Perth Symphony Orchestra

PSO’s End Of Financial Year Giving Campaign off to a great start!

Perth Symphony launched it’s Annual End Of Financial Year Giving Campaign at the end of May. Having recently been granted DGR Status, all donations made to the orchestra over $2 are now tax deductible.

We have five donation levels:

In the first week of the campaign, we were so humbled to receive two ‘blue’ donations, as well as so many generous donations of varying amounts. As Perth Symphony is a completely unfunded orchestra, every dollar counts and we work our best to make every cent stretch as far as possible.

Click HERE to find out more about our 2015 EOFY Giving Campaign and to make a donation today.

Words of praise from John Farnham and Chong Lim

Words from John Farnham:

In my 40 years of touring, this [Perth Symphony] was the tightest orchestra I have ever worked with!

Easter weekend saw members of Perth Symphony Orchestra travel to Margaret River (one of our favourite places in WA!) to perform on stage with Australian pop sensations – John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John.

Chong Lim – John Farnham’s long standing Musical Director, is also MD for Australia’s Dancing with the Stars and has in the past worked with artists including Olivia Newton-John and Kylie Minogue. This talented man took a long, hard look through John and Olivia’s incredible back catalog of hits and rearranged crowd favourites for a symphony orchestra, to be debuted at Sandalford Winery, here in WA.

Chong was an absolute pleasure and inspiration to work with. For someone who is constantly surrounded by Australia’s stars, he was humble and approachable, and shared a very similar vision of the future of music as we do, here at Perth Symphony.

“Olivia, John and I had a great time working with The Perth Symphony. The orchestra has a wonderful sound and the enthusiasm and hard work from all the players and the administrative staff made it a very enjoyable experience. Nothing was too difficult. Thank you and best of luck!!!”

The concert was so much fun – with John and Olivia showing that they’ve still go ‘IT’. The orchestra couldn’t help but smiling and singing along to favourites such as Summer Lovin’ and Get Physical, and there was an eruption from the crowd with the opening of The Voice, and again when the iconic Pipers appeared on stage!

After the concert, the orchestra, band and artists were buzzing with excitement with the first show of the tour a success! John Farnham had only praise and thanks for Perth Symphony – saying we were the tightest orchestra he had worked with in his 40 years of touring and performing!

What a night!

‘PERTH SYMPHONY FRIEND’S SPECIAL BRYN TERFEL STORY

The Perth Symphony FRIENDS membership program is a great way to connect with music and Perth Symphony, and perhaps even make dreams come true..!

Malcolm Pratt has been a long time supporter of Perth Symphony, and chairman of the Perth Symphony Friends committee. If you’ve seen us play before, you most likely would have seen Chief Conductor – Jessica Gethin conducting from a beautiful Jarrah podium, which was kindly donated by Malcolm.

We were able to give him some VIP tickets to see Perth Symphony play down at the Leeuwin Concert at the beginning of March and this is his incredible story..

“My late wife (Joan) passed away five years ago about a month before my birthday. After the funeral I began the task of going through her things to send those suitable to The Good Sammy’s when I discovered that she had already purchased my present. We used to buy each other CD’s as by our age we had virtually everything we really wanted. I had seen this particular new release advertised on the TV and happened to mention that I wouldn’t mind buying it as it was my favourite male singer singing some of my favourite songs. The CD was Bryn Terfel’s “Bad Boys”.

In conversation, I mentioned to Bourby that it was unlikely that I would go to the Leeuwin Concert and told her the story asking if she could possibly get Bryn to sign the CD for me as it has special significance to me. Not only did PSO arrange for me to attend the concert, they arranged for me to meet Bryn after the performance in his dressing room. He was gracious and generous with his time, and after I told him the story of how the last thing my wife gave me was a Bryn Terfel CD, he generously inscribed the CD for me. It now has even greater importance to me and is among my most treasured possessions.

The concert itself was terrific, I loved the variety of songs Bryn chose which displayed his mastery of opera and musical theatre, If I Were A Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof is a particular favourite of mine and i smiled at hearing a Jewish milkman with a broad Welsh accent!! Rachelle Durkin was not overshadowed at all and displayed a beautiful sense of comic timing which nearly stole the show and I thought the PSO’s solo performance of the piece by Ian Grandage utterly spellbinding and perfect for the setting the lighting effects were simply brilliant.

Having now lost my Leeuwin Concert virginity I look forward to joining PSO there again soon.”

Leeuwin Concert for 2015

The Leeuwin Concert weekend is over once more, and what a weekend it was.

Perth Symphony played on stage alongside Bryn Terfel, Rachelle Durkin and Lisa McCune in the beautiful Margaret River region of WA.

Bryn, Rachelle and Lisa performed as soloists and paired up for some incredible duets, featuring opera favourites and popular musical theatre tunes. Perth Symphony opened the concert with the Crown Imperial March, followed by Bryn, in a dramatic opening with an aria from the opera ‘Boito’, whistles and all!

