WollCon inaugural director Jim Powell (left) with original WollCon Community Orchestra member Stephen Zantiotis. Photos: Supplied.
The newly named WollCon Symphony Orchestra will host its first concert under its new banner this week, celebrating 80 years of concerts, with its 96-year-old founding violin player to attend as a guest.
Previously known as the WollCon Community Orchestra, it has existed for the past eight decades for the benefit of classical musicians in the Illawarra and South Coast.
The concert on Saturday (29 June) will be performed at the Wollongong Town Hall, the same stage on which Wollongong’s first city orchestra performed its debut concert.
In that 1944 orchestra was violin player Stephen Zantiotis, who now resides in Sydney.
Aged 96, Stephen will be WollCon’s special guest for the concert, along with his family.
Stephen said the classical music group started during the war with a few string players from the remnants of the musicians who played during the silent movie days.
“It is wonderful to see a group of talented musicians performing in Wollongong and brings back so many great memories of when I first started playing in the orchestra,” he said.
“It is truly important to continue with these types of events and I wish everyone playing all the best.”
Today’s members come with a breadth of experience, with many having played in the original Illawarra Symphony Orchestra, The South Coast Orchestra, The Wollongong Symphony, Wollongong Community Orchestra and Steel City Strings.
However, there are also members who have never played in orchestras, but learnt to play in their childhood, and are now retirees, teachers, engineers, IT and health workers and high school students.
Among them is 17-year-old Datu Begley who plays the trumpet for WollCon Symphony Orchestra and joined because of his love of orchestral music, especially exploring the different composers.
Datu said it was also because his school didn’t offer an orchestra opportunity.
“It’s a good opportunity to learn about composition, and experience firsthand a wide variety of composers ranging from classical to composers like Elena Kats Chernin,” he said.
“It has also helped me to gain a stronger understanding of how an orchestra works and the roles of each instrument.
“I also just love listening to the orchestra play whether I’m playing or not.”
Illawarra GP and viola player Kathy Michelmore joined the orchestra many years ago before it was officially affiliated with the conservatorium.
Kathy said she had moved to the Illawarra from Bermuda and was looking for a group to play with, when she saw an article appealing for string players.
“I have a very busy life as a GP, but I always prioritise Monday evenings for orchestra,” she said.
“It’s important to me to have that time to do something which is so totally removed from my everyday responsibilities.”
Musical director and conductor Mikaela Johnson said she had seen the musicians improve to a standard that was deserving of a town hall concert.
“It will be the community musicians’ first performance as the Symphony Orchestra at Wollongong Town Hall,” she said.
“I do hope music lovers of Wollongong and beyond can come along to enjoy this concert we’ve called ‘A Classical Journey Around the World.’”
The concert will begin with a program from WollCon’s Five Islands String Orchestra (FISO), a group which began in 2020 with adult beginner and intermediate string players.
FISO musical director and conductor Adrian Davis said he was amazed at the growth of FISO and how far they had come in just three to four years.
“No matter how challenging the repertoire, they always rise to match it,” Adrian said.
“We are all excited to be performing at the town hall alongside the WollCon Symphony Orchestra and thrilled to be presenting Robin Hood Variations by local composer Matthew Hindson.”
The concert will feature music by Chopin, Gershwin, Haydn, Sibelius, Vivaldi and more, including a Chopin piano solo (Concerto 1) by special guest Matthew Ardern, who is based at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music.
The concert is made possible by support from the Friends of Community Music organisation, a Wollongong City Council grant and other donations.
A Classical Journey Around The World will be held Saturday (29 June) from 7 pm at the Wollongong Town Hall. Entry is by donation. Pre-book and provide a voluntary donation by visiting Humanitix.
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