''Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth'' is a DVD featuring performances by singer-songwriter and pianist

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

, backed by the

West Australian Symphony Orchestra The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , WA ...

. Filmed over two nights on March 12 and 13, 2005, at Kings Park and Botanical Gardens in

Perth, Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

- a venue Folds jokingly refers to as a "luminous green petri dish" - the DVD offers 14 songs from the three major

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

albums and Folds' debut solo album ''

Rockin' the Suburbs ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' is the debut studio album by American alternative rock singer-songwriter Ben Folds. His first solo album after leaving his band Ben Folds Five, ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' was recorded in Adelaide, Australia, where Folds was ...

''. Played to over 9000 fans, the two concerts featured on the DVD represent the first time Folds' music was set to an orchestra; this is a trend Folds has since continued with performances with various orchestras around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the world, including Cleveland's

Contemporary Youth Orchestra Founded in 1995 by Liza Grossman, Contemporary Youth Orchestra (CYO) is the only youth orchestra in the United States dedicated to the study and performance of contemporary orchestral literature. The orchestra is in residence at Cuyahoga Community ...

, the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

, the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, members of the

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is an American chamber orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal concert venue is the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, of which the orchestra is a founding ...

, and the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

. Folds' music was rewritten and arranged specifically for symphonic performance by members of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Kenway.

Track listing

# "Zak and Sara" (arranged by

Iain Grandage Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director. Early life Grandage initially lived in Brisbane ...

) # "Smoke" (arranged by Michael Pigneguy) # "Fred Jones Part 2" (arranged by Iain Grandage) # "Steven's Last Night in Town" (arranged by

Graeme Lyall Graeme William Lyall ( AM), is an Australian saxophonist, composer and arranger. He became a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2003: "''For service to music as Artistic Director of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, and ...

) # "Boxing" (arranged by Stephen Newcomb) # "Annie Waits" (arranged by

James Ledger James Ledger (born 1966) is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music, and senior lecturer in composition at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orchestral composition. Biograp ...

) # "Brick" (arranged by James Ledger) # "Evaporated" (arranged by Stephen Newcomb) # "Not the Same" # "The Ascent of Stan" (arranged by James Ledger) # "Lullabye" (arranged by Graeme Lyall) # "Narcolepsy" (arranged by James Ledger) Encore # "Rock This Bitch (Perth Version)" # "The Luckiest" (arranged by James Ledger)

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

- 83 pieces *

Simon Kenway Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

- conductor *

- saxophone and arrangements * Stuart Haycock - tenor

Production

Produced and presented by the

Assisted by the

Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority is a Government of Western Australia, Western Australian Government authority charged with the administration of Kings Park, Western Australia, Kings Park and Bold Park (Western Australia), Bold Park. It wa ...

*Producer: John Minor *Director: Ray Black

References

Ben Folds video albums 2005 video albums Live video albums 2005 live albums {{2005-rock-album-stub