Rachelle had the audience captivated from the moment she walked on stage, took a ‘selfie’ with Perth Symphony conductor Jessica Gethin and the 6000 strong crowd and announced she was ‘up the duff’. Her voice was flawless, and her stage presence was second to none. Bryn and Rachelle performed a number of duets, each showcasing why they are two of the top opera singers in the world at the moment.

Lisa McCune was a beautiful addition to the bill performing light-hearted Musical Theatre tunes that everyone could sing along to.

One of the highlights of the night was Perth Symphony’s performance of ‘All that Glisters’ by Australian composer Iain Grandage. We have received an enormous amount of feedback on the night and in the days following the performance. It is so wonderful to hear what an impression this ‘homegrown’ piece was able to make.

Ron Banks from the West Australian wrote a wonderful review:

“And a word of praise for the Perth Symphony Orchestra, which has been in existence only since 2011 and is fast earning a reputation for quality musicianship to rival WASO under its conductor Jessica Gethin.”

Read the full review here.

See the full gallery of photos on our ‘Watch and Listen‘ page.

Photo credits: Leeuwin Estate and Elements Margaret River

Fabulous reviews for Joondalup’s Valentine’s Concert

Capacity crowds attended the 2015 City of Joondalup Valentine’s Concert on Thursday 12^th February to listen to David Hobson and Silvie Paladino perform some of Broadway’s favourite songs, accompanied by 56-piece Perth Symphony Orchestra. The air was buzzing with excitement as people queued from well before doors open to ensure they got the best seats on the greens!

Perth Symphony had an absolute ball performing with these talented Australians, and their banter and charisma on stage kept the 8000 strong audience captivated from start to finish.

“I’ve never been on a golf course singing to 8000 people but the venue was fantastic and the crowd was great and so responsive, standing up at the end and dancing with us.” – Silvie Paladino

World renowned tenor, David Hobson said the concert was among the best outdoor shows he had performed in.

“The geography and the landscape of the (Joondalup Resort) golf course are just so beautiful,” he said. “We were very spontaneous with a lot of numbers we did and we were lucky enough to have an orchestra that responded so quickly.”

Read the full review here.

Photo credit to the City of Joondalup.

An exclusive offer from AHG!

EXCLUSIVE OFFER for
Perth Symphony Orchestra Staff and Supporters
Valid until March 31st, 2015

As a proud partner of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, AHG is offering you – our friends and followers – the opportunity to receive a $100 voucher to use off your next service at your local AHG dealership when you register your details at ahg.com.au.

This voucher can be used with any scheduled service or repair on any make or model of passenger or commercial vehicle. Plus, as an added bonus, you will also receive a Free Summer Safety Check*.

With over 30 Service Centres across Perth and Western Australia, AHG offers the most professional level of vehicle servicing with fully qualified service technicians, genuine parts and the latest tools and diagnostic equipment.

*Conditions: Only valid at an AHG dealership. To redeem offer, present voucher to salesperson or service advisor prior to sale negotiations. Excludes Fleet Vehicles. Only one voucher per customer, per vehicle. Not redeemable for cash. Valid until 31 March 2015. ^Terms and conditions apply. Refer to dealer for more details.

A new visual identity for PSO!

We are extremely excited to share our new visual identity – via our brand new website – with you, thanks to the team at Linkletters.

Amy first heard Perth Symphony at the 2014 Leeuwin Estate Concerts and wanted to help us communicate our story to the widest audience possible – capturing the magic that is PSO in the process.

“The colours, images, and movement in our new brand, all capture exactly the unique energy Perth Symphony has on stage”.
Bourby Webster, Director, Perth Symphony.

Amy worked with us to really define the X Factor that makes everything we do special. We realised there are five words we keep at the front of our mind when creating every event and concert. These words are:

IMMERSIVE
UNEXPECTED
MEMORABLE
MAGICAL
FUN!

We also worked on the idea that Perth Symphony brings a unique energy, putting an electric current through every venue, every concert, every performance, and every location in which we perform.

Amy and her team found a way to visually capture this idea of ‘energy’ and we are really excited to see a vivid ‘current’ flow through our imagery. Look out for many more ideas and initiatives to build on this idea in future!

We feel the bright colours, strong bold fonts, and electric current absolutely captures everything Perth Symphony represents – and we hope you do too! We also hope our website creates a sense of what we do, and how we do it, being bright, bold, easy to navigate and with key information easy to find.

To see more of Linkletters in action, or to contact Amy, visit the website.

Conductor, Jessica Gethin, talks Symphony by the Lake

Symphony by the Lake – Scotch College Playing Fields
Sat 8th March 2014

Chief Conductor of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, Jessica Gethin, is the woman responsible for guiding a mass of talent through an epic journey of two hours of music at the PSO’s Summer Proms Concert, Symphony by the Lake to be held on Saturday 8th March 2014. Here she reveals why she loves her job and what she is most looking forward to:

1) What do you enjoy most about conducting the Perth Symphony Orchestra in concert?

