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Governor’s Restart the Arts initiative on hold after reviving and reinventing performance under COVID-19 curbs

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David CusworthThe West Australian
Adrian Galante, Simone Craddock and Adam Hall for Ella & Louis at Government House Ballroom.
Camera IconAdrian Galante, Simone Craddock and Adam Hall for Ella & Louis at Government House Ballroom.

After nine months and 10,000 satisfied customers, the Governor’s Restart the Arts initiative at Government House has gone on hold, having helped revive and reinvent performance during the height of COVID-19 curbs.

Since July 1 last year, 36 arts organizations put on 105 sessions at Government House Ballroom, in settings that ranged from multi-piece orchestral and concert band ensembles playing for a socially distanced 160 crowd, to lone singers with sparse promenade audiences.

From well-known opera stars to small groups of WA Symphony Orchestra musicians to students emerging for the first time, many artists benefited from free venue hire and ticket sales as the iconic space was put to work.

The ballroom is now undergoing six months of roof renovation, although Government House will continue its support for the arts, including a series of Soirees in the intimate Green Room within the main building.

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Pianist Hannah Th’ng produced a sell-out recital of Liszt by Candlelight featuring fellow WA Academy of Performing Arts students – “an important stepping stone” for all concerned.

Hannah Th’ng produced Liszt by Candlelight.
Camera IconHannah Th’ng produced Liszt by Candlelight.

“We are so grateful for the ‘Restart The Arts with Government House’ initiative that allowed four of us to come together and perform. It gave us to confidence to look at putting on future concerts and has meant so much to us as young musicians,” Th’ng said.

“The audience was mainly made up of patrons who hadn’t heard us before. They all loved the ballroom setting and concert and were asking for more. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to say thank you.”

Established international star Simone Craddock played the last gig before the ballroom went dark, with a reprise of her award-winning tribute Nina, Love Simone.

Craddock returned from Europe in 2019, anticipating by several months the migration of many WA artists suddenly out of work in concert halls worldwide.

“Last year was tough for everyone,” Craddock said. “

“We were told that to save loved ones, we must stay away from them. Some of us were told that in order to save lives, we must sacrifice our livelihood. With a good deal of trepidation, we did what needed to be done and WA has emerged from this challenge triumphant.”

Craddock was joined by local pianist Adrian Galante in the Nina Simone tribute, and by trumpeter Adam Hall for a tribute to jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in Ella & Louis.

Adam also performed under the Restart The Arts at Government House initiative with his band The Velvet Playboys in their tribute show, The Music Of Disney.

Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse at Government House Gardens for the Perth Festival.
Camera IconGina Williams and Guy Ghouse at Government House Gardens for the Perth Festival.

Classical music groups included Cygnus Arioso, whose string ensembles appeared several times at the ballroom, as well as other venues across Perth; and the Orchestra Collective, a new grouping that teams established musicians with emerging professionals under the baton of WASO double bass deputy principal John Keene.

The ballroom also featured during the hastily rescheduled Perth Festival, hosting a revival of Freeze Frame Opera’s children’s opera, The Little Mermaid.

And the Government House Gardens were the setting for the latest instalment of Noongar duo Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse’s song cycle, Koort (Heart).

The Governor, Kim Beazley, said he was proud of the way the property was used to throw a lifeline to WA artists during the pandemic.

“As soon as COVID struck and WA shut its borders we were very conscious that few musicians and performers had any form of protection in circumstances where there was no contractual work,” Mr Beazley said.

“They needed to be able to keep going, to record, to rehearse, to find an audience. Restart The Arts allowed them to keep their skills up and keep their contact with the public and their audiences, in which they thrive. It has been enormously worthwhile.”

Cygnus Arioso string orchestra on stage at Government House Ballroom.
Camera IconCygnus Arioso string orchestra on stage at Government House Ballroom.

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