Logan’s symphony orchestra kicked off its first ever performance with a bang – to a sellout crowd at the entertainment centre in July after years of dreaming.
And they’re on track to do it again this month.
Initial plans to establish a city orchestra began in 2018 by Dr Lewes Peddell, a mathematics and music lecturer at Southern Cross University who at the time worked at Canterbury College in Waterford.
“Our really talented students, who needed to be extended beyond school, were all going to Brisbane because there’s nothing in and around the Logan area,” Dr Peddell said.
Plus, Dr Peddell thought, wouldn’t it be great to go see a symphony orchestra live in Logan?
But he knew such an endeavour would require time and effort, and it took about seven years to actually make his dream a reality.
Dr Peddell says it was thanks to volunteer efforts, government grants, and key sponsor Georgiana Karam, that the orchestra was finally realised.
For the orchestra’s first performance, Dr Peddell booked a show at the Kingston Butter Factory (KBF) in July this year.
He was expecting the orchestra would consist of around 30 musicians, and every year grow by a few heads.Â
His goal: to have a full orchestra – at least 70 musicians – by 2030.
“But within about a month of putting the word out there, we had a full symphony orchestra – 76 players,” Dr Peddell said.
“We had to move our first concert to the Logan Entertainment Centre because KBF just wasn’t big enough.
“The entertainment centre was our aspiration for about three or four years down the track.”
But it wasn’t just the demand that surpassed Dr Peddell’s expectations.
The talent of musicians was beyond what he had imagined.
“Of the 75 players, the majority have got music degrees; a lot of them have Master’s degrees in performance; we have current and former Queensland Symphony Orchestra players; music teachers; Australian Youth Orchestra players and Queensland Youth Orchestra Program players – the level is super,” he said.
On top of that, the vast majority of players live or work in Logan.
“There is only about 10% who have no connection with Logan at all,” Dr Peddell said.
The orchestra’s second performance is on Friday 10 October at 7.30pm.
The setlist will include Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Morricone’s Playing Love, Horner’s Titanic Suite, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
Tickets can be bought via loganarts.com.au.
