BY MADELINE ROYCROFT
To label Bourby Webster as a simple role model would be an enormous understatement. After studying music at Oxford University and the Royal College of Music, the violist-turned-business woman founded the Perth Symphony Orchestra in 2011 along with its little sister Perth Chamber Orchestra. Since, she’s presented sold-out performances across Western Australia, often to audiences of up to 8,000 eager listeners. In 2014 she was acknowledged by WA Business News’ 40 Under 40 awards for young entrepreneurs, and we want to know how she combines her love of music with her sharp mind for business. So ahead of the PSO’s next performance (Beethoven, Beer & Bratwurst (…and Bjork) on 22 October), we chat with the superstar about how she achieves her dreams.
You kicked off your professional life as a violist – was there something that initially made you want to shift your career trajectory from music towards business?
I love all kinds of music, and wanted to play a huge variety of pieces so whilst studying at uni I realised the best way to play the music of my choosing was to organise my own concerts. What started as getting a bunch of friends together to play and putting up some posters has led to founding and organising an orchestra of 80 musicians, often playing to up to 8,000 people at a time. Whilst I still play, I actually really love the behind-the-scenes admin, knowing that what I do means musicians get to be heard and audiences can experience something new and exciting.
The Perth Symphony Orchestra is 70 per cent female – and the same amount are aged under 35. What are your thoughts on these figures and what they say about the industry today?
The numbers are not deliberate, but I am extremely proud that we have such a strong female representation. I am in awe of our chief conductor Jessica Gethin, who is leading the way for young female conductors. We were recently named as ‘ground-breaking’ in a national report on Equality in the Arts by the Victorian Women’s Trust for our female representation at every level. The numbers in the report were not hugely encouraging as the arts are still heavily male dominated, but those figures are clearly not deterring women. The fact our orchestra is very young shows its young females that are increasing choosing a career in music. With such talent among young Western Australian musicians, the future of the arts looks very bright to me! We just have to keep them here!
What elements of PSO performances do you believe are most effective at drawing a diverse crowd?
Our next concert is Beethoven, Beer & Bratwurst (…and Bjork) on 22 October. You can tell from the title alone what we do to encourage new people to attend. Many people say the ‘idea’ of the concert sounds appealing, so they’ll give it a go, because even if the music isn’t familiar, the other elements will still make it worthwhile. What happens is they come for the Bjork or the beer or the food and find themselves giving the Beethoven a standing ovation. We have modified start times to fit in with people’s lives, we take the music into places and spaces in the heart of communities, and often we play in short 20-minute sets of music with 30-minute intervals, making the social aspect come to the fore. All these things together are leading us to sell out every concert. It’s working!
You’ve said the PSO ‘breaks the rules’ by performing in places you’d least expect an orchestra. What’s the craziest space the musicians have performed in so far?
From under frangipani trees at Cable Beach Resort in Broome, to an industrial warehouse in North Fremantle, to the Basin overlooking the ocean on Rottnest, we’ve tried it all. We are about to embark on some amazing regional concerts, which will see us perform on the rocks below cliffs on Red Bluff in Kalbarri and in Charles Darwin Reserve near Perenjori. From basements, to warehouses, carparks to Cathedrals – we can turn any space into a concert venue.
“I’m now able to do things I never imagined, and that is personally incredibly rewarding”
You’ve been acknowledged as a successful ‘young entrepreneur’ – can you tell us a bit about this and what it’s taken for you to make it in your career?
I’ve had to be prepared to lose everything, leave a well-paying corporate job for total insecurity, and face some pretty steep learning curves which have tested my nerves, emotions, relationships and more. Life as an entrepreneur, running my own business, is an absolute roller-coaster compared to being employed. But I’d not change a day. The learning elements (you just can’t know what you don’t know until it hits you) are the toughest yet the biggest rewards, as I know I’m now able to do things I never imagined, and that is personally incredibly rewarding.
What advice would you give to young musicians wanting to combine their professional skillsets as you have done?
I’m going to pass on advice I was given; it’s a pay-it-forward kind of thing! Other people doing what they love for a living warned me that sometimes it feels like there is no way forward, no leads, no contacts, no future. Yet if you love what you do, and share that passion, it will infect someone, and things will always keep moving forward. The edge of the cliff never happens. They are so right. Everyone I meet gets to hear the story of a person who believes that music should be for everyone, and that nothing gives people goosebumps and spine tingles, and hope, and nourishes the soul, like live orchestral music. Sharing that passion is infectious and you have to trust it. So never be afraid to talk about what you love.
The Perth Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven, Beer & Bratwurst (…and Bjork) at B Shed in Fremantle, 22 October. Doors open 6pm. Tickets and more info soon via perthsymphony.com.
