Tasmania Discovery Orchestra Meets Stephen Schwartz

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of playing with the Tasmania Discovery Orchestra in  An Evening with Stephen Schwartz as part of the Festival of Broadway.

The Tasmania Discovery Orchestra (TDO) is an initiative of the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and came into being in March of this year. It is an orchestra designed to offer musicians with advanced orchestral instrument skills the opportunity to come together and make great music in Hobart, Tasmania. Entry is by audition.

The rehearsal arrangement is designed to encourage interstate players and so is quite compact.  We had five rehearsals: two on Thursday, two on Friday, and one on Saturday, followed by the concert.

Stephen Schwartz is an extremely talented musician and lyricist. It was a delight to see and hear him,  both in interview and performing. The interviewer for the night was Michael A Kerker, the Director of Musical Theatre for ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). 

Schwartz’ description of the writing process was quite illuminating. It is very easy to have the impression that composers or lyricists sit down and just write what comes to them in an unending flow.  This idea was soon corrected as Schwartz told of many incidences of having to write and re-write until he was satisfied with the end result.

Later on he played a piece he had re-worked, in its original form, at the piano. He then went on to play the second re-write and finally the third, explaining along the way his reasoning for changing the lyrics and the eventual title of the song.  All this was done completely without written music!

Soloists at the concert included some absolutely amazing singers: Liz Callaway, Michael Rose, Silvie Paladino, Adrian Li Donni, Ben Davidson, Julie O’Reilly and Michael Lampard. Musical numbers were from Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, Children of Eden, The Baker’s Wife, Rags and Wicked.

The first Australian performance of two excerpts from Schwartz’ first opera, Séance On A Wet Afternoon, were also performed by Julie O’Reilly and Ben Davidson. The opera premiered at the Opera Santa Barbara late last year and will be performed  in Australia in 2011.

All in all, it was a most enjoyable evening and a thrill to be in the orchestra for such a pleasurable event.

An ingenious orchestral initiative from UTAS

The University of Tasmania, Conservatorium of Music, has recently launched a fantastic new initiative to foment orchestral playing in Tasmania: the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra (TDO). The orchestra is designed to increase the opportunity for musicians with advanced orchestral instrument skills, but are not able to perform regularly within their own community, to come together (from all over Australia) to perform great music. 

So how does this work with musicians coming from all over Australia?
Well it's really quite an ingenious system.  There are a total of four concerts per year. There are five rehearsals prior to each concert: two on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.  The concert itself takes place on the Sunday afternoon. This brilliant set up means that people can easily come from interstate to be invovled!

Who can apply?
Any Australian citizen or permanent resident over the age of 16.

How do I join?
The TDO is an ensemble of the Conservatorium of Music. To be eligible to perform musicians first of all must audition. This can be live or recorded (DVD). Then they are enrolled in a series of performanc units (concerts!) leading to a Diploma in Music Performance (undergraduate) or Graduate Diploma in Music Professional Music Practice (graduate).

What about cost?
The TDO will actually pay you for each rehearsal! And the associated university fees are covered by a HECS scholarship. Also, those travelling from the mainland receive a travel subsidy in addition to the rehearsal fee.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the website for more information and a downloadable flyer. You can also apply online, here. If you are still not sure you can also download the orchestral excerpts for your instrument on the right hand side of this page and/or contact the Conservatorium of Music for more specific information .