SRIRAM RAVISHANKAR
Homecoming
Australian World Orchestra’s (AWO) Founder and Chief Conductor Alexander
Briger and Founding Director Gabrielle Thompson briefly talk about curating
the only professional orchestra representing one nationality coming together
from all over the world upon concluding their India Tour in September.
T
he orchestra's second tour to India took place across
Mumbai, Chennai, and Cochin. What was special
this time was, playing at Kerala - for the first time
ever . The growing presence of Western Classical music
in India is only tempting more orchestras to plan tours
to India. It is also steadily increasing the number of
patrons for the genre in the country besides catering to
old connoisseurs. With SOI, NCPA, leaders like Zubin
Mehta heading the way, followed by biggies like AR - his
school KM Conservatory, Ajay Atul, Salim Sulaiman,
Vishal-Shekhar, a host of prominent musical figures
largely endorse western classical music and orchestras.
Internet has given audiences easy access to international
music breeding a global musical palette. Alongside this,
active efforts from smaller scale music schools who are
training youngsters in western classical music and brewing
homegrown professional bodies like the National Youth
Orchestra show immense promise in the near future for the
growth of native and international genres of music in India.
“The teaching in India is getting seriously good! The
education here is fantastic. We worked with kids from the
Sunshine Orchestra down in Chennai. They loved it and sat
with us on stage during rehearsals. We loved their passion
and energy! We also worked with kids from the Mehli Mehta
Music Foundation in Mumbai like we did in 2015. The kids
joined us with the orchestra and played in our performance
which was so impressive! With the SOI calling such big
conductors and soloists, it won’t be long until Western
Classical music is vastly appreciated by everyone,” opened
Briger who is an internationally renowned figure in the
world circuit. His elaborate catalogue of work coupled
with his expertise and experiences across the world with
various orchestras led him to founding the AWO in 2010.
AWO’s vision to bring together Australia’s most successful
classical musicians from around the world, to form one of
the country’s most electrifying orchestras has been one
of the most exciting orchestra initiatives in Australia’s
cultural history. Featuring Australians returning home
from playing in leading world orchestras such as the
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Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra, to name
a few combined with colleagues from state orchestras,
the result is over 100 musicians, representing over 50
orchestras, all at the top of their profession under one roof.
Gabrielle, Briger’s sister and founding director of the AWO
has served as CEO since joining the board in 2009 upon
the formation of the orchestra. She talks about putting
the orchestra together saying, “Alexander had been living
and working away from Australia and in 2009 he came to
Australia to conduct and came to me with this idea. I love
classical music and have always been very proud of the
high achievements of Australian classical musicians who
have leading positions in the great orchestras of the world.
As players in orchestras, it is not usual for these players
to be able to come back to Australia to play unless their
orchestras are invited to do so, and with many of the players
this is not possible. So, we thought why not bring them
all to Australia and form an orchestra! As great players,
the reaction to them by Australian audiences in 2011 was
tremendous and when we invited Zubin Mehta in 2013 to
conduct AWO, he too thought it was a great orchestra and
suggested taking the orchestra to India - his home country.
So, it was that we came to tour India in 2015 and now again
in 2018. We are the only orchestra of this kind in the world,”