Alex Norton is leaving his home in Sydney this weekend to perform in front of familiar faces.
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A musician with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Mr Norton will join a select group from the orchestra for a special Saturday matinee show at Orange Civic Theatre.
Mr Norton grew up on a farm in Cudal, so touring to Orange for this violinists means home cooked dinners with his family.
“Mum and dad are still on the farm working about half an hour from Orange,” he said.
“Coming back means staying with them, so good company and lots of good food.”
Mr Norton began learning the violin at the age of ten with John Gould at the Orange Regional Conservatorium.
“When I began studying the violin as a child in Orange it was pretty amazing the quality of teachers and orchestras we had to perform with,” he said.
“The Orange Symphony Orchestra is having a revival now which is excellent – because there is so much talent in the region.”
He now holds a master's degree from the Australian Institute of Music, where he studied with Peter Zhang and Alice Waten, and in 2005 he studied at the Australian National Academy of Music with Alice Waten and Mark Mogeilevski.
He has performed and toured with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 2006 – originally as a participant in the Orchestra's Fellowship program – then as a full-time member from December 2011.
Mr Norton has played on numerous movie soundtracks and appeared as a Ned Kelly fiddler in the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.
Despite touring internationally with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and Australian Youth Orchestra, Mr Norton said there’s something special about performing at home.
“I always find it slightly more exhilarating than any other audience because there’s so many faces I recognise in the crowd,” he said.
“Plus it’s great that mum and dad don’t have to travel so far to see me play – we all loving travelling regionally to deliver a high quality world class performance.”
Sydney Symphony Orchestra musicians are performing at 2pm Saturday. Tickets through Ticketek. More information available: www.orange.nsw.gov.au