Willoughby Symphony – Pacific Opera Concert Online
Willoughby Symphony Orchestra made a welcome re-connection with its loyal audiences in three COVID- safe performances last August.
These performances will be broadcast in a special online premiere. The Willoughby Symphony strings section and piano, led by chief conductor and artistic director Dr Nick Milton AM, with singers from Pacific Opera, became one of the first Australian orchestras to perform on stage to a live audience since the pandemic.
Recorded on August 22 at The Concourse in Chatswood, Sydney, A Mozart Celebration included singers from Pacific Opera, under the artistic direction of Peter Coleman-Wright AO, with Music Director Bradley Gilchrist. They performed arias and ensemble pieces from The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute. The concert also featured Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry (Londonderry Air) and string works by Grieg, Strauss and Tchaikovsky.
The musicians and singers physically distanced on stage and wind instruments were replaced by a piano reduction. Usually performing to a packed concert hall, the orchestra played to 20% of the venue’s capacity, representing 150 people. The venue was extensively cleaned between performances.
