What the World Needs Now

A Celebration of Burt Bacharach


We acknowledge that the land we make music on is the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. We pay respect to Elders past and present and recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that this is of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today. We extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are with us for this performance today.


Overture Arranged by Nicholas Buc

Always Something There to Remind Me Arranged by Jessica Wells
Cast

Do You Know the Way to San Jose? Arranged by Jessica Wells
Emma Pask

What’s New Pussycat? Arranged by Jessica Wells
David Campbell

Anyone Who Had a Heart Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
Elise McCann

Don’t Make Me Over Arranged by Jessica Wells
Thndo

I’ll Never Fall in Love Again Arranged by Nicholas Buc
David Campbell and Elise McCann

Wives & Lovers Arranged by Nicholas Buc
Emma Pask

Alfie Arranged by Jessica Wells
Chantelle Ormandy

This Guy’s in Love with You/ I Just Don’t Know What to do with Myself Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
David Campbell

Only Love Can Break a Heart Arranged by Jessica Wells
Thndo

Knowing When to Leave Arranged by Jessica Wells
Elise McCann

– Interval –

God Give Me Strength Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
David Campbell

On My Own Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
David Campbell and Emma Pask

Falling Out of Love Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
Emma Pask

You’ll Never Get to Heaven If You Break My Heart Arranged by Jessica Wells
Elise McCann

Arthur’s Theme Arranged by Jessica Wells
David Campbell

One Less Bell/House is Not a Home Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
Elise McCann and Emma Pask

Close to You Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
Thndo

Make it Easy on Yourself Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
David Campbell and Thndo

The Look of Love Arranged by Nicholas Buc
Emma Pask

I Say a Little Prayer Additional arrangements by Nicholas Buc
Thndo

Walk on By Arranged by Jessica Wells
Elise McCann

What the World Needs Now Arranged by Nicholas Buc
Cast

All songs written by Burt Bacharach & Hal David. With the exception of the following:
On My Own Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager
God Give Me Strength Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello
Arthur’s Theme Burt Bacharach, Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager & Christopher Cross

An introduction from Creative Director, Mark Sutcliffe

In recent years we have lost many contemporary music icons including George Michael, Tina Turner, Tony Bennett and Olivia Newton-John. Last year the world lost one of the most important and influential figures of 20th Century popular music, Mr Burt Bacharach.

Considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Burt Bacharach, along with long-time collaborator Hal David, provided the soundtrack to our lives. The Oscar®, GRAMMY® and Emmy Award winner has written some of the world’s most beloved songs.

During my career I had the privilege of working with Burt on a few occasions, when he toured Australia with orchestras in 2007, 2008 and I fondly remember standing in his dressing room prior to his first concert at the Sydney Opera House and listening to him as he played on the grand piano warming up. Just him, me and that iconic music.

Burt was warm, generous and had surrounded himself with his extended touring family, including his band, singers and Manager Sue Main, who has been instrumental in assisting with the creation of this show. When Burt passed on 8 February 2023, I was inspired to honour his legacy in a concert which celebrates his life and music. What the World Needs Now brings together the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Benjamin Northey and our wonderful cast which includes
David Campbell, Elise McCann, Emma Pask and Thndo.

We hope you enjoy this selection from Burt’s vast song catalogue and invite you to sit back, as we offer a musical tribute to the talent of this extraordinary artist.

Thank you for joining us.
Mark Sutcliffe
Creative Director & Executive Producer

About the Music

Has one song title been more prescient and representative of an artist’s body of work? It was like a predictive text, a forecast of the future.

(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me.

As you walk on by, wherever you go, chances are you’ll be greeted by a Burt Bacharach song. On the radio or at the supermarket, sometimes when you least expect it. A reminder of a past relationship. Falling in or out of love. A hallmark of heartbreak, or a harbinger of hope.

All it takes is one Bacharach song for the memories to come flooding back.

What’s it all about, Alfie?

Burt Bacharach made genius sound effortless. Who would have thought a young Jewish kid in New York, who hated doing his piano lessons and was a poor school student – ranking 360th in a class of 372 – would end up becoming one of the greatest songwriters in the history of popular music?

