BY now our community has become well acquainted with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra. They are committed to making music inviting and accessible to all, with numerous children’s concerts each year inspiring the next generation of musicians and music lovers.

The Willoughby Symphony Orchestra have put on incredible performances; The Post are especially familiar with their performances in the Chatswood Culture Bites program last year.

This year, Nicholas Milton, an accomplished conductor across four continents has returned from abroad to conduct Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in performing ‘Gala – Heroes of Hollywood’. 

The Post sat down with Nicholas to discuss the upcoming performance and why he had returned from his endeavours abroad to lead this local orchestra.

Nicholas said, 

“I first conducted the orchestra some 30 years ago, and that experience was one of the most joyful experiences of my life. It has been a wonderful adventure to conduct orchestras across four continents, but the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra retains a special place in my heart.”

“I have a special relationship with this community. I went to primary school at Lane Cove and then at Chatswood Primary. And I grew up with musicians in the orchestra, some of whom I have known for more than forty years. Those sorts of deep connections can never be matched by any orchestra abroad.”

This upcoming performance is special, as “you will hear the broadest spectrum of glorious scores – iconic soundtracks that at once transport us into unassailable associations with the films to which they are immortally linked” Nicholas explained.

The audience can expect to hear familiar soundtracks such as title tracks to Star Wars, Superman, Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones, Rocky, Spiderman, Jaws, ET and Pirates of the Caribbean, and a bunch more.

The performance of ‘Gala – Heroes of Hollywood’ reflects how film composers of the modern age have drawn unending inspiration from the great symphonic masters of our canon. Music has always had the ability to viscerally portray the deepest emotions, love, fear, triumph and despair.

Nicholas expressed the hope that every performance the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra presents will leave the public with “hearts and souls that have been lifted, opened and enriched by the music we feel so privileged to perform for you – we look forward to sharing unforgettable moments with you in 2023”.

For more information on Willoughby Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming performance of ‘Gala – Heroes of Hollywood’ visit https://www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/Events/Willoughby-Symphony-Orchestra-Gala-Heroes-of-Hollywood.