WSOC – Classics With Class
Dr Nicholas Milton celebrates his tenth anniversary as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the vibrant Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir. Robert Clark talks to him about the 2011 season and the fostering of Australian talent.
This year holds special significance for the Australian conductor, Nicholas Milton. Not just because he is, once again, in high demand on the European orchestral and operatic circuits – with commitments to the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, North German Radio Orchestra, London Philharmonic and Innsbruck’s Tiroler Landestheater to name but a few engagements – but because he will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of his tenure as Chief Conductor with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir. And it is indeed a happy, mutually beneficial relationship between this internationally renowned conductor and the Chatswood-based group he directs: ‘This is an ensemble that consistently inspires me. The energy, dedication and passion of our musicians and our tiny management team are absolutely electrifying and over these past ten years it has been a real privilege to have been part of many scintillating performance experiences.’
The relationship is more than just creative; there is also an ingrained heritage that he shares with the ensemble and its community. ‘I grew up in Lane Cove and also attended Chatswood Primary School for grades five and six, so this district is really my home. My mother lives in Northbridge and the members of our orchestra are like family and dear friends. Some of them I have known since I was in high school.’
While growing up in the Lower North Shore, Milton dedicated himself to the violin, which would bring rich rewards in his early career as an orchestral and chamber musician. After graduating from the Sydney Conservatorium he earned the coveted position of concertmaster with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, which he held from 1996 to 2002, and enjoyed eight years with the Macquarie Trio from 1998. But a strong desire to wield the baton meant his attention became diverted away from the violin quite early on. Conducting appointments from the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and the Jenaer Philharmonie would all come his way between 1999 and 2004. These days Milton is able to draw from his time as a violinist to shape and strengthen his role at the podium. ‘My experience as a violinist, as an orchestral concertmaster and as a chamber musician has been invaluable to everything I do as a conductor. I cannot imagine how I would be able to do what I do as a conductor had I not had those orchestral and chamber music experiences.’
His experience with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra would also provide inspiration for his entry into the heady world of opera. ‘I had some wonderful experiences when I worked in the pit with the ASO; playing for all four complete Ring Cycles in 1998 and Parsifal in 2001 was especially memorable.’ After making his Australian conducting debut with Don Giovanni for Opera Queensland in 2003, Milton has been in demand throughout Europe, and there is no doubt as to the highpoint of his career in the theatre so far. ‘I would say that conducting Fledermaus in Vienna was to date the most thrilling experience of my life as an opera conductor – the orchestra was so unbelievable – I just needed to think of something and they reacted. That is an opera that belongs to that city and the orchestra there has a responsibility to the traditions of that work – it was simply a privilege to have been able to take part.’
This vital link between his formative years of artistic growth in Australia and his now flourishing international career is something that Nicholas Milton constantly bears in mind. He is committed to ensuring the provision of similar opportunities to as many as possible up-and-coming artists in Australia today. A large part of that commitment is realised through his work with Willoughby. ‘We are extremely proud of the fact that we offer superb performance opportunities to fantastically talented Australian artists. Many of the conductors and soloists we have featured over the last ten years approached me or the orchestra specifically because they are not otherwise being offered the opportunities all of us as artists need in order to develop our craft further.’
Local support for Australian musicians is clearly something very close to Milton's heart, and he is critical of what he sees as an imbalance in the appointments procured by our major orchestras today. ‘Unlike the six major network orchestras of Australia who overwhelmingly employ overseas-based soloists and conductors, we simply do not have the money to fly in overseas artists and to pay the sort of fees that they routinely pay. Frankly, not only do we not have the money, I personally do not even have the desire to propagate an artistic policy that for all intents and purposes excludes Australian conductors, soloists and composers from the flagship subscription series of an orchestra. There are so many wonderful Australian-based artists in this country who are hungry, famished even, for the opportunities we can provide, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than providing a showcase for the abundance of talent that our country continues to produce.’
The Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir's 2011 season is certainly no exception to this approach, with a program packed with exciting local and national talent, working together to perform some of the great works of the orchestral repertoire.
The season begins on March 27 with a concert entitled Mozart in March, and will feature Melbourne-based pianist Jonathan Bradley performing Mozart's Piano Concerto no 14 and Bloch’s Concerto Grosso no 1 for solo piano and strings. Boccherini and Haydn symphonies will bookend the program, and all will be presided over by the exciting young Sydney-based conductor Carolyn Watson. Encouragingly for our national musical landscape, Watson seems to be following quite closely in the footsteps of Milton, as she will be returning from numerous engagements in Europe, including a recent period of residency at the Staatsoper Berlin under the tutelage of Daniel Barenboim.
In May, Nicholas Milton will return to lead the orchestra through an exploration of nineteenth-century orchestral works entitled The Bold and the Beautiful. This concert will begin with Beethoven’s much-loved Egmont Overture, followed by the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, featuring soloist Natsuko Yoshimoto, an artist Milton knows well. ‘Natsuko is a dear friend, and is presently Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She is simply a superb violinist and a gifted artist of great poise, imagination and depth. I performed this concerto with her on tour with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra some years ago, and am so looking forward to doing it again with her.’ The final work for the concert will be Brahms’s Symphony no 4, a work that Milton particularly enjoys re-discovering. ‘The Brahms has long had a special place in my heart. It is one of my favourite symphonies to conduct and I am sure all of us will, as usual, enjoy the journey we take together. This repertoire is technically and emotionally complex and rich in possibilities.’
The remainder of the 2011 WSOC season offers further opportunities for musicians to shine and audiences to delight. In July, Milton will conduct a full performance of Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, followed in August by the world premiere of this year's 2MBS-FM Young Composers’ Award winning piece, conducted by guest-conductor Aiko Goto. In October Milton and orchestra will be joined by pianist Alexey Yemtsov to perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no 1 and Beethoven’s Ninth, and in December WSOC will sound out the year with a Christmas concert led by guest conductor Sarah Penicka-Smith.
Nicholas Milton senses many things on Willoughby’s horizon to look forward to, but he is also keen to acknowledge a rich history that is worthy of celebrating. ‘As the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir moves into its extraordinary new concert hall in 2012, I think it is timely to reflect on what we as a community-based ensemble contribute to our society. Over ten years, I have seen our orchestra and our organisation develop into a close-knit family that brings the community together. I have seen our wonderfully experienced players mentor emerging professionals. I have seen our audiences respond with heartfelt emotion to the energy they witness during our performances. Over the several years that we have worked with 2MBS-FM on the WSOC/2MBS-FM Young Composers’ Competition, I have personally workshopped and conducted the orchestra, in rehearsal and in concert, in over a dozen newly composed orchestral creations by young composers. I have seen our community-based orchestra bring the Chinese community in Chatswood together with a number of extraordinary initiatives, including performances with visiting Chinese artists at the Opera House. And I have worked on many programs with our spectacularly engaged choir, many of whom have sung with us for decades. All of these aspects of what we do reflect a particular community shading – a very specific feel and an intimacy that is apparent in our performances. In the last several years before our old home was torn down to make way for our beautiful new community centre, the orchestra was riding a wave of popularity and we had reached the best ticket sales in our history. Without a fixed venue for the last few years, we now have the pleasure of enticing people back to the orchestra in its new concert hall at the Concourse. Our future is bright and I have so many plans for the orchestra that we would need another interview to discuss them in depth.’
In the meantime, we can all simply enjoy the fruits of Milton's hard work and dedication to date and share in the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir's passion for fine music and community involvement.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON 2011 SEASON VISIT www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/willoughby-symphony.html