West Australian Symphony Orchestra

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is Western Australia’s largest and busiest performing arts company.  Established in 1928, WASO is the state’s only professional orchestra, playing a central role in the cultural life of Western Australia.

WASO’s vision is to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Each year the Orchestra reaches out into the community and gives people across Western Australia and beyond the opportunity to experience the magic of classical music through concert performances, touring, education programs, and other initiatives.

The Orchestra performs over 140 concerts each year with some of the world’s finest conductors and soloists to an audience in excess of 200, 000. In addition to its own concerts, WASO regularly performs with the West Australian Opera and West Australian Ballet.

Under the guidance of Principal Conductor & Artistic Adviser Paul Daniel, WASO’s 82 full-time musicians perform a broad range of music designed to reach a wide cross-section of the community at venues across Perth including the Perth Concert Hall, Perth Esplanade, St Mary’s Cathedral and Kings Park & Botanic Garden. 

The Orchestra reaches an even larger audience across Australia and the world through concert webcasts, providing audiences with access to live and on-demand WASO performances. In addition, concerts are regularly broadcast on ABC Classic FM and are available on CD recordings.

WASO’s award winning education program Discover! provides primary, secondary and tertiary students across Western Australia with access to musical experiences of the highest quality. With a commitment to visiting remote and regional locations, WASO on the Road and WASO’s Education Chamber Orchestra (EChO) takes music to students in all corners of state.

An integral part of the Orchestra is the WASO Chorus, a highly skilled ensemble of auditioned singers who represent the finest form of community music making. Under the guidance of Chorus Director Marilyn Phillips, the Chorus feature regularly in WASO’s annual concert season.

WASO has an innovative approach to music programming, performing both artistically vibrant classical music as well as original contemporary music. Each season features a selection of different concert series including Masters, Classics, Contempo and Family, complemented by a number of special events with high profile artists.

WASO is also at the forefront of Australian orchestras in commissioning original works from the country’s leading composers and the development of the next generation of orchestral musicians through its Young and Emerging Artists program.

www.waso.com.au
08 9326 0000