He was named after his dad, Bert, but his family called him Happy. “Though,” he pointed out, “I don’t think I was happy as a kid – in fact, I was lonely most of the time.”

His mum loved music but told her son: “Music is not a career I want you to have. I just want you to play for your own pleasure, the way I do.”

Fortunately, Burt ignored her advice.

Using the name Happy Baxter, Burt joined a band to meet girls. Sneaking into jazz clubs when he was 15, he discovered the great Dizzy Gillespie. “That was when I knew for the first time how much I loved music and wanted to be connected to it in some way.”

At college, Burt wrote his first song, Night Plane To Heaven. “On a night plane to heaven on flight number seven/ Along the milky way/ In a world full of moon glow/ Above where the stars go.”

“It was never recorded or performed,” Burt noted in his autobiography Anyone Who Had A Heart, “because it wasn’t very good.”

As his fledgling songwriting career was floundering, Burt was drafted to the Korean War, but his service didn’t extend beyond entertaining officers in America and Germany. “I was such a terrible soldier,” he admitted.

Back home, he got a job writing songs at the famous Brill Building, alongside Phil Spector, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Jerry Moss. “I got a lot of rejections.”

And then Burt Bacharach met Hal David.

Hal was also working at the Brill Building on Broadway, though they didn’t have much else in common. Burt was 27 and single; Hal was 35 and married. “The best way I can describe Hal is to say that he was a regular guy,” Burt explained. “Sammy Cahn once said I was the only songwriter who didn’t look like a dentist, and if you had met Hal at a party back then, that was exactly what you would have said he did for a living.”

Hal believed in structure. “I work between 10 and 5,” he told Burt. “And then I get on the train and go home.”

Burt and Hal would write in their cramped office; Hal chain-smoking Chesterfield cigarettes while Burt sat at the piano. They wrote “some really bad songs together”, like Peggy’s in The Pantry and Underneath The Overpass. But then they came up with Magic Moments – which Perry Como recorded – and The Story of My Life, which became a chart-topping country hit for Marty Robbins.

“Collaboration,” noted Burt, “is key to creating something truly unique and special.”

Burt toured the world as Marlene Dietrich’s conductor and she pushed one of his songs, Warm and Tender, to Frank Sinatra. He turned it down. She told him he’d made a big mistake, that Burt would be a big songwriter. “One day you’ll see,” she told Sinatra. “You’ll see!”

Though he wrote the instrumental theme for the Steve McQueen movie The Blob, Burt’s first big movie hit was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, which he wrote with Hal David. A string of soundtrack smashes followed, including A House is Not A Home, What’s New Pussycat?, Alfie, The Look of Love (Casino Royale), Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and That’s What Friends Are For (Night Shift), which Burt wrote with his third wife, Carole Bayer Sager.

Burt and Carole were also responsible for Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do), a song that features Australia’s own Peter Allen in the credits (he was responsible for the unforgettable line, “When you get caught between the moon and New York City”).

The Bacharach catalogue has been recorded by The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, The Carpenters, Dusty Springfield and more than a thousand other artists. But his interpreter of choice was Dionne Warwick. When they met in 1962, he noted she had a “special kind of grace and elegance”. Later, he described her talent: “To me, her voice had all the delicacy and mystery of sailing ships in bottles.”

Dionne Warwick had six Top 40 hits in Australia with songs written by Burt and Hal. Australia – like the rest of the world – has had an enduring love affair with the work of Burt Bacharach.

Burt toured Australia five times, with his final live album happening right here – 2008’s Live at The Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Our biggest solo star, John Farnham, scored his second number one single with his version of the Oscar-winning Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, which topped the charts at the start of 1970. Burt was unaware of the cover until he first toured Australia in 1973. When 3XY played it to him, he responded, “I like the record very much. I give it three-and-a-half stars – it would have been four stars if he hadn’t changed the bridge.”

Farnham perfectly captured the wideeyed optimism of Hal’s lyric, countered by the melancholic ache of Burt’s orchestration. “But there’s one thing I know,” the lyric runs, “the blues they send to meet me won’t defeat me. It won’t be long till happiness steps up to greet me.

