Aaron Wyatt, from WASO casual to history-making conductor

Aaron Wyatt, a Noongar man born and raised in Perth, began playing the violin at age five before swapping to viola when he joined the WA Youth Orchestra. Aaron initially studied science and engineering at university, before switching to music at the end of his first year. It wasn’t long before Aaron joined WASO as a casual viola player, where he stayed on the books for over a decade, including WASO’s tour to China in 2016.

Now, eight years later, Aaron is making history as the first, First Nations conductor to lead the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as he conducts his own work, The Coming Dawn, commissioned for full orchestra to open WASO’s 2024 Season at Perth Concert Hall in March.

Originally written for a Canberra Symphony Orchestra string quartet and didgeridoo, WASO has commissioned Wyatt to expand the composition to include brass, percussion and timpani.  This is the first time WASO will perform a work composed by Wyatt, who notes, “it has been an immense honour and privilege to be asked by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra to rework the piece for a much larger ensemble. The inclusion of additional strings, brass, and percussion opens up so many more compositional possibilities, and it has been a lot of fun exploring the depth and nuance that these can bring to the work.”    

The opportunity to go from player to podium in front of a home crowd is not lost on Aaron; “having grown up in Perth, WASO is an orchestra that I have a very strong connection to. I spent a lot of time at the back of the viola section as a very regular casual. It’s where I had my first professional, orchestral work, and I will always remember my time there fondly.”

Aaron has invited renowned Noongar performer, Richard Walley, to play didgeridoo for the work, creating a beautiful interplay between didgeridoo and orchestra that depicts the first light of dawn and the earthy hues of the Australian landscape.

Direct from the premiere season of conducting Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse’s Wundig wer Wilura with West Australian Opera and WASO, Aaron is making waves in the Australian classical music scene over the past few years as a composer, conductor, programmer and academic, having played and performed across genres. From appearances on Spicks and Specks to conducting at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl it’s clear Aaron’s star is on the rise.

The Coming Dawn opens an exciting concert program as we celebrate the return of Principal Conductor Asher Fisch and world-renowned pianist Yeol Eum Son for Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto.

Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 March 2024, 7.30pm
Perth Concert Hall

In Conversation with Aaron Wyatt
Thursday 7 March 2024, 5.30pm
Callaway Music Auditorium