Annabelle Drumm

WOOLLAHRA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA : DESTINATIONS AND ADVENTURES

Last weekend saw two family concerts from the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra held at the St Columba Uniting Church in Woollahra, Sydney. The orchestra was founded in 1996 comprised of a mix of amateur and professional musicians with a shared passion to enrich the community with their wonderful concerts throughout the year. Titled “Destinations and Adventures” the program featured a mix of crowd pleasers from film and theatre ideal for younger audience members and newcomers to classical music.

Despite the winter temperatures and frequent downpours, they had a full house with the crowd spilling over into the choir seats on each side. Musicians were decked out in fun costumes, helium balloons waved in the air scattered amongst the orchestra seats, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. Many of the children arrived in costume as well.

Beginning with a blast from the Star Wars Suite by John Williams was a brilliant way to grab their attention leaving many faces bursting with an infectious grin or simply with jaw dropped. So often movie goers don’t realise the magnificent music they are hearing on the screen has been produced by an orchestra so it’s a great way to connect the dots.

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite completed the first half. A very complex work which challenged the orchestra at times but is a true classic with every part of it enjoyable. There was even an unexpected ballet solo when cellist Cindy Pan emerged from the orchestra in a pink tutu to accompany the Dance of the Lilies. Paul Cheung expertly performed Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on a synthesiser tuned to match the sound of a Celeste keyboard and Marjorie Maydwell shone in her solo on a harp decorated with tulle and fairy princesses. The Guest conductor was John Buckley who comes from a Defence Force background showing clear, concise leadership with what looked like a particular affinity with the brass section, seemed to very much enjoy the performance.

The second half of the program featured March of the Toys from Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toyland, the very moving Gabriel’s Oboe from the film The Mission featuring Orchestra member Karen Evans doing a great job, then a lesser known work Ecstatic Dance by Australian composer Ross Edwards and finishing as grand as they started with John Williams’ Theme from Jurassic Park.

Big applause from the audience demanded an encore. The orchestra answered with the nostalgic sing-along Que Sera Sera arranged by Buckley himself in memory of a recently departed orchestra member Muriel Laverty. It was clear the orchestra’s passion for sharing their music extends into a wonderful community feel amongst its members in a way a professional group can never quite achieve. As an integral step on the ladder between the amateur and professional worlds this orchestra definitely deserves our support to continue their wonderful work.  

The orchestra will next perform 11 August. I highly recommend you get your tickets early. Visit their website for more details http://wpo.org.au

 

Published by Annabelle Drumm

Annabelle Drumm grew up in a theatre family and has worked out front and behind the scenes in Arts, Media and Entertainment for the majority of her career. She was a professional Performing Artist herself for 9 years, ran a Dance Company for 6 years and founded/managed a Booking Agency over 15 years promoting Performing Artists from Australia and New Zealand to an international audience. She spent 10 years as a Creative Business Coach and was selected as an inaugural member of the Arts and Culture Advisory panel to the Inner West Council. Annabelle served as a Breakfast Radio Host for 2MBS Fine Music 102.5FM for 7 years, was Anchor Host for their "Live from the Joan" simulcast and provided Musicology talks at The Concourse and Sydney Opera House. She is passionate about supporting the Performing Arts in Australia, offering her expertise with the goal of raising standards and growing live audience numbers.