Birds of Tokyo & WASO

Birds of Tokyo

Birds of Tokyo have grown from independent roots to become one of this country’s most popular rock bands. The Perth five piece have released three chart topping albums driven by top 10 hits like ‘Good Lord’, ‘Plans’, ‘Unbreakable’, ‘Anchor’ and ‘Lanterns’. One of Triple J’s three most played artists of this millennium, they are also the only artist in history to win ‘Rock Work of the Year’ on five separate occasions at the APRA Awards. Having performed twice at the AFL Grand Final and the NRL’s State of Origin, and toured as special guests for everyone from Muse and Bon Jovi to Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel, Birds of Tokyo’s songs have created a soundtrack for contemporary Australia. Their work has also featured in major film and TV productions and advertising campaigns for prominent brands including Telstra. The band first experimented with adding orchestral touches to their work in 2009 on their ‘Broken Strings’ tour and accompanying live release. In 2020 they planned much bigger collaborations, starting with hometown shows with WASO and acclaimed conductor, Nicholas Buc. While the dates were postponed due to the pandemic, the eventual stagings attracted gushing reviews. It led to a further collaboration for the TV special ‘Music From The Homefront’ and inspired all involved to reprise and expand the concept for this 2023 reimagining … ‘Birdsongs’.

Image credit: Kane Hibberd

Nicholas Buc
Conductor

Nicholas Buc is an Award-winning composer, conductor and arranger with over 20 years experience in the music industry. He has composed music for film, television and the concert hall, with some of his work being screened at festivals and theatres around Australia, Asia and the US. As the recipient of the prestigious Brian May Scholarship, he completed a Master’s degree in Scoring for Film and Multimedia at New York University, receiving the Elmer Bernstein Award for Film Scoring.

He has worked with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Chris Botti, Amanda Palmer, Ben Folds and Australian pop sensation Tina Arena. He has written arrangements for Birds of Tokyo, Missy Higgins, Eskimo Joe and Vera Blue as well as working on Junior MasterChef, The Voice Australia and the 2021 AFL Grand Final.

Nicholas is highly sought after as a conductor for live film concerts, having conducted the world premieres of John Williams’ Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Hans Zimmer’s The Lion King (2019), Alan Menken’s Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Alexandre Desplat’s Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

He is also the only person in the world to have conducted all three original Star Wars films in concert…in one day.

Engage | Excite | Experience | Educate

From the centre of Perth to the furthest corners of the state, we have provided the soundtrack to life in WA since 1928.

As the State Orchestra, Perth’s first and finest, WASO is the largest employer of performing artists in Western Australia and reaches two million people with musical experiences each year on stage, in our community, and online.

From concert halls to classrooms, hospitals to aged care, we bring joy, inspire learning, and nurture participation in our community, because everybody deserves the opportunity to experience live music. Every year, through community and leading industry partnerships, we engage a new generation of young and emerging artists to help secure a bright future for music in Australia.

We celebrate our rich classical music heritage with great artists from all over the world and commission and perform new repertoire to renew and expand it.

The Orchestra collaborates widely with major arts companies and independent artists, performing opera to ballet, movies to musicals, jazz to rock. We champion the diversity of music in all its forms, with a team of talented and passionate people who create unforgettable experiences for all West Australians to enjoy.

Asher Fisch is Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of our Orchestra and we are proud to call Perth Concert Hall home.