This page is a record of a scholarly article relating to Fremantle.
- Part of: Fremantle Studies Volume 11
- Title: The Amateurs of Perth: Fremantle Symphony Orchestra
- Authors: Natasha Milosevic Meston
- Published: 2017 Fremantle History Society (Fremantle)
- Reference URL: https://freopedia.org/The_Amateurs_of_Perth:_Fremantle_Symphony_Orchestra
- Tags: Fremantle Studies
- Authority control:
Introduction
‘…It is my belief that the cultural development of any community is best measured by the commitment of its amateurs. If this is so, then Perth is a healthy city indeed in cultural terms.’1
Review, December 1988
The City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra has taken on many names over the course of its existence. Beginning as the Melville Orchestral Society in 1961, it next became the Melville Symphony Orchestra. Then in 1981, the ensemble ‘crossed the river’ to become the Nedlands Symphony Orchestra, or the Nedlands Music Association. Finally, after an agreement with the City of Fremantle and several years of performance at the Fremantle Town Hall, the orchestra once again relocated across the river and here found a more permanent home. Since 1993, the historic Fremantle Town Hall has served as the primary venue for a multitude of performances and the ensemble has formally adopted the title of the City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra. Affectionately known by its members as ‘Freddie’s’, the orchestra (referred to hereafter as the FSO) has proven itself to be a vital contributor to the artistic and cultural landscape of Fremantle. Boasting an annual program of four concerts, in addition to auxiliary performances held in conjunction with seasonal events, the orchestra brings classical music performance to Fremantle. The ensemble also holds a significant place in its community in that it is a valuable tool for engaging audience members with local amateur musicians, and vice versa. It is primarily these functions of the FSO that this paper will henceforth expand on, evaluate, and celebrate as vital contributions to the City of Fremantle’s cultural landscape.
My first experience with the FSO was as a first-year university student. I had just emerged from seven years of highly competitive primary and secondary musical education. I had always loved the magic of recreating the works of musical geniuses such as Mozart, Stravinsky, and Verdi and was proud to have achieved a level of technical mastery of a notoriously challenging instrument; the French Horn. Throughout high school, I had led my section through competitive festivals, memorial services and an international tour to the Western Front. However, much of my experience with musical performance had been overshadowed by feelings of anxiety. A small mistake in a classical music concert can be highly exposed and painfully embarrassing. I was always extremely conscious of how my playing reflected upon both my orchestra and myself as a musician. In effect, I felt that my musical commitments were a burden.
It was for this reason that I made the decision upon entering university to put the music world aside. While musical commitments had previously consumed my time and thoughts, I began to focus on aspects of my life where I wasn’t quite so vulnerable. I embraced the chance to disappear among hundreds of fellow first year Arts students. Lecture halls, I found, were far less stressful than concert halls.
Within this new, low pressure environment, I was invited to fill in for anvice versa. It is primarily these functions of the FSO that this paper will henceforth expand on, evaluate, and celebrate as vital contributions to the City of Fremantle’s cultural landscape. My first experience with the FSO was as a first-year university student. I had just emerged from seven years of highly competitive primary and secondary musical education. I had always loved the magic of recreating the works of musical geniuses such as Mozart, Stravinsky, and Verdi and was proud to have achieved a level of technical mastery of a notoriously challenging instrument; the French Horn. Throughout high school, I had led my section through competitive festivals, memorial services and an international tour to the Western Front. However, much of my experience with musical performance had been overshadowed by feelings of anxiety. A small mistake in a classical music concert can be highly exposed and painfully embarrassing. I was always extremely conscious of how my playing reflected upon both my orchestra and myself as a musician. In effect, I felt that my musical commitments were a burden. It was for this reason that I made the decision upon entering university to put the music world aside. While musical commitments had previously consumed my time and thoughts, I began to focus on aspects of my life where I wasn’t quite so vulnerable. I embraced the chance to disappear among hundreds of fellow first year Arts students. Lecture halls, I found, were far less stressful than concert halls. Within this new, low pressure environment, I was invited to fill in for an absent orchestra member in a community ensemble which rehearsed just down the road from the University of Western Australia. I was extremely apprehensive; after all, I had only ever played with other high school students. Nonetheless, I tentatively agreed to participate. At the first rehearsal I attended, I felt I was being judged by every single member of the orchestra for every wrong note I played. Our conductor was a veteran guest artist of the orchestra; the director of the University of Western Australia School of Music, Dr Alan Lourens. Under his scrutiny, I was unable to play the single note solo given to my part as the second horn in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. I left that rehearsal a wreck. However, each week and each following rehearsal became easier and easier. I learnt my part and began to notice wrong notes coming from other players. I slowly realised the ensemble’s reaction to such mistakes was invariably relaxed. Come the day of the concert, I was confident. After our dress rehearsal, absent orchestra member in a community ensemble which rehearsed just down the road from the University of Western Australia. I was extremely apprehensive; after all, I had only ever played with other high school students. Nonetheless, I tentatively agreed to participate.
At the first rehearsal I attended, I felt I was being judged by every single member of the orchestra for every wrong note I played. Our conductor was a veteran guest artist of the orchestra; the director of the University of Western Australia School of Music, Dr Alan Lourens. Under his scrutiny, I was unable to play the single note solo given to my part as the second horn in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. I left that rehearsal a wreck. However, each week and each following rehearsal became easier and easier. I learnt my part and began to notice wrong notes coming from other players. I slowly realised the ensemble’s reaction to such mistakes was invariably relaxed.
