As PIAF winds down, WASO’s gala season opens and Kulcha brings world-class world music to Perth.
This year’s PIAF has been phenomenal, and March is your last chance to partake of the festivities. Some saxy jazz comes in the form of Chris Potter Underground who closes for PIAF’s season on March 2 at Perth Concert Hall. See perthfestival.com.au for more information.
With PIAF done for another year, WASO steps in and fills the void. Valkyrie opens the Gala Season, and Lisa Gasteen heads the cast as the soprano for the World Premiere of James Ledger’s The Madness and Death of King Ludwig, in partnership with the West Australian Opera on March 7 and 8. In the Classics series, WASO have Arild Remmerreit (conductor) and clarinet virtuoso Dimitri Ashkenazy joining forces for Northern Lights on the 14th and 15th of March. The Northern Lights programme includes Rautavaara’s ‘Isle of Bliss’, Nielson’s ‘Clarinet Concerto’ and Dvorak’s ‘Symphony No.7’.
OiP’s Mid-month pick – Barbra and Frank the Concert That Never Was at Regal Theatre on March 14. Okay, so technically, it’s not Barbra and Frank, but the actors playing the roles are so good you wouldn’t have known if we didn’t tell you. Also in mid-March, UWA gets Keyed Up (www.music.uwa.edu.au) on March 16 at Octagon Theatre with London’s Piers Lane’s ivory tinklings of ‘Eileen Joyce Centenary Celebration’, while on March 17, classical Turkish virtuosi Omar Faruk Tekbilek graces the stage of Perth Concert Hall. Then on March 22, Kulcha grooves to Global Rhythms from West Africa, India, Latin America and more at the Quarry Amphitheatre.
For culture on a budget, Kulcha presents Harmony on Hyde in Hyde Park, a free performance on March 15 in honour of Harmony Week. Kulcha also stages a series of free performances on the Swan with Beats in the Bush in Gidgegannup on March 2, Peta Lithgo & Malaika in Bullsbrook on March 15, and Cahoots Cajun Dance Band in Midland on March 23. More information at www.kulcha.com.au. For affordable family fun, get to King’s Park for WASO in the Park with Jay on March 2nd – general admission $15.
The latter half of the month is also well catered for. Bringing a whole new meaning to underground music scene is Cabaret Soiree. Performing Downstairs at the Maj is a line up of cabaret artists who bring unadulterated aural pleasure to the intimate venue space. Catch a musical in the making, Metro Street, March 13-15; tuck in your elbows as from March 22-29, there’s No Room to Swing a Cat; then finish off the season in the company of the rather fine Tyran Parke who stars in Chinks in the Armour – a Quest through Cabaret. See www.hismajestystheatre.com.au for the details.
And lest we forget to mention, WASO’s Ernst and Young Pops in the Park happens March 1, while Kulcha brings big names, such as Brit folkster Bob Fox (March 1), Yank folkster Peggy Seeger (March 2) and crazy Quebecois act Genticorum (March 4).
Finally – If you do have the funds and time off to go further a field, Womadelaide kicks off in Adelaide from March 7-9. Samba, soul, blues, and bongos are just a fraction of the heady mix at South Australia’s iconic world music festival. Apart from inconveniently being situated in the wrong state, this is a festival that pretty much offers the world. www.womadelaide.com.au.
