Leeuwin_Estate_Concert_Series

Leeuwin Estate Concert Series

Leeuwin Estate Concert Series

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The Leeuwin Estate Concert Series are annual open-air events featuring international and Australian performers at Leeuwin Estate Winery.[1]

History

The first concert was a performance from the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1985, with the Australian tour underwritten by Leeuwin Estate owners Denis and Tricia Horgan on the condition that the orchestra play at Leeuwin Estate.[2][3][4] Hosting the concert was considered a risk due to the physically remote location of the Margaret River, being 260 kilometres from the state capital of Perth. Friends tried to talk the Horgans out of the idea,[2] but they went ahead and the concert was a great success, with 5000 people attending and the event attracting international coverage.[3][5]

The next two concerts also featured orchestras, with the Berlin Staatskapelle performing in 1986 and the Royal Danish Orchestra in 1987.[6] In 1988 the series featured its first individual star, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra could not attend and instead Ray Charles was brought in to perform with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.[2] The West Australian Symphony Orchestra has featured eight further times since accompanying other musicians.[6]

In 1990 Leeuwin Estate hosted Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, with other stars Diana Ross and Tom Jones performing in 1992 and 1993 respectively. 1993 also saw the first iteration of the "Australian Family Concert" series featuring Australian performers at a separate event each year.[6]

In February 2005, a concert was performed by Sting that drew an audience of 6,000 and raised over $4 million for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami relief efforts after Sting had to cancel a scheduled concert in Sri Lanka due to the disaster.[7][8][9]

The 26th year of the series in 2010 saw Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald perform in front of a sold-out crowd of 6500 people.[10][11]

The concert has become a major tourism draw for the Margaret River and Western Australia.[12][13] Denis Horgan was awarded with a Centenary Medal and both he and Tricia Horgan were inducted as Members of the Order of Australia in 2001 for services to tourism in Western Australia.[14][15][16]

Leeuwin Concert Series

The following is a list of the performers and the year of the concert.[6][17]

More information Year, Performer ...

Australian Family Concerts

The following is a list of performers and years as part of the annual Australian Family Concerts.[6]

More information Year, Performer ...

References

  1. [1]
    Santich, Barbara (24 June 2001). "NYTimes – Choice Tables". Australia; Margaret River (Australia): Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  2. [2]
    "Leeuwin". Margaret River Wine. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  3. [3]
    "From a Granite Coast, Velvet Wines". NYTimes. 2 January 2002. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  4. [4]
    "Vine romance: artists line up for picnic gigs". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  5. [5]
    John Mariani – 23 November 2009 00:01 EST (23 November 2009). "Rhone Ranger's Vinthology, Winemakers' Profiles: Holiday Books". Bloomberg. Retrieved 10 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. [6]
    "Leeuwin Concerts' History". Leeuwin Estate. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  7. [7]
    "Sting Concert Raises 4m for Tsunami". SMH. 11 February 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  8. [8]
    "Sting's special gig for tsunami victims". ABC. 3 February 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  9. [9]
    "BBC – Willie Nelson stages Tsunami gig". BBC News. 10 January 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  10. [10]
    "Yahoo Entertainment – The Leeuwin Concert – Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs". Au.news.yahoo.com. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  11. [11]
    Paddenburg, Trevor (13 February 2010). "All walks of life lured to Leeuwin". Perth Now. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  12. [12]
    "Culture vultures head south for the Margaret River wine festival". WA Business News. 14 November 2005.
  13. [13]
    "LA Times – Unknown but Nose-Worthy". Articles.latimes.com. 19 July 1998. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  14. [14]
    "It's an Honour – Australian Honours – Centenary Medal – HORGAN, Denis Byrne". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  15. [15]
    "It's an Honour – Australian Honours – Order of Australia – HORGAN, Denis Byrne". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 26 January 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  16. [16]
    "It's an Honour – Australian Honours – Order of Australia – HORGAN, Patricia Anne". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 26 January 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  17. [17]
    Wendy Caccetta (17 February 2014). "The original and the best: 30 years of Leeuwin Estate concerts". News Ltd. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
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