Perth Concert Hall

You can smell the coconut oil, taste the salty air, and feel the sand between your toes.

But before the Freo Doctor comes in, WASO is taking the temperature up a notch! Conductor Benjamin Northey brings the sunny, unstoppable good vibes to lead WASO and special guests through a concert program bursting with classical hits.

From Vivaldi to Gershwin and Ravel, we’ve pulled out all the stops, so come on down, grab a drink and relax with the perfect addition to your summer soundtrack.

Experience an evening of wondrous music inspired by the world’s oceans, waves, ships and those who journey on them.

PROGRAM:

The Little Mermaid Suite Menken

La Mer Debussy

A Sea Symphony Vaughan Williams

ARTISTS:

Katja Webb Soprano

Kristin Bowtell Baritone

Western Australian Charity Orchestra and Choir directed by Samuel Parry

Created on country in North East Arnhem Land with the Yunupinu family, Bungul is a ceremonial celebration of one of the transcendent albums of our time. You are invited into an immersive experience of the dances, songs, country and paintings that inspired Gurrumul’s award-winning final album, Djarrimirri (Child of the Rainbow), in a live performance by Yolngu dancers, songmen and the  West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Senior Yolngu Don Wininba Ganambarr and Nigel Jamieson direct this majestic union of two disparate worlds. Bungul offers a unique window into the extraordinary power, understanding and beauty of Yolngu culture.

Yolngu don’t have books or computers. They carry it here (in the heart) in their song, their dance, their paintings.  – Don Wininba Ganambarr

A Bunggul is a ceremony, a gathering ground: A meeting place of dance, song and ritual.

Created on country in North East Arnhem Land with the Yunupingu family, Bunggul is a ceremonial celebration of one of the transcendent albums of our time. A production of immense Yolngu spirit, it invites us to experience the traditional songs, dances and paintings that inspired Gurrumul’s final album, Djarrimirri (Child of the Rainbow), in a live performance by Yolngu dancers, Songmen and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Just as Gurrumul’s music opened a doorway into Yolngu culture, Bunggul is an invitation to further experience the depth, strength, beauty of his world.

Birds have fascinated poets for centuries, not just for their song and flight but as symbols of hope, freedom, love, communication, peace, luck and migration. What better way to honour them than by sending songs out into the air?

Using the words of John Keats, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, Judith Wright, Thomas Hardy and others, each of these 13 new songs and soundscapes is its own world – delicate and intimate at times, colossal and soaring at others.

His commanding presence – very tall, and with one of the largest hand-spans of any pianist – is at odds with the delicacy and finesse for which he’s famous. Half a tonne of glossy black wood and gleaming metal becomes a time machine, allowing the music of his favourite composers to speak to us with uncluttered immediacy. If you just want to hear good music beautifully performed, this is an ideal opportunity.

"Ohlsson is one of the great American pianists" - The Washington Post 

International siren and comedienne extraordinaire Meow Meow opens our Kabarett Haus accompanied by the full force of West Australian Symphony Orchestra with Pink Martini's Thomas M Lauderdale on keys.

Join the spectacular queen of song for an unforgettable evening of exquisite music and much mayhem. Prepare for Piazzolla tangos, Weill, Brecht, Brel – even Radiohead – alongside original chansons by Meow Meow, as this postpost-modern diva showcases her glorious brand of subversive and sublime entertainment.

A night of piano, pain and laughter from an artist that defies defenition. Adored by fans of the inventive punk cabaret and darkly original song craft of her former band The Dresden Dolls, Amanda Palmer's unapologetic solo career has been aesthetically boundless and undeniably ambitious.

Now, she brings her critically acclaimed one-woman show down under. Experience her raw emotion, intensely personal lyrics, incredible musicality and intimate interplay with the audience as she performs solo on piano, sharing songs and stories in one epic concert experience. 

After starting his career as a journalist in the 1980s, Gaiman began writing comics before moving onto novels. He is now the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen beloved books for adults and children, many of which have been adapted for television and the big screen.

