Last Night of the Proms

Welcome to WASO’s Last Night of the Proms - A Classical Spectacular 2022!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to return to the podium and stand up in front of the West Australia Symphony Orchestra. No, I will tell you how excited I am. Very excited. Almost tingling. For too long during the pandemic Perth seemed like a distant kingdom, only accessed by a magic portal through a wardrobe or perhaps by special permission of law enforcement. But now you will let anyone in, including me.

Once again we will perform the sea shanties and traditional items from the BBC Last Night of the Proms. We welcome our wonderful mezzo-soprano soloist Ashlyn Tymms, and the WA Police Pipe Band will fire up their bagpipes and fill the Perth Concert Hall with the most inspiring sounds of the Highland Cathedral. Of course, we also want you to join with the WASO Chorus in those rousing moments of Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia, all featuring the magnificent sound of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. So wave your flags, throw your streamers and be full-throated in song as we once again celebrate the Last Night of the Proms in Perth style.

Guy Noble

Guy Noble
Conductor

Guy Noble has conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Western Australian, Tasmanian, Queensland and Canberra symphony orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonia, and the Hong Kong Symphony and Malaysian Philharmonic orchestras. He is the host and accompanist each year for Great Opera Hits (Opera Australia) at the Sydney Opera House and loves to return as conductor and host for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Classics Unwrapped series at the Adelaide Town Hall. He was host of Breakfast on ABC Classic from 1999 to 2001.

Guy has worked with a wide variety of international performers including Harry Connick Jr, Ben Folds, The Beach Boys, The Pointer Sisters, Dianne Reeves, Glenn Frey, Randy Newman, Clive James, Conchita, The Two Cellos, Alfie Boe and Olivia Newton John. Other career highlights include cooking on stage with Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant from ABC TV’s The Cook and The Chef and singing Rossini Cat’s Duet in recital with Korean soprano Sumi Jo.

Ashlyn Tymms
Mezzo-soprano

Ashlyn Tymms most recently performed with the West Australian Opera as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana and Dorabella in the Glyndebourne Festival production of Così fan tutte. In 2020, she also sang Hansel in the WAO production of Hansel and Gretel. Making her debut with the company as Lapák and Mrs Pásková in The Cunning Little Vixen, Ashlyn has also sung Flora in La traviata and Lady-in-Waiting in Verdi’s Macbeth. She returns to WAO in 2022 to sing the title role in Carmen.

Other engagements have included Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music at Buckingham Palace (hosted by The Prince of Wales), a tour to South Korea in recital with the London Cello Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem at the Sydney Town Hall, Rosimonda in Handel’s Faramondo at the London Handel Festival and frequent guest appearances with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She has also sung La marchande de journaux in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, the title role in Dido and Aeneas.

© Patrick Togher Artists’ Management 2022

WASO Chorus

The WASO Chorus was formed in 1988 and consists of around 100 volunteer choristers who represent the finest form of community music making, bringing together singers from all walks of life. They regularly feature in the WASO annual concert season, and are directed by Andrew Foote.

The Chorus has built an international reputation for its high standards and diverse range of repertoire. While its main role is to perform with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra the Chorus also maintains a profile of solo concerts, tours and community engagements.

The Chorus sings with the finest conductors and soloists including Asher Fisch, Simone Young, Stephen Layton and Paul Daniel. Recent highlights have included Brahms’ German Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem. In 2019 the Chorus performed at the Denmark Festival of Voice and in 2018 toured China with performances of Orff’s Carmina burana. In 2020 they performed two Gala events on the Kalbarri Skywalk.

Andrew Foote
Chorus Director

WA Police Pipe Band

The Western Australia Police Force Pipe Band (WAPOL) have served the community of Western Australia since 12 May 1966. The band membership consists of fifteen full-time employees who are a mixture of police officers and civilian police staff. In addition the band has a number of volunteer guest players who assist the band when they are available. The band performs at approximately 200 policing and community engagements each year. Band members also assist frontline service several days per week working at various specialist areas.