There have been many other “magic moments” locally:

The Reels had their biggest hit with This Guy’s in Love With You in 1982.

Director Richard Lowenstein called his first movie post-Dogs in Space after Dionne Warwick’s 1967 hit Say A Little Prayer.

Jack Howard from Hunters & Collectors regularly does a Bacharach tribute show, Jack Howard & The Ambassadors of Love Play Bacharach & David. “As horn and string arranger with Hunters & Collectors, my own stuff and with heaps of others, Burt has been a very big influence,” Jack says.

In 2007, John Foreman gathered a swag of local stars, including Kate Ceberano, Katie Noonan and Diesel, to perform with Burt for a TV special. “I was completely starstruck when I met Burt Bacharach as I idolised his work,” John remembers. “I’m thrilled to say that as well as being a genius, he was down-to-earth, friendly, easygoing and just a lovely person.”

Rick Price did a beautiful version of Walk On By on his 2021 album of soul covers Soulville. “It stands apart from the other songs on this album in that it’s not a classic soul song, but I loved having the opportunity to include it,” Rick explained. “This song is a heartbreaker that could move a statue to tears. Bacharach and David’s composition and arrangement, combined with the unique and exquisite vocals of Dionne Warwick, is pure genius.”

Colin Hay called his Covid-inspired collection of covers I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.

And in 1998, a bunch of Australian artists, including The Whitlams, Tex Perkins, Dave Graney, Leonardo’s Bride and Regurgitator, released an entire album of Bacharach songs. Appropriately, it was called To Hal and Bacharach, acknowledging the significant contribution of Burt’s songwriting partner.

Paul Kelly says he wishes he could go back in time to witness Burt and Hal at work. “How did they get the words to fit those idiosyncratic, shifting time signatures?”

As Burt noted, Hal wrote “great, great lyrics”. He highlighted these lines:

What’s it all about, Alfie?/ Is it just for the moment we live?/ What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?/ Are we meant to take more than we give?/ Or are we meant to be kind?

“That,” said Burt, “is one of the best lyrics anyone has ever written.”

Burt was touring Australia in 2012 when a journalist from The Washington Post called to ask what it was like to receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award that had just three previous winners: Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. Burt said it meant more than an Oscar.

“The Academy Award is for just one song or one score. This award was for all my work.”

When he accepted the honour at the Library of Congress, Burt acknowledged his songwriting partner’s absence – Hal David would die four months later, aged “I salute you, Hal,” Burt said. “I was very careful on my Australian tour with every step and every shower I took because I was determined that one of us had to get here.”

When his key collaborator died, Burt wrote an obituary for the Los Angeles Times. The final sentence was: “Hal, we had a great run and I’m so grateful we ever met.”

Burt’s second wife, Angie Dickinson, believed a secret of their success was “the fact that Hal was old-fashioned, which let him write so many of those lyrics from what seemed like a woman’s point of view – the old-fashioned way people loved and lived; they kissed, they fell in love, they got married, they had babies.”

Curmudgeonly critic Lester Bangs – immortalised in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous – was not a fan of Burt’s work, referring to him as “the master of the superficial”. But the master tunesmith dismissed the criticism with one single sentence: “Never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember.”

Burt’s work was often derided as “easy listening” or “elevator music”. But then suddenly in the ’90s something happened: Burt became cool.

Oasis released their debut album, Definitely Maybe, featuring a picture of Burt on the cover (check out the poster leaning against the couch at the bottom left-hand corner), and Noel Gallagher joined Burt on stage in London to perform This Guy’s in Love With You. (Fun fact: Noel always thought the song was a trippy, psychedelic piece called The Sky’s in Love With You.)

“What a dude,” the Oasis guitarist remarked after performing with Burt. “And what a songbook. Like really, really amazing. If I could ever write a song half as good as This Guy’s in Love With You or Anyone Who Had A Heart I’d die a happy man.”

