Valda Silvy

People ask me: “are you still working at The Joan?”, to which I reply: “Yes! What else am I going to do?” Because music is my life.

I had parents who, although they weren’t musicians themselves, saw the value of music. I come from a family of five girls and each of us learnt piano, or voice, or whatever we wanted to try. Right from the start I had music all around me, and I have dedicated my life to sharing that love with people from an early age. 

I’ve worked at The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre for over 30 years. Western Sydney as a region is just growing, and there are so many young families with parents who just want the best for their children. We've got so many students and ensembles at the conservatorium, and families don’t have to travel into the city to learn, they’ve got it all here. In fact, we’re running out of space!

But it’s important we also bridge opportunities and experiences between the city and the outer suburbs. It’s about providing access to the kind of experiences that will make a young musician think, “that’s a life or a career I can see for myself.”

Many of our young musicians have had opportunities to work with professional musicians before, but working with Omega Ensemble, with the opportunity to be included as part of their process of bringing new music to life, is quite unique. We’ve never really had that before, and it gives our musicians a broader understanding of what a creative career could look like.

We have a number of talented students who completed high-school last year, and some had real doubts about continuing their music studies. But many have told me that the opportunities to meet and work with Omega’s musicians inspired them to keep going, and now they’re studying at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

When Omega Ensemble come to The Joan to perform, it's a coup, because they are just so brilliant at what they do. A lot of people don't often go to classical music in this area, but when people attend Omega Ensemble’s performances, they tell us: “I've never heard music played like that before!”

We need classical music, and you can’t beat the live experience. Omega Ensemble deliver their performances in a way that is not only extraordinary, but speaks to many different types of audiences. Having it right here is very important for us.