Come the day of the concert, I was confident. After our dress rehearsal, chatty members of the orchestra offered to introduce me to other community ensembles and I began to relax enough to make some friends. The performance began and I saw my family sitting near the back of the hall, enjoying themselves immensely. Nevertheless, I felt a familiar anxiety in my chest as my single note solo approached. The conductor made eye contact with me, my throat closed and my heart began to pound and I quickly realised that my stage fright meant I would be unable to produce a sound from the instrument. And then: a miracle happened. The principal horn, Mandy Herriman, took one look at my panicked face, raised her horn and played the solo herself. It was at that moment that I fell in love with this community orchestra.
I believe this anecdote sums up everything I want to communicate through this paper regarding the FSO. For its audience, the FSO is a way for locals to support their friends and family, or recognise and enjoy the musical talent of their community. For its musicians, this ensemble means a chance to play and perform the often strenuous but always enjoyable works of musical geniuses alongside full-time work and family demands. In short, the FSO provides a chance for socialisation, connection, and support between diverse members of the community.
While Australia’s current political climate seeks to convince its population that ‘the arts’ sit in a position of precarious popularity, musical performance, in the State of Western Australia, in particular, consistently challenges this view. Orchestral concerts continue to thrive across the state as is evidenced by well-attended and well-respected performances of a variety of individual communities. The ensembles which compose and inevitably shape this artistic landscape range from the professional West Australian Symphony Orchestra to amateur, volunteer orchestras. Clearly, one such novice ensemble which lays claim to these successes is the FSO.
As a non-profit organisation, the FSO is particularly dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of classical music as part of the cultural community landscape of Perth. With a regular membership of approximately 60 amateur musicians, the ensemble presents an average of 5 concerts each year. These currently include a subscription series of concerts at the Fremantle Town Hall in addition to performances in various other venues around Perth.2
I began this paper by introducing the ensemble through the lens of my own experience as a part-time participant of the ensemble and explaining my subsequent inspiration behind this research endeavour. In the following parts I will expand my thesis from a more scholarly point of view. First, this paper uses the origins of the orchestra as a foundation toward exploring the empirical, linear history of the ensemble from its humble beginnings. As we begin to trace the growth and adaptations the ensemble has embraced over the decades this part also provides a glimpse into the inner workings of the orchestra. What does the FSO mean to its musicians? Anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies are utilised here to answer this question by showcasing the orchestra’s social significance. The following part outlines the musicianship and vast and varied role of the FSO within its community focusing on collaborations, notable milestone performances, and accolades. This segment also nods to the significance of the ensemble as an avenue for emerging Australian musicians and composers. This is primarily facilitated by longstanding Musical Director, David Pye, and current President, Steve Harmer. Pye and Harmer accommodate new music (including the former’s own) in the FSO’s programmes and emphasise the performance of prestigious or early career soloists. This aspect of the ensemble’s role is a unique and vital contribution to the contemporary music performance landscape of Western Australia. Finally, this paper looks to the future of the orchestra speculating growth and outlining existing obstacles. The paper’s conclusion serves a secondary purpose in promoting the ensemble’s endeavours and events. By encouraging further community engagement with this ensemble, I hope to assist the ensemble’s exciting expansion. In summary, this paper will argue the current position of the FSO as an invaluable part of Fremantle’s cultural heritage.
As a community-run venture, the FSO’s members are themselves vital resources to my paper. I have conducted both oral interviews and written surveys with both musicians and community audience members at performances throughout the year. Specifically the large contingent of veteran members will receive great attention in providing evaluations of how the ensemble has evolved as well as testimonies of the ensemble’s significance to their own lives. Input from executive committee members also inform this paper’s review of administrative aspects and the future of the ensemble. In addition to these living testimonies, I have relied upon the large amount of archival material found in various private collections which members have kindly made available. Archived visual sources such as photographs, performance programs and newspaper clippings, feature heavily in the following pages in order to illustrate the extent of the FSO’s impact. Uniquely, this paper features an extensive appendix containing the web links to audio-visual recordings of the past performances referenced to it which readers may easily access as they wish.
‘Heritage’ may be defined as the intangible, original attributes of a society which have been inherited from the past, maintained in the present, and will be bestowed on the future.3 This paper serves as an overview of the FSO as an ensemble of valuable cultural heritage. I believe the FSO will benefit from the following scholarly attention as it attempts to secure both short and long-term preservation of the ensemble within Fremantle’s vibrant arts scene. This research project, produced in collaboration with the Fremantle History Society, is a proactive effort to preserve, celebrate and promote arts and culture in Fremantle through the documentation of the City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra.
Inside the Orchestra
The players really matter in community orchestras. In a professional orchestra, you play what’s in front of you. In a community orchestra, you don’t like it, you just don’t turn up. And every week, you don’t know who’s going to turn up.4
Various stories exist about the exact beginnings of the FSO. Some posit that its origins lie with the Fremantle Youth Orchestra. Still others remember the previous form of the ensemble, the Nedlands Symphony Orchestra, and claim this was its earliest incarnation. However, it is undeniable that the orchestra’s first form, the Melville Orchestral Society, had a key figure at its helm; Major Bert Saggers.
In March of 1961, 15 musicians gathered in the home of Major Saggers and from this meeting the Melville Orchestral Society was formed. The group was supported by the Shire of Melville and was presided over by Mr A C Brachs. The early evolution of the ensemble has been described as duos which became trios which became quartets which became quintets which became octets (all strings) ... from there other instruments wanted to join ... so a venue had to be found and so began a small orchestra.5
As the group expanded, it relocated from Saggers’ home to Applecross Civic Hall. Thereafter, 15 musicians met weekly to make music together and at regular intervals, concerts were presented. During the early years, the orchestra was conducted by Major Saggers and Mr Doug Robinson.