As a conductor I have the opportunity to work with a number of different orchestras, but there is a unique energy and vitality about the PSO that makes it feel like I am where I really belong every time I step on the podium. The players are open to new ideas and have a unique fresh energy and an approach where everyone wants to unify the sound and create something special. You can feel the support from the musicians and know that the quality is always going to be superb and the players are going to enjoy it. This means I know the audience is going to enjoy it as well.

2) What makes Symphony by the Lake so special?

This is a very special concert for Perth Symphony Orchestra as it was the first concert the Perth Symphony Orchestra launched under our own name, but it’s also our ‘home’ concert … like the the Eagles and Dockers playing the derby … all the fans rally around and really support it – it’s like that for this concert. It is OUR concert for our audience that we get to fully program. Through this concert we get to fully realise our artistic vision and can program the music we know people want to hear and we want to play. We can feature repertoire that we feel is so wanted and so needed in Western Australia and we can do this through Symphony by the Lake.

3) What can we expect from the program in 2014?

Patrons can expect a highly entertaining concert with a huge variety of works – a little bit of film, a little bit of classical, a little bit of contemporary, there will be something in there for everyone, from the young to the old to families, to classical music lovers to first time concert goers. We hope we have something there for everyone. It will simply be a fantastic evening out under the stars with friends, a picnic and with an orchestra that will love every minute of performing for them. I’ve worked really hard on the program and will be rehearsing the orchestra very hard to ensure it is a night like no other in Western Australia – our signature night!

BOOK NOW to secure tickets to this wonderful event.

Strings in Spring

Strings in Spring – Lake Claremont
Free Concert
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Sat 2nd November 2013

Hosted by Jessica Gethin and featuring; End of Fashion front man, singer Justin Buford, Mike Perkins on drums and the Perth Symphony Orchestra String Section, playing a range of contemporary hits like you’ve never heard them before. North Street Music has produced a unique FREE concert for the Town of Claremont. Strings in Spring is a free family concert at Lake Claremont, at the end of Stirling Road in Claremont, on Saturday 2nd November from 5.30pm – 7.30pm. Experience strings performing contemporary hits from Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, INXS, the Eurythmics to Adele and many more. Featuring guest singer, Justin Burford from the hit band, End of Fashion. A concert like no other, this FREE family concert fuses the classical, contemporary and rock genres and will feature members of the Perth Symphony Orchestra String Section playing strings like you have never heard before! Guest singer Justin Buford, will perform throughout this concert intermixed with instrumental versions of contemporary tunes. This FREE concert will appeal to all ages and is not to be missed! Simply turn up on the day and sing along to songs you know reworked in a whole new way!

About Justin Burford

Over the past 10 years, Justin has carved out a legacy for himself, releasing three records, earning platinum sales and receiving a multitude of awards including two ARIAs. More recently, Justin has turned his eye to acting and played the lead role of Drew in the Australian production of the Broadway smash-hit musical, Rock Of Ages, for which he was nominated for a Helpmann Award. The Age described Justin’s singing voice as akin to “honey with gravel in it” and his performance received a five star rating in their review.

In 2012, Justin wrote and performed in his own show KURT that was premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The show was a smashing success, playing two sold out nights and receiving consistently glowing reviews. 2012 also saw Justin moving over into the field of screen acting; landing the lead roles in three short films before writing and performing in his own black comedy short, See You Next Wednesday, due for completion 2013.

This year will also see the completion of Justin’s first feature film. Justin won the lead role of Jesse Milton in the locally produced supernatural thriller, Foreshadow. He has also made an impact with his guest appearances on up coming web series productions, The Legend Of Gavin Tanner and Super Dingo 2.0 as the delightfully villainous, light sabre swinging Garth Roth.

In his rare stints of down time, Justin enjoys the arts and is currently working on a series of paintings for his own show. Music however, will always be a passion for Justin and he can still be found performing solo acoustic shows at local venues with an eclectic mix of his well known originals and favourite covers.

Swing on This @ BREC – 25th & 26th July 2014

Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre
Fri & Sat 25th / 26th July, 2014

It’s finally here! The brand new Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre (BREC) kicks off with an amazing Opening Festival. The headline community concert event is the new show “Swing on This” featuring a wealth of TV stars and a Perth Symphony Orchestra Big Band.

Bunbury’s golden girl Natalie Barr is our guest of honour and will MC this community concert in celebration of the Grand Opening of the newly expanded and refurbished BREC.

For a very low $20 per ticket, bring the whole family along to see a host of fantastic Australian performers including comedian Peter Rowsthorn and Swing On This, a full-scale cabaret feast starring Michael Falzon (We Will Rock You, Rock of Ages), Luke Kennedy (The Voice, The Ten Tenors), Matt Lee (So You Think You Can Dance, Mary Poppins) and Ben Mingay (Wonderland, An Officer and a Gentleman).

In Swing on This, these Australia’s leading stage talents deliver a modern, audacious take on some of the all-time swing classics along with ‘well-swung’ interpretations of rock and pop songs that have defined the last four decades.

Your toes will be tapping to the sophisticated sounds of the fifties through to the nineties and noughties.