Government House Foundation Music on the Terrace artistic director Mark Coughlan is excited about the year ahead as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary with a packed musical program featuring local and overseas artists.
“We started Music on the Terrace way back in 2006 and I never thought I would be doing it 20 years later but here I am,” Mark tells Have
a Go News. “And we have learned over those years that we have a very loyal following.
“In that time, we have learned how to put a program together that hits a lot of different high points that people really love about music.
“So, this year, we’re starting with an amazing opera gala, Music on the Terrace: A Night at La Scala, on Saturday and Sunday April 18–19, at Government House Ballroom.
“We are bringing from Italy a remarkable young tenor, Giuseppe Infantino, the winner of the Pavarotti Foundation award, which means he has been flagged as a future star for the Italian opera scene.
“So it’s really wonderful to get him to Perth and to sing before audiences here with the OpusWA Arts Orchestra and myself conducting.
“Three Western Australians singing with Giuseppe are Rachelle Durkin, who attended WAAPA and went on to the Metropolitan Opera in New York and a big international career; and two up-and-coming young singers Benjamin Del Borrello and Ruth Burke, both former young artists at WA Opera with glittering careers ahead.”
Mark says it is exciting to bring four really great voices together.
“We’re featuring all the great hits of the Italian opera tradition so I think it’s a wonderful way to kick off our concert season.
“The second concert, Piano Fortissimo, on Sunday, June 14, sees a complete change of style, celebrating piano and pianists with Zenith Music and Snadens Pianos providing us with a second grand piano. So, we’ll have two beautiful big pianos on stage at Government House Ballroom.
“We will have a large number of pianists playing so it’s going to be a piano spectacular, showcasing some extremely talented young artists, some still at school.
“People love the piano; many viewers enjoyed the ABC television show The Piano which returns this year.
“The third concert in the series on Sunday, September 6, and one I’m really excited about for the first time in Government House Ballroom, a group of young people of 40 voices who have formed a choir, Naya Chorale.
“They sing a capella so there is no accompaniment, just voices, a range of styles from folk to other cultures, classical, pop and music theatre. There will be something for everyone in this concert.
“The final concert for this year is called Tchaikovsky Power and Passion, on Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8 with the OpusWA Arts Orchestra, which I will be conducting.
“We will play Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, a beautiful, powerful piece and, for the second half, we are bringing a brilliant young pianist, Wynona Wang, from New York to play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1, one of the great piano concertos so it’s an all Tchaikovsky program.
“For people who love piano concertos or orchestral music, it’s going to be a great way to finish our season.”
Life is extremely busy for Mark, a concert pianist, conductor, music teacher, concert promoter and company director who grew up in Perth and studied music at the University of WA. He currently divides his time between Perth and Sydney where he runs the Sydney International Piano Competition, recognised as one of the world’s great piano competitions.
“That competition is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year and we will be bringing 32 of the world’s finest young pianists to Sydney with the finals at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Mark also helps run Lost and Found Opera which will present a show, The Trial by Philip Glass, at this year’s Perth Festival. He is also involved with OpusWA, the orchestra playing at Government House Ballroom this year which runs a program to support young singers who have just graduated.
If that wasn’t enough, he also runs an art gallery, The Orangery in Shenton Park.
“Because I love the visual arts, I’ve been collecting paintings since I was quite young and it’s great to support Western Australian artists as well as musicians.”
For more details about the Government House Foundation Music on the Terrace 2026 program, please visit the Government
House Ballroom website.