Burt also popped up in the Austin Powers movies. “His song The Look of Love was the inspiration for this film,” Mike Myers revealed. “And it was amazing working with Burt, it was like having Gershwin appear in your movie.” And I Say A Little Prayer lit up the big screen in 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding (directed by Australia’s P.J. Hogan).

And when Burt made an album with Elvis Costello in 1998, the English singer reminded us of the timeless beauty of Burt’s songs. “It’s fine to say that Burt is a hip guy,” Elvis pointed out, “but do you actually know anything about the songs? This has nothing to do with kitsch. The songs are enormously resonant, completely outside of time and fashion concerns.”

And that’s the thing about Burt Bacharach: a great song never goes out of style.

The playwright Neil Simon once reminded Burt that athletes have a limited career, but creative people can always create. And Burt remained a creative force until his passing in 2023, aged 94.

He might be gone, but his songs will live forever.

“I really believe that what you write is what you are,” Burt said. And the cold, hard stats are mind-blowing: he’s written 73 Top 40 hits in the US. But the real story is in these remarkable songs. Songs for every emotion, with a message that is simple and timeless:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

No, not just for some but for everyone

For proof of Burt Bacharach’s genius, all you have to do is listen. There’s always something there to remind me.

– Jeff Jenkins

Music journalist Jeff Jenkins is the author of several books, including 50 Years of Rock in Australia and Ego Is Not A Dirty Word, The Skyhooks Story, and is the co-author of Ian “Molly” Meldrum’s memoirs, The Never, Um, Ever Ending Story and Ah Well, Nobody’s Perfect.

Artists

Benjamin Northey | Conductor

Australian conductor Benjamin Northey is the Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, he takes up the position of Conductor in Residence with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Northey studied conducting at Finland’s Sibelius Academy with Professors Leif Segerstam and Atso Almila and completed his studies at the Stockholm Royal College of Music with Jorma Panula in 2006.

Northey appears regularly as a guest conductor with all major Australian symphony orchestras, Opera Australia (La bohème, Turandot, L’elisir d’amore, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Carmen), New Zealand Opera (Sweeney Todd) and the State Opera South Australia (La sonnambula, L’elisir d’amore, Les contes dHoffmann).

His international appearances include concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Malaysian Philharmonic and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

An Aria Awards, Air Music Awards, and Art Music Awards winner, he was voted Limelight Magazine’s Australian Artist of the Year in 2018. Northey’s many recordings can be found on ABC Classics.

In 2024, he conducts the Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

David Campbell | Vocalist

David Campbell OAM is one of Australia’s most popular and versatile entertainers. A proven television and radio host, he also headlines theatre, cabaret and concert performances, as well as being an ARIA winning, Helpmann Award winning, multiplatinum recording artist and author.

David is the popular co-host of the national Today Extra show for the Nine Network, as well as the beloved annual Christmas Eve broadcast of Carols by Candlelight. For radio, David presents his own top rating, national weekend afternoon radio show on Smooth FM and in print, David is a regular featured columnist in Stellar, News Corp’s popular Sunday magazine.

David is one of our leading musical theatre stars and has achieved similar success on the international stage, most notably captivating New York with his award-winning cabaret show. His production credits include North By Northwest, Dream Lover — The Bobby Darin Musical, Les Misérables, Company, Shout!, Assassins and more.

David has previously performed with the Sydney Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras in concerts celebrating George Michael and is happy to be honouring Burt Bacharach in this production.

Elise McCann | Vocalist

Actor, producer and co-founder of health & wellness tech company Hey Lemonade, Elise is most well-known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of Matilda, for which she won the 2016 Helpmann Award, the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award and was nominated for the 2016 Green Room Award. As well as for her role as Donna in the 20th Anniversary production of Mamma Mia! and most recently as Rita Hansen in the Australian premiere of Groundhog Day the Musical (Time Out Arts & Culture Award Best Performance in a Musical nom). 

