Cover Image: Members of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra perform. Photo Supplied.

“In 2026, WASO steps boldly into a year of extraordinary artistry,” says West Australian Symphony Orchestra Principal Conductor Asher Fisch. 

And indeed, there’s a confidence radiating from next year’s WASO concert schedule that speaks to an orchestra comfortable enough in its own skin to stretch boundaries. 

Under the continued inspired leadership of Fisch, WASO has consequently crafted a year of programming which balances much-loved classics with challenging contemporary works – all while maintaining its commitment to regional touring and community engagement.

Everything new under the sun

Perhaps the season’s most significant statement comes through a commitment to the commissioning of new Australian works, with four world premieres included in the 2026 calendar. This continues WASO’s long tradition of enriching the repertoire with distinctive local voices.

James Ledger’s Clarinet Concerto, commissioned for WASO by Geoff Stearn and featuring Perth’s own Ashley Smith as soloist, receives its premiere in October alongside Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony. The pairing represents another smart strategy: come for the familiar, discover the new.

Sydney-based composer Holly Harrison’s Concerto for Classical Accordion has been co-commissioned by four Australian symphony orchestras and features remarkable accordion virtuoso James Crabb. It’s fair to say the accordion remains criminally underappreciated in concert music, and Harrison’s history suggests she’ll exploit its expressive range while avoiding novelty-act territory.

Vanessa Perica – originally from Perth but now based in Melbourne – and acclaimed Noongar instrumentalist, composer and conductor Aaron Wyatt round out the commissioning program, with premieres in the Underground and Chamber series, respectively. Wyatt’s work, commissioned in memory of Dr. Brad Power, joins WASO with Ensemble Dutala for what promises to be a powerful, emotionally resonant collaboration.

Old warhorses never die

The MACA Symphonic Series at Winthrop Hall however remains WASO’s flagship offering, and the ten featured concerts together point to WASO’s typical curatorial nous and crowd-pleasing savvy.

Opening with Lawrence Renes conducting Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto alongside Prokofiev’s Romeo and Julietexcerpts in March sets an unashamedly romantic, enthusiastic tone. Dutch-Maltese conductor Renes returns to WASO after two decades, while Russian-Italian violinist Sergej Krylov makes his WASO debut. Fireworks guaranteed.

There is much else worth booking in advance. Take the pairing of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream excerpts and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto featuring WASO Principal Trumpet Jenna Smith. Superb young Finnish conductor Kristian Sallinen presiding over Sibelius’ Second Symphony rarely-heard Kullervo by Leevi Madetoja. Or Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto preceded by Melody Eötvös’ colourful The Saqqara Bird and followed by Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.

Monumental Mahler

Fisch has carved out a special place in the season for what he describes as “one of my favourite works this season”: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. Scheduled for October, the stand-alone performance of this enormous 90-minute work – Mahler’s last completed symphony and written during a period of profound grief and difficulty for the composer – continues Fisch’s survey of Mahler’s symphonic oeuvre and is not to be missed.

Wagner

Unmissable, too, in May, a complete concert performance of Wagner’s opera Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Fisch, acknowledged as “one of the world’s finest Wagner conductors,” leads an all-star cast including British baritone Christopher Maltman in the title role and soprano Anna-Louise Cole as Senta, supported by the combined forces of WASO and WA Opera choruses.

Also written amid personal crises, Wagner’s innovative opera explores for the first time his use of leitmotifs while telling the tumultuous story of a ship’s captain labouring under a curse which only the love of a faithful woman can lift.

Beyond the main stage

WASO’s 2026 season again extends beyond the hallowed Winthrop Hall. The Matinee Symphony Series returns to the Heath Ledger Theatre, allowing audiences to get up-close and personal with classics such as Dvořák’s New World, Brahms’ Third, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth. Then there’s the Baroque Series at The Maj, music by John Adams, Steve Reich, and Osvaldo Golijov alongside Australian premieres of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Fog and Reich’s multimedia work Reich/Richter at Studio Underground, and film concerts at Riverside Theatre.

Regional repertoire

WASO renews its commitment to the regions, with a full orchestra touring Albany, Mandurah, and Bunbury. February sees Concertmaster Laurence Jackson leading Mozart programs in Mandurah and Bunbury, while August brings Fisch to Albany with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto. September returns to Mandurah and Bunbury with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Audiences beyond Perth are thus able to avail themselves of a complete, undiluted orchestral experience. Which is as it should be.

The Education imperative

Another of WASO’s impressive and long-standing strategic initiatives is its education and community schedule which includes the Crescendo, WASO in Schools, Connect and Harmony Music programs. These represent the long game of audience development, planting seeds that may not flower for decades. For example, a child encountering live orchestral music in a Kwinana classroom through the Crescendo program might become a subscriber in 2045, a donor in 2060, or simply someone who believes symphonic music matters. It’s a real investment in the future of arts and culture in Western Australia.

WASO’s 2026 season runs March through November. Download a PDF of the season brochure here.