Although one would be forgiven for assuming Joshua was once a student at the UWA Conservatorium of Music (especially given his semi-permanent presence there), he has just graduated from UWA’s Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) program with majors in Political Science and International Relations and Business Law. Joshua loves all things old and all things foreign and was lucky enough to spend a semester in Lyon, France improving his French and soaking up every art gallery and museum he possible could.
More recently, Joshua wrote his Honours thesis on competing political influences in the North African state of Algeria, an area of study that drew his attention towards the possibility of completing postgraduate study at a foreign university. In late 2018, Joshua was offered a postgraduate Fulbright scholarship to complete his Master’s degree in the United States of America and has since been accepted into the number one ranked Security Studies institute in the country – the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington D.C, beginning in August 2019.
Joshua is spending his remaining time in Perth returning as Co-Principal Double Bass of WAYO and singing with Voyces, one of WA’s premiere vocal ensembles who will perform alongside WAYO in this July’s performance of Paul Stanhope’s Jandamarra. He is looking forward to what this next chapter of his life will bring and can’t wait to start making new music with new people in this exciting new country.
Take 5 with Joshua Dunne
1. Do you have a favourite quote from your conductor?
The amazing Peter Moore is such a consistently wonderful source of quotable material – it’s hard to pick just one! My favourite expression of his by far however (which we have heard on constant loop since beginning to rehearse the Berlioz) is “PLAY IT WITH WELLY”, which I think perfectly encapsulates his conducting style and overall demeanour, and is definitely something we need to hear!
2. What has been the highlight of playing in WAYO?
Our 2018 July season, which saw us perform Mahler’s Second Symphony alongside Singapore’s Orchestra of the Music Makers and under the baton of Tze-Law Chan is without doubt my most incredible musical experience to date. The combination of the amazing ambiance of Perth Concert Hall, Tze-Law’s wonderful direction and the titanic musical achievement that is Mahler 2 made that performance hard to beat. From the sound of the audience’s reaction that night, I think they would probably agree!
3. Who is your favourite composer? What is your favourite piece?
In my eyes, as in the eyes of many others, J. S. Bach stands head-and-shoulders above all other composers in virtually every regard – I think the collected Partitas and Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin are the best evidence of just how much Bach can create from such limited resources.
When it comes to orchestral writing, for me it’s a toss-up between Beethoven (his Symphony No. 3 being my favourite), Mendelssohn (the Italian Symphony has possibly the best Double Bass part ever written) and Tchaikovsky (Serenade for Strings lives permanently in my Spotify’s “recently played”).
4. What inspired you to learn an instrument?
Thanks to some very good decision making on the part of my parents, I’ve been singing, playing Violin and Double Bass as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved listening to music at least as much as I love performing it, so the desire to pick up and practice an instrument really came from a hope to do the best job I possibly could bringing the music I loved to life.
5. Outside of music, what other interests do you have?
I think my twin obsessions with football (soccer) and basketball go a long way in balancing the time I spend focusing on music! I’m a very proud supporter of FC Barcelona and a heartbroken Oklahoma City Thunder fan (never the other way around) who would probably faint if he ever got to meet Rafael Nadal.
Beyond that, I’m always re-watching the same four or five TV shows with the same one or two friends, doing my best to keep fit and reading up on obscure historical events in preparation for future trivia nights!
image credit: Sharon Smit / The West Australian
