Perth Symphony Orchestra’s A Performance for our Planet. Supplied.
At this evening of music in partnership with political action there was a veritable corps of knowledgeable speakers discussing a range of relevant topics interspersed with appropriate musical interludes. Firstly, Dr Julia Reisser spoke on Flourishing Oceans, celebrated musically by Sophie Curtis with ‘Water Spirit Song’ from the pen of R. Edwards, a NSW composer. Speakers and topics during the evening included biodiversity topics such as Thriving Oceans (Julia Reisser), Drought Mitigation, (Harry Fisher), Renewables (Neil Canby), Biodiversity (Dr Bruce Webber of the CSIRO), and Flourishing Oceans (Professor Chari Pattiaratchi, UWA Oceans Institute).
Renewables and Biodiversity were the topics favoured by Neil Canby of Sunrise Energy Group, followed by Dr Bruce Webber of the CSIRO.
Musical expression of the dominant topics followed. Thriving Oceans were firstly celebrated by a piece composed by R Edwards from NSW – Water Spirit Song (soloist Sophie Curtis). This was bracketed with The Wild Geese, a work by celebrated WA composer Iain Grandage, who has been named as the new artistic director of the Perth Festival from 2020. More lovely music followed: local composer O Davies’s Crystalline was bracketed with Spheres, a piece by G Prokofiev who is from, believe it or not, the UK.
More music followed. Rick Webster gave us Ocean, another locally-made piece of music, this time from the pen of J. Butler, followed by Dvorak’s Nocturne for Strings in B Maj. Op. 40.
Still more music: S Greenbaum’s The Rotation of the Earth followed by B. Bartok’s Duo for 2 Violins- #22, Mosquito Dance; #33 Harvest Song & #36 Bagpipes. This section closed with J Rutter’s ‘Suite for Strings’, first movement – Vivace.
All the above were beautifully performed and enthusiastically received by the capacity audience. Mention should be made of the lovely string work from Alix Hamilton, Kathy Potter, Sophie Curtis and Catherine Tabi.
Back to the topic of the night – further relevant information from Professor Chari Pattiaratchi, UWA Oceans Institute, and a discussion of Drought Mitigation from Harry Fisher of Swan Systems and more on Renewables from Neil Canby, Sunrise Energy Group. Biodiversity topics included Thriving Oceans, (Julia Reisser) Drought Mitigation,(Harry Fisher,)Renewables (Neil Canby) and Biodiversity (Dr Bruce Webber of the CSIRO).
Flourishing Oceans proved a very relevant talk by Professor Chari Pattiaratchi, UWA Oceans Institute. Information on Renewables and Biodiversity were discussed by Neil Canby of Sunrise Energy Group, followed by Dr Bruce Webber of the CSIRO, speaking on Biodiversity.
All in all, a very worthwhile evening, both thought-provoking and inspiring. I think we can expect more such events over the next few years, as the reality of climate change is seen as a relevant fact of life in this country. It’s a notable fact that people interested in the arts generally are among the first to see the need for political action.
5 stars ★★★★★
A Performance for our Planet
Music and Nature in Perfect Harmony
Perth Symphony Orchestra
Presented in partnership with BlueOcean Monitoring
27 March 2019
Perth Town Hall
