Southwest Sydney live music scene to receive boost at Casula Powerhouse

SOUTHWEST Sydney is suffering from “music poverty”, according to Casula Powerhouse’s acting director Craig Donarski — but he says that is all about to change.

Acting director of Casula Powerhouse Craig Donarski wants to bring the music back to Casula Powerhouse. Picture: Ian Svegovic

• Southwest Sydney — the live music dead zone
• Casula artists stay in the picture

SOUTHWEST Sydney is suffering from “music poverty”, according to Casula Powerhouse’s acting director Craig Donarski.

“I’ve been hearing about the absence of opportunities for artists to perform in this area, or for audiences to see live music here,” he said.

“It’s really inadequate when you compare it to what’s available in central Sydney.”

The Liverpool Leader reported last week that just 19 per cent of southwest Sydney residents were engaging with live music, compared with 40 per cent of Parramatta residents and 60 per cent in central Sydney.

Music is Mr Donarski’s first priority as he leads efforts to transform the Powerhouse into a more diverse and entertaining venue.

“It’s that thing that crosses over all cultural barriers,” he said. “We’ve got 140 languages being spoken in this region. With music, you don’t need to understand the language to get it.”

One of Mr Donarski’s goals is to keep the Powerhouse open and occupied as frequently as possible.

“We would like to see this venue not have dark nights — we want to use it as many nights as possible,” he said.

“We want to see music, comedy, theatre and if people have ideas for entertainment that doesn’t break the bank, we want to speak to them.”

Acting director of Casula Powerhouse Craig Donarski has set on starting a revolution at the Powerhouse and establishing it as southwest Sydney’s premier arts and entertainment hub. Picture: Ian Svegovic

Mr Donarski admitted that changing the Powerhouse’s established rhythm would be difficult.

“Things here are planned really far in advance and that’s a challenge for me because I am a chronically impatient person,” he said. “The changes will be reflected most obviously next year.”

However, Mr Donarski is set on starting a revolution at the Powerhouse and establishing it as southwest Sydney’s premier arts and entertainment hub.

“Access to quality classical music is really limited and I would love to see rock, pop, jazz and world music,” he said. “We’re starting to have conversations with people about that because we want to make it happen.”

The newly assembled Western Sydney Youth Orchestra is one of many acts Mr Donarski hopes to house at Casula Powerhouse.

“They have a rehearsal home at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta, but they have so much going on that they can’t perform there very often,” he said. “So we said, ‘come on over’.”

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He said the Powerhouse had applied to Liverpool Council to create an outdoor area for outside events. Mr Donarski also said the development of other venues and regional centres such as Carnes Hill was a good start.

“I want to be able to bring music of all kinds to the people,” he said.

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