However, the need soon arose for a dedicated conductor. Three key figures of the orchestra at that time (Ron Palmer, Dick Brown, and Gerry Ligtemoet) took it upon themselves to find and hire an appropriate candidate for such a role. In late 1972, Brown and Ligtemoet interviewed a Peter Bandy in his own Bayswater home. Bandy had a unique set of skills – he had been a teacher, a radio announcer, and an orchestral manager, before finally coming to the profession of conducting and musical directorship. The interview was ultimately successful. By the following year Bandy was the Society’s appointed conductor a position he held for 10 years. During this time Bandy was renowned for his ability to get amateur orchestras ‘up and running’.6 Under Bandy’s baton, the ensemble’s name quickly changed to the Melville Symphony Orchestra. Bandy described this decision as a reflection of the ensemble’s growth into a full-size orchestra; the term Comment ‘symphony orchestra’ ‘sounded less ‘amateurish’!7 The newly branded Melville Symphony Orchestra rehearsed in Tivoli Halland put themselves ‘on the map’ with regular performances.8
On the 15 April 1981 the orchestra ‘crossed the river’ so to speak and was reinvented as the Nedlands Symphony Orchestra (NSO). The move was assisted by the then Mayor of Nedlands, Peter Kyle. As the NSO, the ensemble fell under the umbrella of the Nedlands Music Association headed by Helen Parkinson. During this period, the orchestra began performing in various new locations such as Wesley College, the prestigious Winthrop Hall, and, significantly, its first foray to the Fremantle Town Hall.
Along with the first ‘river crossing’ came the ensemble’s final change of rehearsal venue; rehearsals are held there to this day. Its first rehearsal in the John Leckie Pavilion; however did not exactly make the musicians feel at home. Member Jeremy Hall remembers ‘… [Leckie Pavilion] was just a shed then. No ceiling – just a roof capping and the rain would come dripping in… We would store risers and set them up out of the cupboard every rehearsal and got bits of rug out for those instruments which dribbled’.9 It wasn’t until the venue underwent 2 renovations, funded by the Nedlands City Council, that the Pavilion was transformed into the well-lit and acoustically improved venue it is today. That same year the orchestra performed its inaugural concert in the Perth Concert Hall. A mission statement for the ensemble, which had grown increasingly more official during these years, was devised by then-President Michael Parry. The group’s aim ‘to be Perth’s premier amateur orchestra, a vehicle for young orchestral and solo musicians who are looking for a professional career, an asset to the community at large and all-round nice guys!’10
Ian Westrip, the well-known baritone, briefly held the reins as conductor in 1983 giving the orchestra an operatic leaning and resulting in the birth of several unique collaborations. Performances with ensembles such as the Perth Oratorio Choir, the Fremantle Choir and the Gilbert & Sullivan Society were undertaken in this period.11 By 1985, the lattermost partnership saw the orchestra play five performances of H M S Pinafore. It was in this same year that Henryk Pisarek took over as the orchestra’s conductor. Under his demanding leadership the musicians’ talents were tested as they never had been before.12 Critical comment from a performance at Winthrop Hall noted that ‘it would be difficult for an amateur orchestra to perform better without getting professional musicians in to support it’.13
The fruits of the orchestra’s hard work under Pisarek are certainly observed in the 1986 calendar where the ensemble performed no less than 13 times.14 The NSO also toured extensively to rural locations including Narrogin, Katanning, Moora, and Albany.15 At this time, the ensemble featured a variety of young musicians as a direct consequence of the absence of dedicated youth ensembles. The NSO also included a number of career musicians who had ample free time as what is today known as the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was at that time split into two separate ensembles: a symphony orchestra and a dedicated ‘Arts’ orchestra for WA Opera and ballet performances.16
From January 1986 musical directorship of the NSO passed to Peter Moore, OAM, who also conducted the orchestra.17 Also during this period Sir Charles Court (AK, KCMG, OBE) became the ensemble’s patron, and in June 1991 was even invited to extend his support of the arts to make an appearance as a guest conductor.18
Finally, after an agreement with the City of Fremantle wherein the ensemble was offered discounted use of the Town Hall and following several years’ experience performing in the Fremantle Town Hall, the orchestra relocated across the river once more and found their permanent and current home. Since 1993, the historic Town Hall has served as a permanent location for performances, and the ensemble formally adopted the title of The City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra.
