Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter from Greensboro, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the eponymous frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. He has recorded a number of solo albums – the most recent of which, What Matters Most, was released in June 2023. He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Since May 2017, he has been the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Ben Folds Live is a live album by Ben Folds, released on October 8, 2002. This album marked the first official release of the Ben Folds' improvisation, "Rock This Bitch". The song, which changes with every performance, is now a staple of his live performances, with recorded versions also appears on his later albums Songs for Goldfish and on the Live in Perth DVD.
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. As of March 2012, WASO has a roster of 79 full-time musicians and presents over 170 performances per annum throughout the state. The orchestra has an affiliated WASO Chorus.
The Perth Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. Owned by the City of Perth, the hall is the main venue of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and also hosts a number of other events and performances. The building itself is located in Perth's central business district, adjacent to the Supreme Court Gardens and Government House. The building has two façades: facing north over St Georges Terrace, and facing south over the Swan River.
The Sydney University Symphony Orchestra (SUSO) is the premier orchestra on the main campus of the University of Sydney.
Michael Robert Garth Lampard is an Australian opera singer, conductor and composer born in Hobart, Tasmania.
Frank McNamara is an internationally known arranger, conductor, composer, and pianist from Ireland.
Kate Melina Miller-Heidke is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK, but since 2014 has been an independent artist. Four of her solo studio albums have peaked in the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, Curiouser, Nightflight, O Vertigo! and Child in Reverse. Her most popular single, "The Last Day on Earth", reached No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart after being used in promos for TV soap, Neighbours, earlier in that year. At the ARIA Music Awards Miller-Heidke has been nominated 17 times.
Sara Macliver is an Australian soprano singer, born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. Macliver is a versatile artist, appearing in operas, concert and recital performances and on numerous recordings. She is regarded as one of the leading exponents of Baroque repertoire in Australia, and lectures in Voice at the UWA Conservatorium of Music.
Pacific Opera is an opera training company based in Sydney, Australia.
"Boxing" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. A live version appears on the 1998 album Naked Baby Photos. The song also appears in a solo version by Folds on the 2005 download-only album iTunes Originals - Ben Folds and in a symphonic version with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra on the 2005 DVD Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth, and in an a cappella version on Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!.
The UWA Conservatorium of Music is a teaching and research school offering undergraduate and postgraduate study in music at the University of Western Australia. It is located at the north-east corner of the Crawley campus and teaches predominately Classical music, with focus in the undergraduate curriculum on performance, as well as overall strength in musicology, composition and electronic music. In 2016, UWA entered the top 100 "Performing Arts" institutions in the world, and in 2017 and 2018 the School improved its ranking to enter the top 50 in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings. The Conservatorium is also well regarded in research. Under the research code "19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing", the Conservatorium was rated as "4 - Above World Standard" by the Australian Research Council in 2018. Previously, the name of the organisation has been the UWA Department of Music, and the UWA School of Music.
John McAll is a pianist, composer, arranger and producer with experience ranging from jazz, pop, blues, rock contemporary classical, afrobeat and theatre.
The West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO) is an Australian youth jazz orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. WAYJO has 54 jazz musicians between 14 and 25 years of age and currently presents over 55 performances a year across Australia.
Allan Zavod was an Australian pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career was mainly in America.
Benjamin Northey is an Australian conductor, musician and arranger. He has been Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand since 2015. He is also the Principal Conductor in Residence of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2020. He was previously the Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2010-2019.
James Ledger is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music, and senior lecturer in composition at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orchestral composition.
Rob Moose is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar.
George Ellis is an Australian conductor, composer and orchestrator. He presents concerts for international events with a broad range of styles from classical to pop/rock and jazz as well as presenting orchestral concerts for young audiences. He also lectures in conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and is a regular presenter of Sonic Journey for ABC Radio Sydney’s program with Simon Marnie.
Lachlan Skipworth is an Australian composer based in Perth, Western Australia.