Spend an afternoon with one of world’s most renowned storytellers at this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Chained in a secret dungeon, an innocent man awaits certain death. But in Beethoven’s ode to love, risk and triumph, there is one prison guard who holds the key to his fate. Fidelio is the uplifting tale of Leonore, a heroic woman who creates a daring plan to free her husband from wrongful imprisonment, and the tyranny that put him there.

Under the direction of Asher Fisch, Beethoven’s score blazes with soul-stirring emotion in this concert production of a work rarely performed in Perth. German soprano Christiane Libor delivers a mighty, no-holds-barred performance as Leonore, leading one of the finest casts ever assembled in Australia.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, Fidelio is presented as a hallmark work of the 2020 Perth Festival. Featuring the full force of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Opera Chorus and WASO Chorus with narrator Eryn Jean Norvill, this once in a generation retelling of one of the most inspiring stories ever set to music is completely unmissable.

Opera in concert sung in German with English subtitles

One of the major music influencers of his generation, piano pop sensation Ben Folds delivers a cavalcade of hits, like 'Landed', 'Capable of Anything', and 'Luckiest' fifteen years after his first ever orchestral concert right here in Perth.

The multi-platinum-selling artist has since released numerous collaboration records, and created music for film, TV and a Billboard chart-topping piano concerto. Folds, who currently serves as the first ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, just recently released his first book, a memoir entitled 'A Dream About Lightning Bugs', described as a collection of interrelated essays and anecdotes about art, life, and music. He’s also currently touring Australia on a book promotion tour.

But there is no better way to experience one of the modern world’s most distinctive singer-songwriters than with the full power of WASO!

Living, breathing, and dangerous, fire is an element of nature we sometimes cannot control. It's a symbol of passion, destruction and wonder. Conductor and presenter extraordinaire Guy Noble will ignite this red hot program that expresses through music the awesome power of fire to destroy, create or illuminate a night sky in dazzling technicolour bursts.

What is Naked Classics about?

Great music, a relaxed atmosphere, entertaining insights from our presenters, and the full force of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra - all in about an hour. Grab a drink, bring it to your seat, and embrace Thursday like it’s Friday with Naked Classics, our new stripped back social sessions. 6.30pm start, no interval, no worries. Bring your friends and colleagues.

On World Environment Day, we participate in an international United Nations-led project to inspire everyone to take a stance on climate change. Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony is an evocative portrait of the harmonious and fragile unity between mankind and nature that blooms with rich detail in the hands of Asher Fisch.

Britten’s timeless Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is endlessly entertaining. Iain Grandage will guide us on a journey of infectious discovery with one of the world’s most enduring classics. Bring the family. 

It was here, 180 years ago, that war broke out between traditional owners and those who sought to dispossess them of their land.

Combining moving poetry, two choirs, orchestra and the platform of the Requiem mass, a history of heartbreak and horror is revealed in this monumental new work. With a fusion of Western classical tradition and First Nations culture, Eumeralla soars with resilience and reconciliation.

DEBORAH CHEETHAM: Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace

Benjamin Northey: conductor
Deborah Cheetham: soprano (Yorta Yorta)
Linda Barcan: mezzo soprano
Don Bemrose: baritone (Gungarri)
WASO: Chorus
Dhungala Children’s Choir

Sometimes we’re dressed in black playing Mozart and sometimes we’re breeding raptors and in cosplay! We’re bringing old favourites and new surprises for our third year running. You told us what you wanted to hear and we’ve answered the call in a concert program of pure magic with your favourite scores from movies like Jurassic Park, How to Train Your Dragon and Jaws, video games like Final Fantasy and even more pop-culture fun from the wizarding world and beyond.

Whether you’re a Wonder Woman warrior or a fully-armoured Thor, grab your mates, dress up and come along to this fun fantasy night with WASO!

Christopher Dragon conductor