The Committee
‘As a member of an amateur orchestra one meets people from various walks of life – teachers, doctors, salesmen and an orthodontist, to name but a few. This inevitably leads to a variety of ideas and attitudes being contributed to the running of our orchestra,which is undertaken on a voluntary basis by members.’19 As a community orchestra with its roots in a small group of music-loving friends the FSO has always taken an exceedingly light-hearted approach when it comes to its executive committee. As one tongue-in-cheek writer penned in the extinct publication Music Maker in 1987:
While most of the orchestra comes along to rehearse each Wednesday night, not much thought is given to all the work that goes into making everything run smoothly. This job is undertaken by that shadowy gang of faceless men and women known only as The Committee. Membership of this inner circle is restricted to those hardy few who have the time and inclination to keep the orchestral wheels in motion, who have some kind of talent or ability to lend to the organisation, and who have the stamina to endure four-hour meetings each month.20
Current Musical, Director David Pye, graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1980, conducted his first programme with the FSO in 1997 and certainly exemplifies the frequently jocular nature of the FSO’s administration. As he declared during a tricky moment in a recent rehearsal, ‘If I actually ‘get it’ in the gig, you owe me a drink!’21 His background as a percussionist has informed and allowed his compositions, and indeed directorship of the FSO, to embrace 20th and 21st century styles of music. His success in this first season conducting the FSO is reflected by his subsequent election to the role of Musical Director of the ensemble only one year later. The Australian Music Centre characterises his leadership of the FSO as such; ‘his programming … reflects a policy of the encouragement of Australian composers combined with a practical acknowledgement of the importance of audience and orchestra enjoyment of their music-making’.22 Under Pye, the orchestra has performed and premiered a large amount of new music, including Pye’s own. In Pye’s words: ‘(The FSO) is one of Perth’s two leading amateur orchestras… They have been very generous in performing my works over the years’.23 In fact, Pye claims that this aspect of the ensemble’s repertoire is crucial to what makes it such an exciting and relevant group.24
Indeed, the FSO’s characteristic welcoming of any opportunity to play challenging works is a distinctive feature of the ensemble. As one member mentioned in a 1987 article in Music Maker magazine, ‘the majority of members feel that having to deal with difficult symphonies ‘stretches’ their ability much more than the less demanding roles, and therefore improves technique.’25 Prestigious guest conductors also appreciate this characteristic of the ensemble; Peter Moore (OAM) commented that
…on so many occasions an invitation to conduct a concert by a non- professional organisation starts a quest for ‘suitable works’. ‘Will they be too difficult?’ but in the case of the Nedlands Symphony Orchestra these considerations are reduced to a minimum. Indeed, such is their standard that the exciting prospect of being adventurous becomes a possibility.26
Aside from the FSO’s executive committee, the ensemble adopts a largely team-based approach in the handling of daily business. For example, the process of setting up, packing away, and transporting equipment on performance days is solely ensemble-driven.27 ‘Rotations’ of more challenging or exciting parts are organised by the musicians in collaboration with section leaders. As an occasional FSO trumpeter and university student discusses the influences which drove her to participate in the orchestra, she refers to not only ‘orchestral experience [and] to learn new repertoire’, but also ‘friendships with players that asked me to play the concert…’28 The orchestra’s ranks thus depend on inner-section organisation in addition to, as will be discussed in the following pages, a social element.
Socialisation: A cornerstone of the ensemble
Contemporary behavioural research indicates that people who participate in organised, socially-supported recreational activity typically enjoy lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.29 Involvement in the arts specifically provides a sense of achievement and connection to community and cultural events, and its therapeutic effects are commonly used in health care settings to influence mood.30 In this way, the FSO has an unforeseen but substantial mental health benefit to its participants. As such, a high priority of the FSO’s executive committee is the nurturing of the social aspect of music making; both within the regular ensemble, and in providing its musicians the opportunity to interact with the prestigious guest artists which so much of the orchestra’s budget goes towards acquiring. This facilitation is done in several ways.
One such method is the ritual of ‘supper’ during rehearsal break. Aside from a reprieve from the hard work of rehearsals and an opportunity to sample the cooking of fellow musicians (an astrophysicist and horn player lists ‘spring rolls at break’ as a highlight of her FSO experience), historically the FSO committee has been known to use supper as a method of bribery. Lynn [a former President] is still hovering over her telephone, waiting for all you string players out there to ring her and say you’ll join the NSO. They can’t offer money, but an extra biscuit during rehearsal breaks isn’t totally out of the question. They’d really love to see you!31
The diversity of musicians, in age as well as profession, also dictates the atmosphere of the ensemble. As one FSO oboist and classroom teacher puts it
…when we have young people in the orchestra, as we do at the moment, its very fun, it becomes very much a ‘young person’s orchestra’. For example, if you consider the current horn section: you have the great scientist James Risdill-Smith, and he’s there sitting alongside university students being as friendly to them as he would be to people his own age. That’s the wonderful thing amateur music brings with it.32
A concert in 1991, which combined the (no longer operational) Karrinyup Symphony Orchestra with the NSO, also hoped to achieve this aim. The collaboration involved performing music which required large forces of both string and wind instruments (Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and Shostakovich’s Festival Overture). The concert’s program wrote
Up until now the amateur orchestras in and around Perth have lived their lives quite separately, and not without a certain amount of rivalry, so one of the aims of this joint venture has been to get to know each other and to work together in a friendly and cooperative manner.33
Whether this effort to encourage socialisation and an atmosphere of casual enjoyment has been successful is of course a matter of highly subjective opinion. However, readers might inspect the following quotation, taken from a disgruntled critic’s review of a 1986 concert, which called for ‘a little more discipline in getting choir and orchestra back on stage after interval’!34
Interval: Meet the Players
… I thank the Orchestra for their great friendship and trust. It is a shame that you, our audience, cannot share with me the experience of knowing this extraordinary bunch of people, seeing them as you do three or four times a year, all dressed up and clean. I can assure you that, exasperating though they sometimes are,I know no finer group of people and I am proud to work for them.35
Michael Parry, 1983
One of the FSO’s most unique and crucial features is its diversity of musicians. For example, the orchestra boasts several highly respected members of the medical and scientific profession, who have embraced instrumental playing upon retirement as a way of engaging with their community. The FSO has always prided itself on this membership, printing in a programme that ‘its … members come from a very wide range of experience musically, from the university and conservatorium to the ex- professional.’36 The orchestra as a microcosm of the music community will here be explored through the testimonies of three recent members. These musicians’ experiences are both representative of the wider ensemble and evidence of the diversity present within the ensemble.
