The West Australian Symphony Orchestra will present five world premieres and bring major orchestral works to audiences across the state in its 2027 season, Joy Lives Here.

The season will be WASO’s final peripatetic year before the reopening of Perth Concert Hall, with the Orchestra presenting its mainstage programs at Winthrop Hall, alongside performances at His Majesty’s Theatre, the State Theatre Centre of WA and other venues across Perth.

Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser Asher Fisch characterises the season as “a vibrant mix of familiar faces and brilliant debuts by artists from Australia and around the world.”

Asher Fisch conducts WASO.

Fisch leads the season’s opening concert, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, on 5 and 6 March. Joined by the WASO Chorus and soloists Meechot Marrero, Stefanie Irányi, Andrew Goodwin and James Clayton, Fisch will pair Beethoven’s choral masterpiece with Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre.

Fisch will also conduct Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony, a program of Wagner and Strauss, and a season-closing concert featuring Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole and Boléro. Other major works include Brahms’ Second Symphony, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Tchaikovsky’s First and Fourth Symphonies and Piano Concerto No. 1, and Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony.

The season brings a substantial roster of Australian and international guest artists to Perth. Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits joins pianist Vadym Kholodenko for the world premiere of Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No.3, while Italian-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti and Korean pianist Joyce Yang make their WASO debuts in a program of Bernstein, Gershwin and Bartók.

Conductor Chloé van Soeterstède. Photo supplied

French conductor Chloé van Soeterstède also makes her WASO debut, conducting Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony with returning violinist Simone Lamsma. Returning conductors include Lawrence Renes and Umberto Clerici, while pianists Alexander Gavrylyuk and Kholodenko, and cellist Li-Wei Qin, are among the featured soloists.

Australian music is a major strand of the 2027 program, with five world premieres. Alongside Vine’s Piano Concerto, Richard Mills’ Percussion Symphony will place WASO’s percussionists at the centre of the Orchestra, while Elizabeth Younan’s new work will receive its first performance in October.

James Ledger’s Cello Concerto, performed by Li-Wei Qin, premieres in November, while Lachlan Skipworth’s Oboe Concerto will be performed by WASO Principal Oboe Liz Chee in the Matinee Symphony Series.

The Orchestra’s annual Composition Project also returns, with emerging Western Australian composers Darcy Lewis and Amy Skellern each receiving world premieres. Lewis’s work features in the family concert Peter and the Wolf, while Skellern’s new work forms part of Heroes and Hallucinations, a program of contemporary music by Lisa Illean, Nuno Lobo, Skellern and Thomas Adès.

WASO will also perform several works for the first time, including Camille Pépin’s Les Eaux célestes, Anna Clyne’s This Moment, Theodore Akimenko’s The Ice Maiden, Louise Farrenc’s Overture No.2 and music by Ethel Smyth.

Asher Fisch and musicians of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Beyond the flagship MACA Symphonic Series, the season includes Matinee Symphony, Baroque and Chamber series. The Baroque concerts return to His Majesty’s Theatre under the direction of Shaun Lee-Chen, with programs featuring Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Lully and other Baroque composers.

The Chamber Series moves into the intimate setting of the Government House Ballroom, with WASO musicians exploring repertoire by Brahms, Wagner, Shostakovich, Kodály, Janáček, Dvořák, Bacewicz, Stravinsky and Piazzolla.

Special events broaden the season further. At Perth Festival, Warangka (Sing) brings singer-songwriter Gina Williams-Ghouse and WASO together for new ensemble arrangements of songs by Williams-Ghouse and her late husband, Guy Ghouse. Other projects include WASO Chorus Sings: Sacrée at St Mary’s Cathedral and the family concert Peter and the Wolf.

WASO will also return to its Art of the Score series with The Music of The Lord of the Rings, an exploration of Howard Shore’s Oscar-winning scores led by conductor Nicholas Buc, with commentary and musical demonstrations from Art of the Score. The WASO Chorus and Aquinas College Schola Cantorum will join the Orchestra.

The screen-music program continues with Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert, marking 50 years of the film with John Williams’ score performed live to the complete movie under conductor Jessica Gethin. How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Concert, conducted by Gethin, will also be presented.

Jessica Gethin. Photo supplied

As the State Orchestra, WASO’s 2027 activities extend well beyond Perth. Regional performances begin in March at Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre with Sounds of Splendour, a Baroque program led by Shaun Lee-Chen. In August, Fisch and violinist Francesca Dego travel to Mandurah and Albany, with programs featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Anna Clyne’s This Moment and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. WASO returns to Bunbury in October with van Soeterstède and Lamsma.

The Orchestra’s community and education work will continue alongside the concert season, with programs including Crescendo, WASO in Schools, Connect, Harmony Music, Side-by-Side Symphony and Music for the Ages. The programs range from free music lessons and school performances to accessible performances for adults living with disabilities, ensembles visiting education support centres and chamber concerts in aged-care settings.

WASO’s 2027 subscription packages go on sale on 30 September, with single tickets available from 4 November. Visit waso.com.au for more information.