Strings is an orchestra for those who’ve packed their instruments away thinking life has become too busy to enjoy playing music together with other music lovers.

I want people to rekindle their passion for music by bringing their violins, violas, cellos and basses out from under the bed and dusting them off.

Ashley joined me in the studio during my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM today to tell listeners a little more about his vision for Encore Strings. We also talked about the variety of musical styles that have been enhanced with orchestral backing. Ashley tells a great story of an encounter with Frank Zappa when the London Symphony Orchestra was recording with him.

You can hear our chat by clicking the play button at the bottom of this post.

Ashley understands well the pain of life without being able to play music. Some years ago it was thought that his musical career could be over due to injury. Thankfully, he made a full recovery after successful brain surgery by the renowned Sydney neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo.

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Human Nature with WASO

Mar 3rd, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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Life is starting to settle down to normal after a long weekend in Western Australia.

We headed out to the magnificent Kings Park and Botanic Gardens on Saturday evening to see Human Nature with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

There were a couple of rain showers before the guys made it to the stage so there was a little concern that the weather would set in and the concert would have to be cancelled. Thankfully nothing more came of it so we were able to stay dry for the rest of the night.

WASO is great no matter what they’re playing and having Human Nature singing their hits with the backing of such a superb orchestra made for a magical evening. All in all it was a fabulous family night out.

As I was sitting on our blanket I realised that I just can’t sing like those guys, I don’t look that good in a suit, and I certainly could never manage the moves that they do. I guess that’s why they sell truckloads of albums and I don’t.