News
Messiah 2009 acclaimed for "discipline and skill"
(December 2009)
The 2009 season concluded for PSO with another fine performance of Messiah by George Frideric Handel.
Conducted by incoming Artistic Director Paul Terracini, this year’s line-up of soloists included soprano Belinda Montgomery, alto Jenny Duck-Chong, tenor Raff Wilson and bass Gavin Lockley.
As always, the performance attracted a large and appreciative audience including both concert-goers and members of parishes from around the Penrith region, Blue Mountains and beyond.
We were especially gratified by this letter to the Penrith Press:
Having listened to performances of Handel's Messiah over many years, it was a delight to hear the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, Penrith City Choir and Warrimoo Chorale on Sunday December 6th at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre.
It was the equal of anything I have heard anywhere in the world. The discipline and skill displayed made for an afternoon of pure joy.
Well done.
Rev. John Emery
PSO appoints new Artistic Director
(September 2009)Penrith Symphony Orchestra is delighted to announce the appointment of Paul Terracini as its new Artistic Director, effective from the 2010 concert season.
Paul is an Australian musician, composer, arranger and conductor who recently returned to Australia after living and working in Europe. He has previously held permanent positions as Principal Trumpet in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and Lecturer in Trumpet, Concert Band, Brass Ensemble and Big Band at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
After leaving Australia Paul was appointed solo trumpet in the Danish Chamber Players and was conductor and chair of Storstroms Symphony Orchestra in Denmark for fifteen years. Paul has made many recordings on the Decca label and for the last 10 years has composed, arranged and conducted extensively for film and television in Europe, as well as the Australian television series Hymns of the Forefathers (ABC TV) and Classical Destinations (SBS TV).
Paul has conducted the Prague Symphony Orchestra, as well as conducting opera in Denmark, the Rossini Festival in Germany, and concerts in Italy. He has also performed as a soloist in and given master classes in most parts of Europe, including the UK, as well as the USA, Australia and Asia.
Penrith Symphony Orchestra is looking forward to working with its new Artistic Director, whose appointment marks a new milestone in the 21-year history of the orchestra. His will be the fourth appointment in that time, his predecessors being the foundation conductor Gerald Williams, Myer Fredman, who remains the Patron of the orchestra, and Henryk Pisarek.
Messiah 2008: Another landmark performance for PSO and local choirs
(December 2008)Messiah is an annual fixture on the Penrith concert calendar. To mark the 30th Anniversary of Penrith City Choir and the conclusion of the 20th Anniversary season of the PSO, Graham Abbott, one of Australia’s busiest and most versatile conductors, returned to his home town of Penrith to conduct the performance.
Graham was the first conductor of the Penrith City Choir (then known as the Nepean Choral Society) and is now an internationally known Handel specialist. Since 2003 Graham has been the producer and presenter of the popular Saturday morning series Keys to Music on ABC Classic FM. Now resident in Adelaide, he is a frequent guest conductor of many of Australia’s leading professional orchestras and choral groups.
Tanith Bryce (soprano), Nicole Smeulders (alto), George Liakatos (tenor) and Gavin Lockley (bass) were the soloists in this fine performance. With every seat in the house sold and a standing ovation at the end, this is a performance of Messiah that Penrith audiences and the performers alike will remember for years to come.
PSO's November 2008 concert, the final subscription concert for 2008, Hungarian Goulash, was an exciting exploration of music influenced by Gypsy culture and folk music. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, great composers in Hungary and beyond embraced authentic Gypsy melodies and created works of wonderful richness. The three major orchestral works on the program, all by Hungarian composeres, were Bartók's Hungarian Sketches, Kodály's Dances of Galanta and Liszt's Symphonic Poem No. 3: Les Préludes. Alongside these were two works by German and Italian composers who were inspired by Hungarian folk culture: selected Hungarian Dances by Brahms, and the popular Csárdás by the otherwise little-known Neapolitan composer Vittorio Monti. Guest Conductor Steven Hillinger, himself of Hungarian heritage, brought every exciting note of these enchanting melodies to life, both musically and in his informative and engaging introductions to each work on the program. The concert was also a display of young rising talent. Sydney pianist Paula Lu (16) gave a stunning solo performance in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, replacing at very short the advertised soloist Clemens Lemske, who withdrew because of illness. Alison Laurens (13), was the equally impressive violin soloist in the Csárdás. Hungarian Goulash: a celebration of Gypsy culture and folk music
(November 2008)
On the last weekend in August, PSO made its debut appearance in Symphony at the Lakes, presented by the International Regatta Centre. After a worrying night of rain, the weather was kind on the day, clearing just in time and adding a wonderfully relaxed air to the outdoor performance. A symphony orchestra performance event was a first for the Regatta Centre, extending the scope and variety of the Centre's series of family-friendly entertainments such as movies and live bands.Symphony at the Lakes: PSO in performance at Regatta Centre
(September 2008)
Conducted by George Ellis and featuring soprano soloist Penelope Mills, the program included operatic highlights and favourites from musical theatre, as well as orchestral works ranging from the atmospheric Kakadu by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe to Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture. The standing ovation received at the end was most gratifying and we look forward to more performances at this venue in the future.