Jeremy Hall
As a member of the FSO from 1978 to 2016, Jeremy Hall can certainly be called a valuable member of the ensemble. His involvement with the orchestra began after he moved to Perth from the Northern Territory, at which point he immediately began seeking out a place to practice his orchestral playing. He discovered the FSO after he ‘got in contact with any musical names [he] could think of.’37 Hall recalls his experience auditioning
on the oboe as quite daunting; positions for his instrument are considered rare in any standard symphony orchestra.
‘To join the orchestra, I had to go to Peter Bandy’s house and audition before him, Peter Summan and maybe Jay [Harrison, a cor anglais player with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra] too.’38 Hall reflects that the audition process is slightly more casual nowadays!
Hall went on to become President of the FSO, serving for 15 years in addition to his regular occupation as an orthodontist. One might expect these commitments to be overwhelming: however, Hall didn’t consider them to be an impediment to his enjoyment of the social side of the ensemble:
… I definitely prefer playing in an ensemble than playing alone. When I first joined, the orchestra was very much about the social aspect, too, and great diversity in age and profession. I met my wife through music, and some old friends came out of FSO, too.39
Hall left the FSO in 2016, after sixty-four years of playing the oboe. His ‘fingers were struggling to reach the keys and wrong notes were happening too frequently’ and so, despite the enormous importance music has on his life, Hall made the decision to step down.40
Teresa Duhig
Teresa Duhig, the FSO’s current resident second oboist, sat alongside Hall for more than three decades. She was introduced to the orchestra by her mother (Nedlands Music Association leader Helen Parkinson, previously mentioned) and began playing with the FSO in 1981 whilst studying at Teachers’ College. For Duhig, participation in the ensemble stems from a mix of loyalty and habit. In addition to the FSO being her first experience with community orchestra, she served on its executive committee for many years and is happy to retain her coveted position in the small woodwind section of the orchestra. Duhig says ‘rehearsal is on my particular night for going out and I played alongside my best friend for thirty-six years … it’s just what I do. And as a music teacher I feel I should always be playing.’41 Like many members of the orchestra Duhig can easily recall past performance highlights and has particularly enjoyed tackling the large, challenging classical works which the FSO has become renowned for. She remembers fondly the musical directorship of Lawrence Jacks, who served the FSO in the early 1990s, and ‘who believed, as I really do believe, that it is essential to keep in mind when conducting an amateur orchestra that the people sitting in front of you are in their own right, extremely intelligent people.’42 For Duhig, an amateur orchestra is ‘the opportunity for lots of people to play, it’s a social night, and its fulfilling to have that music in people’s lives’.43 The FSO has become so intertwined with Duhig’s life that the ensemble’s history has also seen Duhig’s husband, brother, two sons, and daughter participate musically amongst various performance seasons.
Samuel Herriman
Another musician who certainly illustrates the community nature of the ensemble is young Media Studies major and casual musician Samuel Herriman. Herriman began playing in the orchestra in 2010 while still in high school and has continued to do so to feed his interest in orchestral playing, alternating between the lead and second bassoon player. Herriman is the youngest to follow a long familial tradition of involvement in the ensemble which includes both of his parents and his three elder sisters. The observant reader may recall a member with his surname from this paper’s introductory anecdote. Herriman states:
My FSO highlight is probably performing The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas in 2015 conducted by my father. It is an iconic piece of orchestral music featuring a significant bassoon section solo, and so having the opportunity to perform the piece is the definite highlight of my FSO participation.44
For this young player the attraction of the orchestra resides in ‘the opportunity to continue playing orchestral repertoire in a casual, enjoyable environment.’45 In relation to socialisation and the ensemble he states ‘much like a sporting team or book club (albeit much larger), the weekly rehearsals build a sense of community amongst the orchestra…’46
Part 3 : Collaboration, Community & Culture
“… on behalf of the players I would like to thank all those people behind the scene and you the audience who make it enjoyable and possible for the orchestra to function.”47
Speech notes, 2011
As a genre, classical music has been oft criticised as elitist, and indeed, some patrons of the performing arts in Australia might even support the notion of a performance landscape restricted in appeal to the upper echelons. However, the FSO is one community ensemble which resoundingly rejects this perspective. The group constantly strives to bring classical music to quite a different audience; the middle classes. As one FSO player describes:
As a member of the community at large I appreciate classical music and I would like to have affordable events with talented players that I can attend, and eventually take my children to.48
The FSO strives to appeal to this target audience in many ways, including through collaborations, involvement within cultural events, and the organisation of schemes specifically designed for audience outreach. In short, the Fremantle Symphony Orchestra perform for the community of Fremantle.
