WA musicians undermined in favour of orchestra recording

A concerning decision has left many musicians feeling undervalued in an already fraught industry.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) members have accused management of undermining the work of live musicians following a decision by West Australian Ballet to use a six-year-old recording of Dracula for its Adelaide run, which the musicians say was not made for such use.

According to the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), musicians are frustrated both with their own leadership for allowing the recording to be used as a replacement for live labour and with WA Ballet for choosing not to hire live musicians.

In a statement, the WASO Players Committee claimed orchestra management failed to address their concerns, adding: “West Australian Ballet’s regrettable decision to perform Dracula in Adelaide using recorded music instead of engaging live musicians diminishes the audience’s experience of ballet and denies musicians the dignity of work.”

It further added: “WASO musicians do not support their work being used in this manner to avoid engaging live musicians.

“To protect their industry, [WASO musicians] wish to make public their demand, put formally to WASO management in December 2025, that their recording of Dracula is not made available for ballet performances in Adelaide, or in any circumstances where a live orchestra can and should be engaged.”

WASO management has not made a formal statement at this time.

The WA Ballet has defended its position, stating that the Adelaide tour is being funded entirely out of their own operating expenses, and therefore it was not viable to hire a local orchestra for a short run.

It said: “The suggestion that West Australian Ballet does not support live music is simply wrong. West Australian Ballet is one of the largest employers of performing artists in Western Australia, second only to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

“Live music is central to what we do, and we have worked closely with WASO for decades – a strong partnership that continues today.”

WA Ballet added that they paid WASO musicians for the original recording on top of continued royalties.

In the wake of the original decision, more than 500 musicians from Australia and New Zealand signed a motion calling for the engagement of live musicians and further efforts to support live music.

MEAA musicians director Paul Davies identified a concerning trend of companies leaning towards cost-cutting over live music, calling it “a huge disrespect to audiences”.

“MEAA believes that WA Ballet has a responsibility to include live music in its productions, and we will continue to speak out when this doesn’t happen,” he said.

“As MEAA’s 2025 musicians survey found, almost half of the nation’s working musicians are earning less than $15,000 a year in an industry where income insecurity and chronic undervaluation are commonplace.

“Arts institutions, such as the WA Ballet and WASO, must uphold their responsibility to support artists and maintain the tradition of live music.”