6 minute read
OGA Art Acquisition
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a Dream Come True
Former student, Morgan Halket (15) is still pinching herself every day to make sure she is not dreaming. Morgan is a professional opera singer with the West Australian Opera Company chorus and often cannot believe that this is her job.
Morgan was accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2016 and studied a Bachelor of Classical Music majoring in Classical Voice and Opera Studies. In her final year of WAAPA, Morgan auditioned for the West Australian Opera Company chorus. This became her first contract, and she has not looked back since. She has been part of many productions including Cosi Fan Tutte, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Morgan’s love of singing and performing started at a young age. “My love of music and opera came from my mum, who always encouraged me to work hard and strive for greatness.” Morgan also believes that her education at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School has contributed to her success and many of her teachers including Mrs Fahie, Mrs Holmes, Mrs Brittain, Mr Molewyk and Mr Bancroft are still huge inspirations of hers, and she will be forever grateful for the belief they had in her. “I can still remember the day that Mrs Holmes told me that I could make a living as a performer. I will never forget that moment because she was the first person that had said that to me.”
Morgan fondly remembers several performances at School – from her first ever role in Grease to playing in the orchestra with War of the Worlds as definite highlights. But for Morgan, it was not always the biggest performances that meant the most, sometimes it was the little ones.
“It might sound strange, but Community Choir every week was a highlight for me. Nothing sets you up for an academic week like singing in the Chapel on a Monday morning!” Knowing how much joy singing and performing gave her as a child, Morgan is inspiring young audiences with the work she is doing with a children’s entertainment company in her spare time. Morgan is part of a management team of women who write, direct, costume, musically direct and perform productions of much-loved fairy tales including The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella to children all over Western Australia. She hopes that many of the children who watch their performances consider getting involved in The Arts themselves.
Although Morgan’s dreams have already come true, she is still focused on becoming the best performer she can be while she is learning from her peers and principal artists coming through the WA Opera Company. In the future she hopes to work with Opera Australia, and take her stage shows for children on larger tours throughout regional Australia.
Mrs Kym Ashby :: School Community Co-ordinator
Romeo &Juliet
While Natalie and Derek Peterson are known by some as the Romeo and Juliet of Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School, there is far more to their story.
Their tale is one of perseverance, weathering the storms of the recent pandemic and ultimately, succeeding in more ways than one. In 1983, Natalie Peterson nee Norrish began her life as a Bunbury Grammar boarder. While at School, Natalie and Derek became childhood sweethearts and after graduating in 1985, the romance continued.
The couple moved to Perth for university studies with Natalie completing her nursing degree and Derek commenced an engineering degree. But Derek was quickly lured to the audio visual industry and the appeal of working. His aptitude for audio was central in his role at Purvisonic Sound while Natalie worked as a nurse at St John of God.
After working in Perth for four years, they both yearned for the country lifestyle. Taking a job at GWN7 as a Sound Technician provided the perfect opportunity for the couple to return. In only a week of returning, Natalie was working at St John of God’s Bunbury hospital in a nursing role. “I was using more generic nursing skills and enjoyed the change. It provided a greater variety of work, and it was a nice way to reconnect with the community,” she said. This connection and being part of the local community has been one of the keys to their business success. After years of working in the audio visual industry, scribbling down ideas on scraps of paper, Derek launched his company Totally Sound with his first gig the Bunbury Christmas Carols in 1997.
Since then, the business has burgeoned from an owner-operator model to a company which at its peak, employed nine staff. In 2004, Totally Sound won the Telstra Small Business Award (Micro Category) for Western Australia. Behind the story of success though, lies years of sacrifice and long hours. “Starting our own business was a gamble but we threw everything at it: We lived and breathed it,” Natalie said.
Initially, Natalie had a peripheral role in the operations of Totally Sound but this reached a turning point. It was a moment of epiphany, juggling a nursing job while also being a mum of three young children. “I realised that it was too much, and I moved into a full-time role in the business in 2011,” she said. Since the transition, Natalie and Derek have passionately managed their business together. Like many small businesses, Totally Sound faced a challenging year in 2020 and their company is still feeling the impact of COVID-19. Natalie said, “Diversification over the last ten years provided means for pivoting the business during the pandemic. This diversification into audio-visual, lighting, staging and importantly commercial installation ultimately saved the business.” A flexible and responsive approach, is part of working in the entertainment industry. “We see all walks of life and experience so much, from chefs to film and rock stars, through to wonderful community events, including working closely with a lot of the local schools. We meet a broad range of people from different industries, and it is an amazing space to work in,” she said. Derek and Natalie are the proud parents of three children - Shenae, Holly and Shaun - who all attended the School. In their own way, each child has built careers and lives, adding to the success story of the Peterson family and providing the fairy tale end to the Romeo and Juliet of Bunbury Grammar.