A graduate of NIDA, other theatre credits include:  Lucille Ball, Everybody Loves Lucy (2015 Sydney Theatre Award nom); Mary Flynn, Merrily We Roll Along (2021 Sydney Theatre Award nom); Cathy, The Last Five Years; Julia Guglia, The Wedding Singer; Ado Annie, Oklahoma; Meg Brockie, Brigadoon; Ali, 10th Anniversary production MAMMA MIA!; Cordelia, Falsettos; South Pacific, Into The Woods, Doctor Zhivago, Fiddler on the Roof, Little Women, My Fair LadyIn Conversation with Stephen SchwartzBeyond The Barricade for Lunchbox Theatricals UK and To Barbra, With Love for Live Nation & MSO.  

For television Elise appeared as Lynne Woolnough in Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door (Ch7/Shine); The Modern Guide to Dating and as Louise McPherson in comedy drama Tumbling (Two Little Films). Elise’s debut album Dahlesque was released nationally under ABC/ Universal Music and performed in concert with the Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2017), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2018) and the Auckland Philarmonia (2019).

Emma Pask | Vocalist

Award winning vocalist Emma Pask has firmly established herself as one of Australia’s favourite voices in Jazz. Her effortless honest stage presence combined with her powerful vocal ability, leaves audiences spellbound and inspired whenever she takes to the stage.

While Emma’s voice and style are unique, and individually her own, her performances are reminiscent of the classic era of jazz, when swing was top of the charts. Her talent was first spotted by internationally renowned Jazz great James Morrison, when she was just 16 years old. She joined his band as the lead vocalist at 16 and went on to spend a solid 20 years touring the world with Morrison.

Some career highlights include performing the Bridal Waltz for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at their wedding; supporting legendary guitarist/ vocalist George Benson and Kurt Elling on their respective Australian tours; and working with superstar Ricky Martin on series two of The Voice Australia.

Her new album Dream of Life was released in 2022, and it landed in the ARIA chart top 10 Jazz and Blues albums on its first week of release.

Emma has toured her band throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. She has sung in London at Queen Elizabeth Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and performed in China with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Auckland with the NZ Philharmonic, and with the WA Symphony Orchestra in Perth. She has received rave reviews for her performances in Uruguay, South America, and is a regular at the prestigious Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Thndo | Vocalist

For many Australian audiences, the ‘First Lady of Soul and R&B’ is a description that takes stunning form in Thndo. Since 2016, Thndo’s music has woven stories of strength, openness and conflict, with those of love, empowerment and sensuality – with flair.

It is this sense of self and identity that has led Thndo to dominate stages around Australia. Whether it be in theatre, headlining her own acclaimed shows, commanding festival crowds at events including WOMADelaide, Groovin The Moo, Woodford Folk Festival and BIGSOUND, or establishing herself as a popular household name with millions of Australians as a finalist of the 2022 season of The Voice Australia.

Her most defining work released in 2022, Life In Colour highlighted Thndo’s power as a songwriter and a boldness in stepping forward and presenting observations from life lived growing up black in Australia, through her own unique lens.

Her notable recent highlights include appearances on Channel 7 and 9’s televised Carols, appearances on ABC’s Spicks & Specks, and Foxtel’s RocKwiz. She shared the stage with Icehouse at the T20 Cup, and performed with household names as part of a tour paying homage to the incredible Aretha Franklin. In 2024, she joined the cast of Rent The Musical in the role of Joanne, touring nationally.

Mark Sutcliffe | Creative Director

Mark Sutcliffe is a Creative Director and Executive Producer who has spent over 25 years working in the entertainment
and performing arts industry and in that time has worked on some of the biggest cultural events in Australia.

Organisations include Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Cassel Group, Opera Australia, Live Nation, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Festival, National Gallery of Australia, Powerhouse Museum, Global Creatures and the Almeida Theatre in London.

Events have ranged from the Edinburgh Military Tattoo to the Paris Opera Ballet, Sydney Festival to Picasso, Vienna Philharmonic to Strictly Ballroom – The Musical.

Through his company Make My Mark he has produced and created To Barbra, With Love, Hopelessly Devoted, What the World Needs Now and co-created George Michael: Freedom! and David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed (with Amanda Pelman) – all celebrating icons in music.

As well as honouring Burt Bacharach, Mark dedicates these performances to his mother Bernice Sutcliffe, who passed away in 2023.

