BY LAURA BIEMMI
Whether or not you live in Perth, you’ve probably heard of the Perth Symphony Orchestra.
Launched in 2011 by executive director (and young entrepreneur superstar) Bourby Webster, the orchestra that ‘breaks all the rules’ has created incredibly popular and diverse concerts such as Faith and Freedom: The Music of George Michael, Unplugged: Nirvana Reimagined, and Ministry of Sound Orchestrated.
The PSO’s upcoming concert, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Music of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, is sure to deliver a fresh take on these popular artists to a wide-ranging audience.
We speak to Bourby, the talented violist and entrepreneur steering the unstoppable (and mostly female) PSO, about working with the WAAPA Gospel Choir, the raw talent of PSO’s child musicians, and the significance of the music of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.
Hi Bourby, thanks for chatting with us here at CutCommon. The PSO has been going from strength to strength, selling out shows and putting on repeat performances of popular concerts such as Baroque by Candlelight and Unplugged: Nirvana Reimagined. So how does it feel to have such a high demand for PSO’s work in Perth?
It’s hugely affirming! I so believe that a huge percentage of the population loves orchestral music, but it hasn’t been at the top of most people’s list of things they must experience. I am certain that the fact our performances are doing so well is because people are discovering they ‘feel’ different after they’ve heard an orchestral concert – uplifted, inspired, excited, moved, reflective – and more. It’s these emotions an orchestra can draw out in people, and it is addictive! I’m excited for our future.
The next concert in the PSO calendar is Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Music of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. How did this project come about?
After the success of our Faith & Freedom: the Music of George Michael in 2017, we wanted to work together again with the phenomenal WAAPA Gospel Choir. The music of Stevie and Aretha is everyone’s favourite, so it seemed a natural progression from George Michael. Only this time, we’ve added in some horns. Whilst an orchestra can find an instrument to substitute most other instruments, when it came to the horns (trumpet, saxophone and trombone), and the way Stevie uses them in his music, we realised that was one section we had to keep!
An interesting aspect of this project is the emphasis on both Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin’s political endeavours; Wonder’s public dissatisfaction with Richard Nixon, and Franklin’s support of Barack Obama. Is music an inherently political artform?
Yes. Not always overtly, but many, many musicians have used music as a way to rally their fans to support a cause – and to bring about change. Stevie has made music a political vehicle to great effect. Both Ebony and Ivory and I Just Called To Say I Love You were banned from all South African radio by the government. Stevie’s song Happy Birthday, was used to campaign for a national holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. And it worked! The third Monday in January is a public holiday in the United States dedicated to King.
Why is it important for Perth audiences to hear contemporary music, such as that of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, reformulated into a new context by the PSO?
A significant percentage of my friends repeatedly told me: ‘An orchestra is not my thing’. Whilst my ultimate aim is to try to encourage more and more people to experience classical music – and the incredible physical, emotional and spiritual response that music can bring – my first step has to be to break down the barrier to even seeing an orchestra as a starting point. We regularly hear: ‘I’ve never heard an orchestra before, but I’ve now been to see George Michael and Nirvana done by the PSO and I’m hooked’. The challenge now is to start that journey to classical, but we do it subtly (we have some classical composers referenced in Signed Sealed Delivered – shhhhh, don’t tell anyone!) and successfully – when we put Nessun Dorma in a community concert with INXS and ACDC, the feedback on Facebook was rave!
For Signed, Sealed, Delivered, PSO will be teaming up with the WAAPA Gospel Choir as part of the Performance Partnership between PSO and WAAPA. Why is it important for professional performance organisations such as PSO to work alongside tertiary institutions such as WAAPA?
WAAPA is a hotbed of talent! And as an institution, they have the most remarkable performance opportunities. However, their experience is still a world away from the expectations professional musicians face. For example, the choir and orchestra come together for the first time on Tuesday evening and perform in front of a sell-out audience on Wednesday. They get three hours to deliver an entire production. The orchestra are also meeting for the first time that evening. The WAAPA musicians get to experience what that kind of pressure is like, and how polished the professional musicians in PSO sound like – as they prepare in advance. The choir step up and seeing them do that is just fantastic. They love the challenge and are excited by working with an orchestra full of incredible performers.
PSO has a great reputation of involving talented children in their performances; Baroque by Candlelight was brimming with musical youngsters, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered, will see 14-year-old Jordan Anthony perform as ‘Little’ Stevie. What can children bring to professional performances that adults can’t?
There is a magic that happens when people see a child or young adult perform. It frames their experience. Jordan is there to highlight just how young Stevie was when he recorded his first album (Stevie was 11 years old, Jordan is a positively ancient 14 in comparison!). We can tell people Stevie was just 11, but it’s not until they see and hear Jordan that it will really hit home just what a ridiculous achievement this is.
It also makes people reflect on what their own children may be capable of given the right opportunities. Plus, seeing such raw talent in a child (musicians like myself had to practice for years to sound half decent) is just an incredibly inspiring thing. It reminds us that, for some people, talent is innate and awesome.
What’s next for PSO?
We have a very unusual year ahead – unusual because we might have to start saying ‘no’. We are increasingly invited to perform over a wider and wider geographic area, and an increasing number of times each month, so we may have to start making some hard decisions about which are most aligned to where we want to be – and ensure we leave room for the concerts we produce and create ourselves, which are the most fun and rewarding and meaningful, but take up the most of our time.
We are soon to launch a brand-new concert concept; a series of mindfulness concerts during rush hour called C.A.L.M (Come And Listen to Music.) It will basically be a concert where, on the way home from work, you can stop in to hear a 35-minute symphony, then run for the train home to dinner! Bite-size culture to switch off from the pressure of the day before returning home – I can’t wait to see how this is received.
There’s also the teeny issue of financial support. As we do not receive government funding, we have this possibly unrealistic dream of building an equity fund of $10 million in the next five years to deliver us a dividend of $0.5 million a year. This would cover all our running costs, and mean everything we make operationally can then help us achieve some of the enormous dreams we have. Or, I might just have to buy a lottery ticket!
PS. Keep up the amazing work CutCommon! We love what you do!
See Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Music of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin at the Astor Theatre, Perth, 31 May. C.A.L.M takes place on 16 August at Perth Town Hall during rush hour. More details will come to www.perthsymphony.com.
Shout the writer a coffee?
Did you enjoy the read? We’re all volunteers here at CutCommon. Shout Laura a coffee – or even treat her to an avocado on toast. It’s completely up to you.
No amount is too much or little. Thanks for supporting Australian arts journalism, you outstanding individual.
Pay what you like through PayPal. 80 per cent of your contribution will go to the writer who composed this piece, and 20 per cent to our volunteer editor for getting this show on the road. (You don’t *actually* have to take them out.) We protect your personal information.
Images supplied. Credit: Richard Jefferson Photography.
