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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