By Alexander Lewis
Every Monday night, a church hall fills with the sound of the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra.
The musicians are rehearsing for their 50th anniversary concert.
Sitting in the first violin section is Rita West, who has been with the community orchestra almost since its genesis.
"Forty-seven years. They say, 'time flies when you're having fun'. And so it has," Ms West says.
Ms West has played the violin since she was seven. This year, she turns 86.
"I definitely don't feel like 86," she says.
"I never ever wanted to be the eldest in the orchestra, but here I am."
Her instrument is much older.
"This violin was purchased for me by my brother as a gift in 1954. And it was then 100 years old, so they say.
"I do have some paperwork, almost unreadable, but it does have a date of 1867."
The orchestra consists of retired professional musicians, enthusiastic music students and serious amateurs.
Its members come from all walks of life. Over the years, players have included a judge, teachers, a police officer, and tradespeople.
Andrew Robinson is one of the orchestra's conductors. He says playing in the group demands focus.
"It's a very, very mentally active activity," he says.
"The speed with which you have to process stuff, you know you've got these notes on the page and they fly past.
"And each one has a little arrangement of your fingers or your lips."
Mr Robinson has conducted professional groups but says the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra gives him a special kind of joy.
"Some orchestras have opinions about themselves and take themselves very seriously," he says.
"These guys, they take seriously what they do, but they're really keen to enjoy it."
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| Conductor Andrew Robinson says playing in an orchestra is a "very mentally active" pastime. () |
A meeting of generations
The musicians vary in age too, from retirees to university students — like violist Alex Arthur.
"It's really nice to come along to meet people you wouldn't have necessarily met otherwise and make music together," Mr Arthur says.
Much of the orchestra's repertoire was composed by Ronald Hanmer, who wrote the theme music to ABC Radio's decades-long serial Blue Hills.
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| Violinist Alex Arthur says the orchestra brings people together. () |
"I think it probably would be fair to say that after Waltzing Matilda, it was the best known tune in Australia," Mr Hanmer told the ABC's Landline program in 1992.
Mr Hanmer arranged more than 300 works for the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra.
Nearly 30 years after his death, the group is keeping his music alive.
Bassist Aysha Eastaughffe says playing it is like slipping on a glove.
"You just slide back into it and it just sounds really great," she says.
The orchestra still plays from Mr Hanmer's handwritten sheet music.
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| Principal double bassist Aysha Eastaughffe with the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra in 2006 (left) and 2023.() |
"It can be quite difficult to read sometimes. You're not sure whether the notes are on the line or between the spaces," Ms Eastaughffe says.
She says playing in the orchestra is a healthy challenge.
"I think it keeps me young. It keeps my brain active," she says.
Music engages 'almost every part of the brain'
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| Dr Anita Collins says playing music connects our motor cortices.() |
The science suggests Ms Eastaughffe is right, according to music educator Dr Anita Collins.
"Music does keep your brain young. It keeps it healthy," Dr Collins says.
Dr Collins has studied the research done by neuroscientists about how the brain responds to playing music.
"The auditory, visual and motor cortices are connecting — that's our eyes, ears and body. They're having to connect in a very precise and synchronised way," she says.
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| The Brisbane City Pops Orchestra was formerly known as the St Lucia Orchestra. () |
Dr Collins says playing music is a mental workout, exercising almost every part of the brain.
'It also can help to ward off dementia," she says.
"Even if dementia begins, or Alzheimer's begins, music is a wonderful therapy for helping people who are struggling with those conditions to maintain their connection with others, to keep their language going."
Dr Diana Tolmie, a senior lecturer at the Queensland Conservatorium, says making music creates happiness.
"It gives you a dopamine release, so natural feel good drugs," Dr Tolmie says.
Dr Tolmie says even simply listening to music can make you feel younger.
"Music is really significant for people at certain points in their life … weddings, certain birthdays, funerals," Dr Tolmie says.
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| Dr Diana Tolmie says music brings happiness to people. () |
"When you go to an event and you hear music from your time that perhaps is not as prevalent on the television or the radio as much, it can literally transport you back to that time.
"The beauty about nostalgia is we always think of the good stuff."
While the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra continues to sell out concerts, the group is on a mission to recruit younger players, hoping it will last for another half-century.
"I won't be here to see it, but I hope so," Ms West says.
First published at ABC News, Wednesday April 5, 2023
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