Mark Wakely

Australians are kind, generous people but there’s a feeling in some quarters that giving to the arts somehow smacks of elitism and that we should prioritise charitable causes such as health research and education for instance.

But that statement forgets that, as well as looking after people’s bodies and minds, as a civil society we need to look after people’s spirits, or souls in a non-religious sense of that word. And that’s exactly what the arts can do, provide a life force that elevates us all to a higher plane of awareness, gives us a sense of awe and wonder, helps us decode or explain the complexities of life and find some happiness or solace in a stressful world.

If that isn’t worth supporting, tell me what is. 

I first became involved in commissioning music as part of a collective, which was very rewarding. Collectives are wonderful. But then, once my late partner Steven Alward and I had learned the ropes, we began commissioning music by ourselves.

As a secret gift for my 60th birthday, Steven commissioned composer Andrew Ford to write a work called Contradance for me, which Omega Ensemble then premiered at Sydney’s City Recital Hall in 2016.

Two more commissions for Omega Ensemble followed and were premiered after Steven’s death: We Two Boys Together Clinging by Gerard Brophy and Unexpected News by American composer Nico Muhly. These were inspired by poems, by Walt Whitman and Constantine Cavafy respectively, that had special significance for Steven and myself.

Over the past five years, I’ve commissioned four significant new works for three different ensembles and I sponsor a national Young Composer Award, all in Steven’s memory.

My involvement with Omega Ensemble has continued as one of a small cohort of supporters of the CoLAB: Composer Accelerator Program. I wholeheartedly believe in any initiative that develops a young or mid-career composer’s skills. In this case it’s by giving them access to work directly with fine musicians and world-class mentors and, at year’s end, industry exposure through a performance at Sydney Opera House.

There is no doubt that Omega is a fully committed, extraordinarily talented ensemble that consistently delivers excellence. You don’t need me to tell you that. But what I love most is being in the company of musicians and composers. Perhaps because, as a journalist, I’ve spent my life using words to explain the world, whereas their language, the way they interpret the world, is non-verbal. I find that extraordinarily liberating.