Classical Music from WASO

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.

Join us for a romantic evening under the stars with a very special concert of songs and symphony performed by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO).

Inspired by love, WASO will take to the stage with a rousing program of music from some of the most loved composers of all time, including Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Dvorak.

The full force of WASO will be joined by jazz vocalist Ali Bodycoat and up-and-coming young cellist Max Wung.

This promises to be a truly stunning evening, and a rare opportunity to see WASO play a free outdoor concert, so make sure you’re there!

Food trucks and picnicking open at 6pm, with the concert starting at 7pm.

Claremont Park is on a number of bus routes and only a short walk from Claremont train station, so we encourage you to walk, cycle, or use public transport if you can. If you do need to drive, parking is available in the Claremont Town Centre.

This is a free event for the whole community.

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.

You-Know-Who is not the only one who has returned—Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are back as well in this unforgettable concert event. Relive the magic with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ displayed on a giant screen in high-definition and accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. See Harry and his friends race through the Department of Mysteries, practice Defense Against the Dark Arts in secret, and endure Professor Umbridge—all with Nicholas Hooper’s iconic score!

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

For centuries, the symphony has been the ultimate canvas for composers to express their innermost thoughts and feelings at scale. Join presenter Paul Rissmann as he explores the motivation behind four landmark works, in a playlist that ranges from classical beauty to unadulterated horror.

HAYDN: Symphony No.104: Finale
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique: 5th movement
MAHLER: Symphony No.5: Adagietto
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No.5: 4th movement

Paul Rissmann: presenter
Benjamin Northey: conductor

The gentle breeze of spring, the cracked red earth of the Aussie outback, the savagery of a winter storm, waves crashing on a rugged coastline. Conductor Christopher Dragon leads us through music of vivid imagery and immense power to celebrate extraordinary landscapes and mother nature’s glory and fury.

Program to include:
SCULTHORPE: Earth Cry
MAX RICHTER: Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons: Spring
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No.6 Pastoral (excerpts)
MENDELSSOHN: The Hebrides

Christopher Dragon: conductor/presenter

‘I am a Jedi, like my father before me…’

Darth Vader readies the second Death Star to unleash the final blow to the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO join Princess Leia to free Han Solo from the vile crime lord, Jabba the Hutt. Reunited, the Rebels race to the moon of the planet Endor where they launch a desperate attack upon the entire Imperial Fleet.

Nicholas Buc conductor

This performance includes subtitles on the screen.

Beethoven’s powerful overtures set the scene for his most thrilling symphony. More than 200 years since its premiere, the driving momentum of Beethoven's seventh pulses with red-blooded vitality. In the hands of conductor Ludovic Morlot, it will lift you up from your seat as it climaxes with a finale of wild abandon and unrestrained joy.

Of all Beethoven’s symphonies, his seventh is the most thrilling. More than 200 years since its premiere, its driving momentum pulses with red-blooded vitality. In the hands of conductor Ludovic Morlot, Beethoven’s seventh will lift you up from your seat as it climaxes with a finale of wild abandon and unrestrained joy.

Beethoven’s powerful overture sets the scene for Absolute Jest, John Adams’ witty and playful take on the ecstatic energy of Beethoven’s music, performed here with the Australian String Quartet.

The sun rises on Debussy’s daydreaming faun as acclaimed French conductor Ludovic Morlot returns to WASO with this blissful program. Music of high spirits and captivating melodies culminates in Ravel’s irresistible depiction of lovers at daybreak that will dance into your heart.