I’m not a big ‘gig’ person – my idea of entertainment in my mid-30s is a night on the couch with MasterChef, one of those fancy punnets of ice cream and wine because apparently I’ve become my mother – but when I do want to go out for a bit of a good time, my primary focus is dancing. I just want to dance, man, and by the looks of the clubbing scene these days, there’s… not a lot of places left to do that unless it’s 2am at Danny Doolans on a Saturday night (no complaints or judgements there).
So I didn’t know what to expect from Synthony when I headed along to the Domain this summer, knowing only vaguely that it was an orchestra playing along to arrangements of EDM and house bangers from my youth. I certainly didn’t expect to have one of the best nights of my life. The music! The dancing! The vibes! The fact everyone there seemed to be my age and not 12! Let the good times roll.
It’s a wicked experience, and ahead of Synthony’s next performance in Aoteaora – a Pride-themed show on August 3 – I chatted to Synthony’s principal conductor Sarah-Grace Williams about her incredible music career, her joy at exposing classical music to so many new people, her favourite Synthony moments and more!
Kia ora Sarah-Grace! You’ve had the most incredible career in music – how did you get into conducting in the first place, and what is it about conducting that you love? How did you get into conducting?
Kia ora and thank you! I do feel blessed to lead the career I have, which has been so varied, and has seen me work with the most incredible artists, across multiple genres. No two days are the same and I love that! I have been a musician my entire life, starting out on piano and clarinet (which I then studied at university in my undergraduate degree, along with a double major in composition). While at uni I started conducting on the side and by the time I had finished my undergraduate degree, I realised I didn’t want to be a performer who conducted on the side, but rather I wanted to pursue conducting, with performance on the side. So I did my honours degree in conducting and then left for further postgraduate studies overseas, studying in Novosibirsk (Siberia) and St Petersberg (Russia). And that was that – there was no turning back!
I returned to Australia after these studies, and was fortunate to be consistently in work, appearing regularly as guest conductor with orchestras across Australia and internationally. I have held some wonderful positions with various orchestras and organisations over the years, the most significant position being as Artistic Director & Conductor of The Metropolitan Orchestra (in Sydney), which I founded in 2019 and have now led in more than 600 concerts. There is so very much I love about conducting. I love delving into scores, analysing the composer’s writing, collaborating with wonderful musicians, sharing the joy of the scores with audiences and discovering new music, to name a few things!
Synthony has turned into an absolute beast, especially here in New Zealand (I should know, I was at the Domain this year and can i just say, one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to!) How exciting is it to be part of, and did you ever think you’d be conducting house and EDM tracks with a full orchestra!? Synthony is certainly a BEAST and there is no taming her! I have always enjoyed conducting across a variety of concert genres from main stage symphonic concerts, concerts with film, ballet and opera, and I particularly love conducting cross-over performances, where I get to meld the orchestral world with contemporary artists, productions and multi-media installations. Some highlights of this in recent years include conducting the Australian and New Zealand concert tours of Basement Jaxx and Air Supply. When I was approached to become the Principal Conductor of Synthony, I jumped at the opportunity. This show feels like it was made for me!
Synthony exposes classical music to a whole new audience – does that thrill you? Absolutely! There is no questioning that the classical orchestra has to be inventive to stay relevant and connect with new audiences. That isn’t to say we can’t, and shouldn’t, present the historic orchestral canon – I mean I absolutely love getting my teeth stuck into Tchiakovsky, Mahler and Beethoven, but there is definitely a good chunk of society who has never stepped into the concert hall and it is important to find ways to welcome these people to the orchestra. I love exposing audiences to the orchestra through something like Synthony, I know that for a lot of people it will be the first time they have been to an orchestra concert – and then it won’t be the last!
Do you have a favourite Synthony track? I have quite a few favourites but if I had to name one, perhaps Darude’s Sandstorm, which we generally play as our encore and the crowd goes nuts!
What’s been the best moment of your Synthony performances? It was pretty incredible to hear a crowd of 35,000 cheering at the Auckland Domain this year but really, every Synthony show is unique and special, so I wouldn’t put one over another. But sometimes we have a show where everything feels magic and you come off stage and you think “was that our best ever?!” I love that.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you’re on-stage? All the emotions!!!!! Music can move you like nothing else, and I embrace that. As for what I feel in a Synthony show – well, it’s a dance party like no other really – I make sure I get my dancing shoes on and have a blast!
Is it a difficult job merging the orchestral music with the EDM tracks? Synthony has an incredible creative team that creates the show, led by Ryan Youens (Show Director and Orchestrator extraordinaire) and Dick Johnson (Music Producer). Dick always curates an exciting set list and creates superb tracks and then Ryan takes these and reimagines them into the orchestral tapestry, writing all the music you hear the orchestra playing. They really are a super team, and they make my job a dream, because I am handed exceptional music to work with that the orchestras love to play and audiences love.
Your career sees you travel plenty – is that something you love about your job? Yes and no! I don’t mind flying at all and I love working in different cities with different orchestras and artists, but no one likes a 6AM international flight, especially if it’s after a late night following a show the night before!
Family-wise, is music a passion for everyone? Can you see your daughter following in your footsteps? There is a lot of music in our household My husband, Bevan Rigato, is the Managing Director of The Metropolitan Orchestra, so we are in the office together most days. My daughter, Scarlett, who is only 10, plays violin, clarinet, piano and loves to sing and act also. She’s definitely kicking some serious goals as a musician. Will she pursue music? Who knows? She loves it now and so while she does, we will support her in that. But she is only 10 and we regularly tell her she can be what ever she wants! Whatever path she picks, I am pretty sure she will smash it and I look forward to watching that!
Synthony Pride hits Auckland’s Spark Arena. Saturday 3rd August. Tickets on sale now from synthony.com
