Zelman Symphony capacity audiences of Mahler's epic Eighth Symphony - the "Symphony of a Thousand" - at the Melbourne Town Hall. In what was believed to be "a first" for an Australian Community Orchestra, the performances involved over 580 performers including an augmented Zelman Symphony of some 125 players led by Guest Concertmaster, Wilma Smith, Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), and featuring many guest principal players from the MSO and other top orchestras and music institutions. David Macfarlane played the magnificent organ, a 370 voice choir was formed from nine community choirs, and an 80 voice children's choir involved students
Nagauta Symphony this work. For this work, Yamada composed music for the western orchestra which is used to counterpoint a classical "nagauta", the music which accompanies the "kabuki". The symphony is subtitled "Tsurukame" after the name of the "nagauta" which is used. Composed in 1857, the text celebrates the Emperor of Japan and the imperial court. The symphony is in one movement with a duration of approximately 17 minutes. The "Nagauta Symphony" uses a western orchestra and voices, as well as an ensemble of traditional Japanese musical instruments. The Japanese ensemble consists of several shamisen and percussion. Nagauta Symphony The Nagauta Symphony