Ian actually debuted with the LSO as a community chorister in June 2008 at Lismore City Hall (and again in June 2012 at the Star Court Theatre) – a throwback to his time as a boy treble in Canberra’s Woden Valley Youth Choir directed by Don Whitbread. Ian’s community musical journey continued in the brass section of Alan Stiles’ Western Youth Orchestra during those musically formative years.
Ian is a huge fan of community music-making, and especially of those who develop and conduct youth and community ensembles. His personal community music local ‘heroes’ (Lismore) past and present are Karen Traise, Nigel Hort, John Allen, Warren Whitney and Ben van Kleef.
Ian was invited to play 2nd trombone for the LSO’s mid-year concert series in June 2013 at the Star Court Theatre and he is thrilled to have continued with the LSO ever since. He has enjoyed many musical highlights and memories: from Jacki Cooper’s heartwarming rendition of ‘Moon River’ a decade later at LSO’s ‘Jazz by the River’ concert at Ballina in June 2023 to the LSO’s various performances of Edward Elgar’s exquisite Variation IX – ‘Nimrod’ – at Bangalow A & I Hall (Aug’13); Lismore City Hall (Nov’14); and even SCU’s Whitebrook Theatre (Nov’18). He is keenly anticipating the LSO’s upcoming performance of this beautiful piece in St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore in Apr’24.
(What’s with the shirt? Wittily misread by his brother-in-law as “I am the world’s biggest orchestra challenge” – on Sat 13 July 2013 at Suncorp Stadium, (Qld), James Morrison led a massed orchestra of 7,224 musicians to attain the Guinness World Record – until eclipsed in Frankfurt, Germany in 2016.)
Return to the Player Profile overview page