20th Anniversary Gala starts 18th annual subscription season with a bang
(March 2008)The first concert of 2008 was a Gala occasion to celebrate 20 years since the orchestra was established. It was a wonderful evening of music after which all subscribers were invited to join the orchestra for refreshments in the foyer.
The packed house enjoyed a great concert, conducted by Sarah-Grace Williams. Among the many highlights on this program, Catherine McCorkill’s performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was breathtakingly beautiful. We were honoured to play Helter Skelter, composed by Paul Stanhope in memory of local sportsman Craig Huthnance, who died suddenly while playing cricket.
Befitting a major celebration, the concert concluded with a great bang with an exciting performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.
Farewell Henryk Pisarek
(September 2007)Friends of the PSO will doubtless be saddened to hear that our esteemed Musical Director and Principal Conductor, Henryk Pisarek, has decided to accept a professional conducting position in China. We will miss him greatly as he has done so much for the orchestra and for music in western Sydney.
Henryk's contribution to Australian music-making has been enormous during his 25 years in the country. We wish him every success and happiness for the future.
Henryk leaves the PSO a very strong and successful orchestra which will continue to present great music.
Sarah-Grace Williams will now appear as guest conductor for the final subscription concert of 2007 ("Springtime", on Saturday 10 November) and we have an exciting season planned for 2008 with an impressive line-up of guest conductors.
10th year of Pops for Tots a sell-out and fundraising success
(August 2007)
PSO's 2007 children's concerts, "Pops for Tots", were a success in more ways than one.
Celebrating 10 years of children's concerts presented by Penrith Symphony Orchestra, this year's program was again conducted and presented by George "Big G" Ellis.
The concerts introduced younger audiences to a broad range of lively and engaging music. Children revelled in the opportunity to get "up close and personal" with a live symphony orchestra, while parents and grandparents delighted in watching their enjoyment of the occasion.
The concerts attracted sell-out audiences for one performance at Orchard Hills and two performances at Springwood, and also raised funds for Jamm4 Genes, a musical fundraising initiative of Genes4Genes. Combining audience donations and a top-up contribution from the orchestra, PSO was proud to contribute $523.55 to this worthwhile cause.
Spanish finale to a bumper season of PSO
(November 2006)
The grand finale of PSO's 2006 Subscription Series, Fiesta and Flamenco, once more filled the Joan Sutherland Centre for an evening of rousing symphonic music programmed around a Spanish theme.
Joining the orchestra on this occasion were flamenco dancers Hernan Yoia and Alice Ons-Yoia, whose feisty dance interludes, performed in each half of the concert, added an unusual element of movement and colour to the already exciting music.
Although a Spanish-themed concert, only two works on the program were in fact written by Spanish composers. Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, a dazzling showpiece for solo violin and orchestra based on themes from Bizet's famous opera Carmen, featured the 20-year-old violin virtuoso Jiajing (Melody) Wang. In Falla's ballet suite El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician), Nicole Smeulders sang the alto solos.
The other two works presented were by Russian and French composers, both inspiired by their experiences when travelling in Spain: Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol and Chabrier's España.
Pops for Tots 2006 attracts record audiences
(August 2006)The PSO's popular annual concert series for younger children and families, Pops for Tots, drew record audiences to this year's performances in Orchard Hills and Springwood.
Featuring a return appearance by guest conductor George "Big G" Ellis, this year's programs took children on a musical journey to a Fantastic Toyshop as they were introduced to the sounds of the orchestra's many instruments.
Familiar children's songs a popular classical pieces were interspersed with slightly less familiar, yet highly accessible and exciting excerpts from the orchestral repertoire.
In some of the pieces and at the end of each concert, children had the opportunity to mingle with the musicians and see and hear their favourite instruments close up.
The full house an Orchard Hills on 6 August and strong advance bookings for the following week's advertised concert on 13 August at Springwood led to the addition of a second Springwood performance. In the end, all three were sell-outs.
Romanticism of Rachmaninov wows full house in Penrith
(June 2006)The PSO again played to a packed house on Saturday 17 June.
In Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, guest soloist Clemens Leske — a former ABC Yound Performer of the Year, and recently returned from his Royal Festival Hall debut playing Rachmaninov with the London Philharmonic — presented an interpretation that was both both virtuosic and emotionally charged and captivated the extremely enthusiastic audience.
Also on the program were the perennially popular Fifth Symphony of Beethoven and a contemporary Australian work for solo string quartet and string orchestra, Down Tango d'IV by Stephen Yates.
PSO scales new heights in 2006 with Mahler
(April 2006)The orchestra's Panthers 16th Annual Subscription Series opened on Saturday 1 April to a full house with a program that presented Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in the first ever live performance of this majestic work to Western Sydney audiences.
The program also featured Mozart's ever-popular 4th Horn Concerto, with the stunningly virtuosic Robert Johnson as soloist. And the audience was treated to an expected bonus in the form of a witty birthday 250th tribute to Mozart, as the soloist returned to the stage to delight everyone with a rendition of Flanders and Swan's much-loved patter song based on the Concerto's last movement.
The program also included as an opener the energetic, high-octane orchestral fanfare Celebrare Celeberrime by acclaimed Australian composer Carl Vine.
The orchestra thanks its loyal and new audience members and sponsors alike for their wonderful support.