Fresh from celebrating our first sell-out concert of the year, the Inner West Symphony Orchestra is returning to our favourite venue, the Williamstown Town Hall, to present MYTHIC, a musical exploration of Australian contemporary works celebrating the power and beauty of our natural world.
MYTHIC is inspired by our land, coast and local community and draws on our rich and vibrant orchestral musical heritage. As a community orchestra that celebrates place and local culture, the IWSO is proud to perform an Australian repertoire which tells emerging stories that reflect who we are and where we are from.
Highlights will include Elena Kats-Chernin’s imagined journey into the depths of an underground cave, Katy Abbott’s ethereal ‘Stars that Split the Night’ for massed choir and orchestra (featuring special guests Grace Notes Singers), and the premiere of local composer (and IWSO cellist) George Barsoum’s ‘The Secret Lives of Bushland Creatures’.
One of the special features of the program will be Nigel Westlake’s ‘BABE: Concert Suite’, a magical, sparkling score evoking the warmth and humour of the 1995 comedy-drama film. We will also salute a revered composer from our recent past: Percy Grainger, the early 20th century pioneer who helped popularise British folk music.
The program also ventures beyond our shores, with a performance of Beethoven’s rousing overture to the ballet ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’ and Elgar’s lyrically descriptive song cycle ‘Sea Pictures’, showcasing emerging contralto (also an IWSO cellist) Sophie Cowall.
George Barsoum
Image: Anthony McKee
Sophie Cowall
Image: Anthony McKee
MYTHIC is on at Williamstown Town Hall on Sunday, 3 August, at 2 pm. Doors open at 1.30 pm and light refreshments will be available before the show and during the interval.
Get there early, grab yourself some refreshments and a good seat!
IWSO Orchestra 2025
Image: Anthony McKee