The FSO has enjoyed numerous collaborations with other local, national, and even renowned global musical groups and individuals. In September 1997, the FSO performed in conjunction with the West Australian Mandolin Orchestra presenting a commissioned work entitled Fanfare for Fremantle. In recent years, the orchestra has worked with well-known Perth conductors Joel Migdal, Lawrence Jacks, Alan Bonds, Dr Geoffrey Lowe, Kevin Gillam, Chris Sears, Burhan Guner, Bruce Herriman, Warwick Potter, Jessica Gethin, Dr Robert Braham and Professor Alan Lourens. The FSO also boasts a range of impressive alumni, made up of early career musicians who have been grateful to find, in the FSO, a friendly organisation to either perform concertos (solo works) or merely within a section. This paper has already touched on the eminent West Australians of non-musical professions who show up to John Leckie Pavilion every Wednesday night but it must be recognised that musical professionals have also joined the FSO’s ranks for a time in their early careers as they sought experience playing in an orchestral setting. In this fashion the FSO names among its alumni such musicians as Ben Jacks, who is currently the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s principal horn.49
The FSO furthers its role in supporting early career musicians by maintaining a close relationship with the Fremantle Eisteddfod, offering the winner a soloist engagement with the orchestra. In November 2017, 2016’s Open Concerto winner and Year 11 student Emmalena Huning will perform Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra with the FSO. In addition, the FSO ‘Young Conductors Program’ offers young community conductors an opportunity to develop their skills under the guidance of a more experienced conductor. In the program’s inaugural year of 2004, Jessica Gethin participated in this unique program, and in 2015 was named one of Australia’s ‘100 Most Influential Women’ as an award- winning conductor.50
The FSO also supports its own talented older community members, who balance full time careers and families alongside their love of orchestral playing. One such player is lawyer Michael Hodgkins, who has performed multiple solos within the ensemble, including premieres of Pye’s own pieces.
Of course, the FSO has also featured professional musicians at the height of their careers. Former West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) concertmaster and current University of Western Australia Head of Strings, Professor Paul Wright, performed as a soloist in 2016.51 Another WASO concertmaster and former concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Ashley Arbuckle, appeared alongside WASO violist Lawrence Jacks in a 1994 all-Brahms FSO performance courtesy of the ABC, an ambitious concert lauded by The West Australian’s Neville Cohn as ‘a first in WA’.52
The FSO has taken part in a wide variety of unique performances in order to best engage and serve its audience as well as the broader cultural community. The FSO has even performed at the Fly By Night Club – a renowned performing arts institution of Fremantle!53 Notably, it performed at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Festival of Croatia Culture which celebrated the forty year-long conducting career of the Republic of Croatia’s Consul-General, Dr Nikola Debelic. This multicultural performance was also the Perth premiere of several pieces by Croatian composers.54 The FSO has also performed in a wide range of settings in support of its community, including Hollywood Senior Citizens Village, El Caballo Blanco and the South West Italian Club Hall. It has engaged with numerous charity concerts supporting other non-profit organisations, such as Guide Dogs WA and Hospice Palliative Care. Most significantly today, it supports Western Australia’s youngest musicians through a workshop assisting Year 12 students in their final Australian Tertiary Admission Rank preparations.55
The FSO has also provided family-centred events, produced to both support families and educate young musicians. Collaborating organisations in this field include the Cottage School of Junior Music, music teacher Sally Christmass, and the Kelmscott Primary School Choir.56 Family entertainment events also include ‘Proms’, popular music concerts catered to younger audiences, and an ongoing Christmas Concert tradition. One Proms of special significance was held in 2009, with the pictured concert program Bushfire. Here, the FSO partnered with Perth artist Drewfus Gates and composer Jeff Carroll to present the world premiere of “an Australian alternative to Peter and the Wolf”.57 This concert supported the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal and introduced the children of Fremantle to different instruments in the orchestra by way of Australian animals.
This thematic focus on highly community-centred programming is continued through the multiple, complimentary, outdoor ‘summer concerts’ the FSO has participated in. As stated in a 1996 concert notes, ‘our aim is to bring music to you the people (of Fremantle) in a way that is readily accessible.’58 Multiple performances at the City of Canning World Arts Exchange likewise has strengthened the bond between orchestra and community.
The ensemble consistently embraces opportunities to grow. Most noticeably, the group has performed with a variety of internationally renowned conductors, composers and soloists. For example, the ensemble has formed a close working relationship with West Australian teacher, musician and poet Kevin Gillam collaborated with him on several occasions. In 2016, an ambitious year long program centred on the four seasons saw Gillam conduct ‘Winter’ and co-compose a new piece, ‘The Seasons’ with Pye.59 In 2009, Pye and the FSO premiered ‘Circadian Rhythms’, a piece commissioned of Pye by the Carrie Forrest Project.60 This concert was a great undertaking, which saw the FSO’s contingent swell to one hundred musicians, its largest cohort ever, to accommodate Australian composer Percy Grainger’s epic, The Warriors. Pye’s premiere was ‘several years in the planning’ and featured thirty percussionists as orchestral soloists.61 This performance especially demonstrates the FSO’s commitment to new and exciting styles of music, as the piece explored modern techniques such as improvisation and a balance between free form and cohesive structures. In Pye’s words, ‘we’ve been sticking out necks out over the last couple of years… the excitement at rehearsals is palpable.’62
Since its evolution into the FSO, the ensemble has continued to engage with its community in numerous and diverse ways. In 2010, the FSO provided a recorded performance of Auber’s Fra Diavolo to serve as a soundtrack for I Belong to the Shadows, a film about the youngest British sniper to land at Normandie during WWII, by a Perth-based production company.63 The FSO’s commitment to its diplomatic and community- based approach to classical musical appreciation is further exemplified by their dedicated history of performing tours outside the metropolitan area. In past years the orchestra has toured to Albany, Busselton, Kwinana, Narrogin, Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Margaret River. In addition, in 1997 the FSO premiered Pye’s Symphony No.1 alongside a work commissioned by the orchestra, Fanfare for Fremantle. In typical tongue-in-cheek style, the latter piece has been described as a ‘Freo-for-all for wind and brass’.64
The reach of the FSO’s community engagement is only growing. Most recently, the FSO were a part of the 2017 Perth Heritage Festival. Held annually by the City of Fremantle, this celebration marked the festival’s twenty-fifth anniversary and was an opportunity to appreciate and explore the diverse cultural history of Fremantle. The FSO have participated in both this and the Fremantle Heritage Festival for over a decade. In 2000 the ensemble opened the Fremantle Festival with a performance featuring ‘100 birds, local circus children, David Pye’s Tangling and an Aboriginal rock opera’.65 In the collaborative spirit that its audience have come to expect, the Festival saw the FSO produce a diverse concert in conjunction with guest artists, the Perth Scottish Fiddlers.66 This especially significant concert coincided with the unveiling of the newly renovated Fremantle Town Hall in which the FSO have had the pleasure of playing since 1991. As one scientist and occasional FSO horn player notes, ‘playing in the beautiful Fremantle town hall [is] definitely a highlight.’67 The FSO explicitly aim to use their performances to reach their community in order to ‘boost the communities’ interest in the area of classical music and the arts, an interest that is shown to have many benefits, particularly on individuals.68
Reviews
As a result of its adventurous programming, the FSO is no stranger to positive reviews which typically have in common one thing; praise for the ensemble’s indomitable courage. A small selection of this feedback, as listed below, provides insight into the qualities which audiences and professional music critics alike have found worthy of note in the ensemble.
