On Saturday 12 December 2015 I headed down to Langley Park, Perth to enjoy the Symphony in the City Event. This is one of those events that makes it easy to love the city I know call home. A free event organised by Lottery West and City of Perth and in its ninth year, Symphony in the City is one of those summer highlights that should definitely not be missed. Performed by the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra and the WASO Chorus, playing popular songs such as;


WAGNER Tannhäuser: Entrance of the Guests

SMETANA The Bartered Bride: Overture

STRAUSS, J. Jr Blue Danube: Waltzes

VIVALDI Gloria: Gloria in excelsis deo

BACH, J.S. Orchestral Suite No.2 (Minuet & Badinerie)

HOLST The Planets: Mars

MOZART Requiem: Lacrimosa

BOTTESINI Elegy – For Double Bass with Orchestra

JOHN WILLIAMS Raiders of the Lost Arc: Raiders March

PUCCINI Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo from Act III

TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture


Presenter was Stephen Curry and Conductor Asher Fisch. Both I’ve never heard of…Curry did a good job of keeping it all fairly light hearted and even taking time out to mock the residents in the nearby ridiculously expensive high rise apartments.


I headed down to Langley Park in my trusty motor, only to find the streets filled to the bring with other like minded commuters. A quick detour round the city and ample parking was found at Ozone Reserve. As we walked along the river to the venue it was clear the congestion was due to the makeshift car park in the rear half of Langley park.


Only once we arrived at the actual venue did I actually realise how big this event was. Twenty thousand people all sitting uniformly in the designated seating areas, a first come first serve basis, made me wish I had turned up earlier, and also brought a camping chair…and owned a camping chair.

We sneaked to the edge of the park where rules didn’t apply and stayed there. On account of the metal waist high fencing I chose to stand for the performance, but it was well worth the effort.


The orchestra performed in some sort of tent dome stage thing, with a light show projected on the ceiling. It wasn’t very complex but projecting a big red circle on the ceiling during the Mars performance was a nice touch. The spotlights saturated most of my photos.

Across the length of the park were also four massive screens for the short sighted and those further back. At the very back were a dozen or so food vendors peddling their unhealthy wares.


To bring a bit of variety to the performance there was a rendition of the India Jones theme by John Williams and solo performances from the double bass (Andrew Sinclair) and flute (Andrew Nicholson).

As the evening drew to a close, and the wind from the riverside picked up, the event ended with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and well…a ‘theatrical pyrotechnics display’. It definitely caught us off guard, mainly because we were expecting something bigger after the show. Still good though, definitely not complaining! Of course there was a standing ovation…which sucks for a photographer stuck at ground level…also….already standing for the show. :p