The Inner West Symphony Orchestra prides itself on a foundation of community, diversity and creating a platform for musicians to congregate and share our love of orchestral music.
And as the brainchild of 3 female, inner west musicians, the IWSO couldn’t have been more thrilled to collaborate with the Wyndham City Council and Lancemore Estate for their Women in Business cocktail evening. Hosted at the historic Werribee Mansion on a warm Friday evening, we couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop to showcase our wonderful musicians, and celebrate the diverse talents and endeavours of all the wonderful attendees present.
To set the tone of the evening, 14 of our wonderful string players, including two of our founders Elisa and Emma, and current President Yilin, performed a variety of string pieces while other attendees strutted their stuff on the purple runway, showcasing cultural outfits, hand-sewn garments and other gorgeous fashion ensembles. Guests mingled, networked and enjoyed delicious canapés while the IWSO string ensemble provided an elegant soundtrack to the evening, setting the tone for a wonderful evening ahead.
As the small ensemble coordinator, it was my pleasure to mingle with guests, liaise with Wyndham City Council members, and share our story as an organisation to those attending. Many were amazed at the standard of playing by a group of community musicians, and even more amazed when they were informed that this was indeed only a small selection of our usual 70+ piece orchestra! While our focus is on providing accessible classical music to the people of the western suburbs of Melbourne, it truly is a testament to the quality of music we’re producing by the amount of enquiries I received that night to hire our incredible musicians for events, including someone’s upcoming wedding!
I was blessed to have spoken to remarkable women from all walks of life that evening, from fashion designers to mechanics to small business owners, and even a woman who attended the event purely to see us perform!
After the main event where host Patrina Jones spoke with 2 fashion designers about their brand, philosophy and business acumen, our orchestra played their showcase piece, Die With A Smile, much to the delight of the audience. Throughout the evening I witnessed many guests take photos and videos of our incredible musicians, and there were even some keen dancers showing their enjoyment to the music we were producing.
After more than two and a half hours of playing throughout the evening (with breaks to eat their delicious canapés!) our musicians were approached by many of the guests who showered them in much-deserved praise for their contribution to the evening. And I couldn’t agree more with that praise; our musicians really set the tone of the event, and with a majority-female ensemble, represented both women and the IWSO proudly.
Image: Anthony McKee
I’d love to extend my appreciation to the Wyndham City Council and Lancemore Estate for their collaboration on this wonderful evening, and to our talented musicians who performed. We look forward to future collaborations with them, but for now, it’s time to get back to practicing for our next concert!
Kim Pearson
IWSO Small Ensemble Coordinator