Amateur orchestras can stay with indifferent and uncomplicated music, or they can essay the heights. On Sunday the Nedlands Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Peter Moore, threw discretion to the winds at Perth Modern School…69
One wondered how much blood, sweat and tears at rehearsal have gone into this performance which managed to get it together, and convey much of the work’s atmosphere of sheer excitement and colour.70
A performance which proved once again that the amateurs of Perth can give us very good music indeed.71
This was not a programme for the faint-hearted.72
The orchestra is to be commended on its courage and enterprise.73
Conclusion
The local does not have the lure of the international or famous. But it does have a friendliness and feeling and excitement that is our own. To prevent Classical music from becoming an even smaller minority occupation, or from sinking into the ground altogether, may require the proselytising energy of more than just a few concerned individuals… [Warsaw amateur orchestras] have always drawn large and enthusiastic audiences, who feel that their music is something to be proud of and enjoyed, and not the intellectual task of an elitist few that it often so mistakenly appears to be here.74
David Helfgott, 1984
Clearly the FSO has proven itself to be an important cultural institution of not just Fremantle, but of Western Australia. Throughout its 66 year history, it has undergone transformation after transformation, and an ensemble which originally began as duos in a veteran’s home has gone on to become a respected community orchestra. Constant reinvention and adaptation have proven essential to the orchestra’s survival and enduring success, not only with its audience, but also among its community in the form of the musicians. Thus, the orchestra looks forward to another year of ambitious programming in 2018. Socialisation within the orchestra and community engagement, always cornerstones of the Committee agenda, will, of course, continue to be priorities for the FSO’s activities in the coming years.
However, the obstacles the orchestra face moving forward are apparent. The very success of the FSO, discussed in its many forms at length within this paper, has seen other metropolitan community symphony orchestras spring up in imitation.
These include:
- Churchlands Community Orchestra;
- Hills Symphony Orchestra;
- Perth Symphony Orchestra;
- South Side Symphony Orchestra;
- South West Philharmonic Orchestra;
- Swan Philharmonic Orchestra;
- The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra;
- WA Philharmonic; and
- the West Australian Charity Orchestra.
While the growth of community orchestras in Perth is positive on a grand scale, there is no doubt that increased options for instrumental playing greatly influences the FSO’s membership, often to its detriment. The growth of the Western Australian Youth Orchestras Association (Inc) since its inception in 1974 has been responsible for a decline in younger musicians participating in the FSO. The lack of opportunity for early career instrumentalists to engage in orchestral playing was a key factor in the FSO’s early appeal and so Perth’s recent ‘arts scene boom’ has in this respect been disadvantageous in encouraging and boosting young membership. The array of younger community orchestras complicates the running of the FSO in that, as discussed in Part 1, community musicians tend to ‘flow’ in and out of performance seasons. Participation in each season depends partly on player availability, but primarily on their enthusiasm for the music being rehearsed. With so many options, players can ‘vote with their chairs’.75 Furthermore, two of the ensembles listed above rehearse on a Wednesday night, the same night traditionally claimed by FSO’s rehearsals. This means that even dedicated musicians are regularly faced with the blunt decision of which ensemble to prioritise – sometimes, to the detriment of the FSO.
To this end, the FSO would like to extend an invitation to any aspiring, retiring, or hobbyist string players to contact president@ fremantlesymphonyorchestra.com.au and make an enquiry about membership or participation on a casual basis in upcoming concerts. President Harmer and the string leaders would be happy to hear from you!
As a current FSO violinist and medical student state: ‘[FSO] is an important outlet for me to express myself creatively… It’s great to have the opportunity to play music of a high calibre at an affordable price.’The future of the FSO is of course still evolving. But it is the FSO’s dedication to its core values and goals fostering emerging artists and building community relationships which characterise its future as one of development, expansion and innovation. As this future unfolds, the Fremantle Town Hall will undoubtedly witness the first performances of many young musicians, including those on the cusp of a professional career.
In the meantime, the ensemble will continue to focus on its audience who make performances the enjoyable and exciting pastime they are and without whom it would be impossible for the orchestra to function.
Appendix A: Performance links
Type the following URLs into an internet browser on your computer, laptop, iPad or mobile phone to see and hear the following performances of the FSO!
