Sandra’s star rises beyond Crescendo

Earlier this year, Sandra Hart had the opportunity to fly to Sydney to participate in Short Black Opera’s ‘One Day in January’ program. Sandra is a recent participant of WASO’s Crescendo music education program, having gone through the program over the last few years whilst at Medina Primary School. Sandra particularly enjoyed learning the violin as part of the program, but her passion for playing was noticed not just by our Crescendo teachers…

WASO partnered with Short Black Opera in 2022 to present Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace. As part of the partnership, Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, Artistic Director of Short Black Opera visited WASO’s Crescendo schools to facilitate workshops for the students.

At one of these workshops, Deborah met Sandra and was immediately struck by Sandra’s musicianship. Deborah offered Sandra a scholarship to attend ‘One Day in January’, and a few months later, after graduating from Medina Primary School and from Crescendo, Sandra flew to Sydney for the program. It was Sandra’s first time out of Western Australia and her first time on a plane.

Across the four days of the program, Sandra had the opportunity to play alongside other scholars, members of the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and members of Ensemble Dutala, Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chamber ensemble. Sandra also received mentorship from the professional musicians, including Artistic Director of Ensemble Dutala, Aaron Wyatt, a regular casual violist with WASO.

Aaron said that the young scholarship recipients are often thrown in the deep end during the program, but Sandra had “lifted to the challenge”.

It was a big opportunity for Sandra that started from small beginnings in the classroom, and we’re thrilled to see Sandra take her experience with the violin to a whole new level.

“WASO is wholly committed to creating accessible pathways for young people to learn and enjoy music. We are proud to have made the connection of Sandra with Deborah possible through our education program. We are also grateful to Short Black Opera for providing this incredible opportunity for Sandra to continue developing her musicianship and be inspired by other First Nations musicians. As Sandra graduates out of our Crescendo music program, we are so proud of all she will continue to achieve.” – Alena Tompkins, WASO Executive Manager, Community Engagement & Education

As WA’s State orchestra and a RAP organisation, WASO is committed to increasing our understanding of the cultures and histories, stories and songs of First Nations communities. It is through listening, learning and collaborating we are able to create a positive impact. Seeing Sandra embrace this opportunity with both arms signals a positive personal outcome of this work. A project that originated in 2019 from our collaboration on Eumeralla, and was realised through WASO’s Crescendo program in 2022, we hope to be able to open more doors like this in the future.

Watch Deborah Cheetham Fraillon; Crescendo Teacher, Griffin Wright; Principal of Medina Primary School, Karen Davey; and Sandra discuss the journey to One Day in January.

Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace is a Short Black Opera production, and was presented in Perth with support from the Bendat Family Foundation. WASO’s First Nations Creative Collaborations are supported by Bendat Family Foundation.