Dust off your deerstalker and pipe, and join our inimitable chief conductor Dr Nicholas Milton AM and the Willoughby Symphony as we investigate Elgar’s infamous conundrum in ENIGMA. The composer presented two mysteries, the identity of the ‘friends pictured within’ and something darker at which he hinted in his program note. Arguably one of the most famous and popular English works ever written, the Enigma Variations are a tour de force of Elgar’s genius.

The concert begins with Gershwin’s intoxicating An American in Paris, written at a time when Europe’s great music teachers (namely Ravel and Boulanger) informed the American composer they had nothing to teach him, despite his protestations. Gershwin’s incredibly illustrative tone poem sparkles with ingenuity and wit, and as performed by the brilliant musicians of the Willoughby Symphony, this will be an unforgettable and enlivening interpretation.

Rounding out the program, Australian trumpet star Rainer Saville joins the orchestra to perform Henri Tomasi’s Trumpet Concerto, a fittingly virtuosic work for an astounding performer.

Nathan Henshaw - baritone saxophone