Band

Chantelle Ormandy | Backing Vocals

Described by the late Maestro Geoff Harvey OAM as “The Singer’s Singer”, Chantelle is a widely respected vocalist, musician, voice and performance coach who has worked as a backing singer, soloist and featured artist in the Australian and International music, media and entertainment industry for many years. With extensive and diverse experience as a singer on live television and stages and in recording studios and cabaret rooms, Chantelle has met, performed, recorded or toured with George Benson, Chubby Checker, Glenn Campbell, Kris Kristofferson, Yellow Wiggle Greg Page, Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham, James Taylor, Macy Gray, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s TCB Band, Jimmy Webb, Dolly Parton, Tina Arena, Guy Sebastian, Petula Clark, Michael Bublé, The Village People, KC and the Sunshine Band and Burt Bacharach (to name a few). As a Burt Bacharach superfan and treasuring the memories of spending time with the great man himself on no less than eight occasions, Chantelle and her bass-player husband David Stratton named their fifth child Alfie (who was also lucky enough to meet Burt twice!). Chantelle is thrilled to be part of What the World Needs Now providing backing vocals for these wonderful artists and singing alongside her sister Siobhan.

Siobhan Ormandy | Backing Vocals

Siobhan’s rich performing background spans various platforms, including recording studios, television, radio, theatre, and opera. Holding a Bachelor of Music and a Grad Dip Ed from Adelaide, she has showcased her talent across Australia, sharing the stage with renowned artists like Paul Kelly, Renee Geyer, Mark Seymour, Vika and Linda Bull and The Bamboos. Her performances at the Adelaide Festival and Vibes on a Summers Day, as well as supporting international acts such as Brian Ferry and American rapper Guru, have earned her recognition in the industry.

Singing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus for many years has enabled her to perform with esteemed conductors and soloists such as Sir Andrew Davis CBE, Simone Young, Markus Stenz, and Bramwell Tovey OC, OM.

To say Siobhan is delighted is an understatement….she is ecstatic to be part of What the World Needs Now backing such incredible artists and musicians and singing alongside her sister Chantelle!

Michael Tyack | Keys

Michael began working as a professional musician for J.C. Williamsons in Melbourne. He moved to Sydney to conduct the STC’s production of Chicago then was MD for their productions of The Stripper, Four Lady Bowlers, Jonah, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, Falsettos, Miracle City and Summer Rain as well as providing music for several of their plays. He has been involved with many major musicals including Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Singing In The Rain, The Lion King, Wicked and others. He has been Musical Director of many shows including Side By Side By Sondheim, Chess, The Wizard of Oz, Jerry’s Girls, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, High School Musical, The Boy From Oz, Tivoli, The Witches of Eastwick (for which he was awarded a Green Room Award), and the Hugh Jackman tour of The Boy From Oz.

He was also musical director for The Production Company’s Dusty, Brigadoon. and The Boy From Oz. He was awarded a Green Room Award and a Helpmann Award for the musical direction of the Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production of Mary Poppins. Michael has been musical director for many shows at the Hayes Theatre including the new Australian musicals The Detective’s Handbook and Melba. Recently he was musical director for the national tour of Come From Away.

Michael’s cabaret and concert credits are extensive, having worked with Australian and overseas artists including Megan Hilty, Jennifer Holiday, Sutton Foster, Betty Buckley, Aaron Tveit, Conchita Wurst, Trevor Ashley, Toni Lamond, Nancye Hayes, Philip Quast, David Campbell, Caroline O’Connor, Tim Draxl and Judi Connelli both here and abroad.

In 2020 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the Performing Arts.

Sam Leske | Guitarist


Sam Leske is a guitarist, producer, arranger and musical director. An ability to cover a broad range of genres has led Sam to collaborate with artists such as Kate Ceberano, Eddie Perfect, Shoshana Bean, Casey Donovan, Debra Byrne and Bob Downe, from jazz and cabaret, to pop, rock and country music. Sam is also in demand as a musician for musical theatre and orchestral work. Recent major musical credits include Grease, Tina the Musical, Chicago and The Book of Mormon. In the studio, Sam has produced or recorded music as a session guitarist for Jemma Rix, Sally Cameron, Electric Fields, Matt Cornell, Mike Carr, Peter Combe and many more. 