References
1 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 3: Concert materials 1992-1988’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 April 2017).
2 City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘Fremantle Symphony Orchestra’, WordPress, <https://fremantlesymphonyorchestra.wordpress.com/>, 2017, (accessed 2 January 2017).
3 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Tangible cultural heritage, <http://www.unesco.org/new/en/cairo/culture/tangible-cultural- heritage/>, 2017, (accessed 10 August 2017).
4 Hall, J., interviewed by N. M. Meston, January 2017, Mosman Park, Perth, private collection.
5 Anonymous, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 7: Concert materials 2004- 2010’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
6 Duhig, T., interviewed by N. M. Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.
7 Condolence letter from Peter Bandy to the editor of ‘Freo Notes’ newsletter on the death of Ron Palmer, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 7: Concert materials 2004-2010’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
8 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
9 Hall, J., interviewed by N. M. Meston, January 2017, Mosman Park, Perth, private collection.
10 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
11 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
12 Duhig, T., interviewed by N. M. Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.
13 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
14 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
15 Hall, J., interviewed by N. M. Meston, January 2017, Mosman Park, Perth, private collection.
16 Duhig, T., interviewed by N. M. Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.
17 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 3: Concert materials 1992-1988’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 April 2017).
18 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 3: Concert materials 1992-1988’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 April 2017).
19 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
20 Article by J. Nicholls in Music Maker magazine, vol.5, no.3., Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 2: Concert materials 1987-1986’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 March 2017).
21 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, notes from rehearsal, Nedlands, 2 August 2017.
22 Australian Music Centre, David Pye, <http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/ artist/pye-david>, 2017, (accessed 10 January 2017)
23 Ford, A., ‘Composer David Pye’, September 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/ radionational/programs/musicshow/composer-david-pye/3127464>, (accessed 25 January 2017).
24 Pye, D., conversation with N. M. Meston, 1.03.17, Nedlands, Perth.
25 Article by J. Nicholls in Music Maker magazine, vol.5, no.3., Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 2: Concert materials 1987-1986’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 March 2017).
26 Peter Moore in program notes, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
27 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra Committee, notes from Committee meeting, Scarborough, 28 January 2017.
28 Carolin-Unkovich, S., survey, 29.03.17, private collection.
29 James, R., and Street, G., ‘The relationship between organised recreational activity and mental health’, Department of Sport and Recreation, <https://www.dsr.wa.gov. au/support-and-advice/research-and-policies/organised-recreational-activity-and- mental-health>, 2009, (accessed 12 March 2017).
30 See the following literature:Argyle, E., and Bolton, G., ‘Art in the community for potentially vulnerable mental health groups’, Health Education, vol.105, no.5, 2005, pp. 340-354. Macnaughton, J., White, M., and Stacy, R., ‘Researching the benefits of arts in health’, Health Education, vol.105, no.5, 2005, pp. 332-339.
31 Article by J Nicholls in Music Maker magazine, vol 5, no 3, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 2: Concert materials 1987-1986’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 March 2017).
32 Duhig, T, interviewed by N M Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.
33 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 3: Concert materials 1992-1988’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 April 2017).
34 Peter Wombwell, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 2: Concert materials 1987- 1986’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 March 2017).
35 Michael Parry, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986- 1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
36 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986-1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
37 Hall, J. interviewed by N M Meston, January 2017, Mosman Park, Perth, private collection.
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
40 Ibid.
41 Duhig, T, interviewed by N M.Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 Herriman, S, survey, 30.03.17, private collection.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid.
47 Anonymous, Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 7: Concert materials 2004- 2010’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
48 Armstrong, J, survey, 11.04.17, private collection.
49 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 4: Concert materials 1996-1993’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
50 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 6: Concert materials 2006-2001’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
51 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, Official ‘WordPress’ website, <https:// fremantlesymphonyorchestra.wordpress.com/>, (accessed 2 May 2017).
52 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 4: Concert materials 1996-1993’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
53 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 3: Concert materials 1992-1988’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 April 2017).
54 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 5: Concert materials 2000-1996’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
55 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra Committee, notes from Committee meeting, Scarborough, 28 January 2017.
56 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 4: Concert materials 1996-1993’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
57 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 7: Concert materials 2004-2010’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
58 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 4: Concert materials 1996-1993’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
59 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, Official ‘WordPress’ website, <https:// fremantlesymphonyorchestra.wordpress.com/>, (accessed 2 May 2017).
60 Ford, A, ‘Composer David Pye’, September 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/ radionational/programs/musicshow/composer-david-pye/3127464>, (accessed 25 January 2017).
61 Ibid.
62 The West Australian article by Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 7: Concert materials 2004-2010’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
63 City of Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘Fremantle Symphony Orchestra’, WordPress, <https://fremantlesymphonyorchestra.wordpress.com/>, 2017, (accessed 2 January 2017).
64 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 5: Concert materials 2000-1996’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
65 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 6: Concert materials 2006-2001’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 May 2017).
66 Meston Collection, ‘Concert programs’, Perth, private collection, (accessed 1 July 2017).
67 Butler, K, survey, 28.03.17, private collection.
68 Ibid.
69 Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 2: Concert materials 1987-1986’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 March 2017).
70 Ibid.
71 Ibid.
72 Ibid.
73 Ibid.
74 David Helfgott. Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, ‘File 1: Concert materials 1986- 1983’, Perth, available via John Leckie Pavilion, (accessed 1 February 2017).
75 Duhig, T, interviewed by N M Meston, 5 August 2017, Daglish, Perth, private collection.