The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) has announced its 2026 season, inviting audiences to experience the “powerful force of live orchestral music up close”.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Photo supplied

“In 2026, WASO steps boldly into a year of extraordinary artistry. Alongside beloved symphonies and concertos, we’re proud to champion compelling new Australian works and deliver memorable performances that showcase the orchestra in all its brilliance,” said Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Asher Fisch.

WASO’s mainstage MACA Symphonic Series occupies Winthrop Hall, with 11 performances over the course of the year. Fisch has programmed two of his favourite works among them. A particular season highlight for him is Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (8–9 May), with British baritone Christopher Maltman and American bass David Leigh as the Dutchman and Daland respectively, alongside a cast of Australian soloists including Anna-Louise Cole, Paul O’Neill, Ruth Burke and Andrew Goodwin.

Fisch will also lead WASO in Mahler’s Ninth Symphony on 9–10 October, the last complete symphony the composer penned before his death.

To open the year, Russian-Italian violinist Sergej Krylov makes his WASO debut with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto across 6–7 March. A child prodigy who made his orchestral debut at the age of 10, Krylov is currently Chief Conductor of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra.

French cellist Ivan Karizna and Dutch conductor Otto Tausk feature in Schumann‘s Cello Concerto (26–27 June), a program that also includes Brahms’ Third Symphony and the Overture from Haydn’s The Creation.

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto (3–4 July) features the return of violinist Benjamin Beilman, the debut of BBC Philharmonic Guest Principal Conductor Anja Bihlmaier and an airing of Australian composer Melody Eötvös’s The Saqqara Bird.

Jenna Smith. Photo © Ammon Creative

Local performers also get their time to shine. WASO Principal Trumpet Jenna Smith tackles Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Beethoven’s Eroica (10–11 April), pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska performs Elena Kats-Chernin’s Third Piano Concerto in Sibelius‘ Second (31 July – 1 August), Konstantin Shamray takes on Prokofiev in Beethoven’s Seventh (21–22 August), and clarinettist Ashley Smith delivers the world premiere of a brand-new Clarinet Concerto by Australian composer James Ledger, alongside Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony (2–3 October).

To cap the year off, James Crabb gives the WA premiere of Holly Harrison’s new Concerto for Classical Accordion next to Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony (13–14 November), and conductor Chad Kelly takes the podium for the Christmas cornerstone, Handel’s Messiah (27–28 November).

The Baroque Series is back in two parts, with violinist Shaun Lee-Chen back in the director’s chair for Masters of the Baroque with soprano Prudence Sanders (23–24 April), while violinist Satu Vänskä directs Art of the Baroque (29–30 October) with works by Rameau as its centrepiece.

Highlights in WASO’s Chamber Series include Mozart’s Gran Partita and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony in Resonance (6–7 June), Dvořák’s Wind Serenade in Reverie (19–20 September), and a world premiere by Aaron Wyatt paired with Mendelssohn in Revive (22 November).

In the Underground series, Mayhem and Rapture pairs works by John Adams, Holly Harrison and Osvaldo Golijov (27–28 February), while Australian composer Vanessa Perica has a brand-new work premiering as part of WASO’s Reich and Richter program (6–7 Nov), which also includes the Australian premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Fog and Steve Reich’s Reich/Richter (Richter, in this case, is German artist Gerhard Richter).

More about the West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s 2026 season can be found here.