Ben Todd | Drummer

Ben Todd is a drummer, percussionist, composer and bandleader from Adelaide in South Australia. 

From 2009-2023, Ben toured the world with the internationally acclaimed “Cirque du Soleil” as a featured drummer, percussionist and now bandleader with 4 of their shows, “CORTEO”, “KOOZA”, “VOLTA” and most recently “ALEGRIA“. During this time, Ben has toured through Japan, Russia, The United States, Spain, Canada, France, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium and England.

Prior to joining Cirque, Ben performed with a wide range of artists back in Australia including Kate Cebrano, Paulini, Ben Folds, Doug Parkinson, Rhonda Burchmore, James Morrison, David Campbell, Barry Humphries and Glen Shorrok, as well as playing in the pit orchestras for a variety of musical theatre shows including the Australia/NZ tour of Cats, The Wedding Singer, Miss Saigon, Tina The Musical and Grease.

Ben began playing drums at the age of 3, becoming the third generation of drummer in his family. Before reaching high school, Ben had already toured nationally with various bands and was starting to make his own mark on the Adelaide music scene.

He was one of the youngest Australian artists to become a signed endorsee with Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo drumheads and Vic Firth sticks. Ben would go on to conduct several drum clinics throughout high school and beyond for these companies, as well as perform in 2008 and 2015 as a featured artist at the “Ultimate Drummers Weekend” in Melbourne, Australia.

2010 saw Ben release his debut solo studio album, “20TEN“. Since the release of this album, Ben has also gone on to release 4 more recordings as a leader; the “Ben Todd and Adam Page Duo EP” in 2015, the “Ben Todd Quintet EP” in 2016, “Memento” in 2020 and “Guiding Light” in 2021 for ABC Jazz. He is now a member of pop/rock group “The Superjesus”.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Violins

Cameron Hill** (Acting Concertmaster)
Janet Anderson** (Acting Associate Concertmaster)
Niki Vasilakis* (Acting Principal 1st Violin)
Lachlan Bramble** (Acting Principal 2nd Violin)
Minas Berberyan~ (Acting Associate Principal 2nd Violin)
Ann Axelby
Gillian Braithwaite
Julia Brittain
Hilary Bruer
Belinda Gehlert
Danielle Jaquillard
Alexis Milton
Michael Milton
Liam Oborne
Emma Perkins
Alexander Permezel
Alison Rayner
Kemeri Spurr

Violas

Justin Julian**
David Wicks~ (Guest Associate Principal)
Lesley Cockram
Anna Hansen
Natalie Maegraith
Michael Robertson

Cellos

David Sharp** (Acting Section Principal)
Cameron Waters~ (Acting Associate Principal)
Sherrilyn Handley
Shuhei Lawson
Andrew Leask
Gemma Phillips

Double Basses

David Schilling**
Belinda Kendall-Smith~ (Acting Associate Principal)
Jacky Chang

Flutes

Julia Grenfell** (Acting Section Principal)
Lisa Gill

Oboe

Peter Duggan*

Clarinet

Mitchell Berick*

Alto Saxophone

Damien Hurn*

Horns

Sarah Barrett~
Timothy Skelly

Trumpets

David Khafagi**
Martin Phillipson~
Gregory Frick

Trombones

Colin Prichard**
John Gluyas

Bass Trombone

Amanda Tillett*

Timpani

Andrew Penrose*

Percussion

Steven Peterka**
Sami Butler~

Rhythm Section

Ben Todd* – Drum Kit (Guest Principal)
Sam Leske* – Guitar (Guest Principal)
Shireen Khemlani* – Bass Guitar (Guest Principal)

** denotes Section Principal
~ denotes Associate Principal
* denotes Principal Player

Encore Writing Credits

That’s What Friends Are For
Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
Burt Bacharach & Hal David


World Premiere with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
June 2024, Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
What the World Needs Now is a Make My Mark Production.

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