. . . to the site of the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra and Composer-Conductor who founded the orchestra in September 1973.   The orchestra is a professional free-lance ensemble which works on a seasonal basis.

from October 2001.
An Australian Night At The Proms (2001)
This concert took place on 5 October 2001 at the Sydney Super Dome in the presence of 12,000 enthusiastic 'prommers'.  Based on the famous London concerts dating back to 1895 and performed in the Royal Albert Hall since World War II, this featured an all-Australian cast including Yvonne Kenny, David Hobson, Simon Tedeschi, A Broad And Two Men, Glen Shorrock, Gina Jeffreys, Christine Anu, David Campbell, the 80-member Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, The Proms Chorus and compére Bert Newton.

from October 2001.
During 1999 it provided the orchestras for the Australian Tour of the English National Ballet's arena production of Swan Lake and in 1996 organised the Perth Orchestra for the arena production of Aida in that city. It was in 1994 that the Orchestra was engaged by the Freemasons Hospital in Melbourne to present in both Melbourne and Sydney as a fund-raiser for their Cancer Clinic.

In 1991 the Orchestra toured with Rudolf Nureyev on his last Australian Tour and in 1989 the Orchestra was engaged to perform at the Centenary of Freemasonry in Victoria Concert. During 1987 the Orchestra was involved in the three-month tour of the Bolshoi Ballet in Australia and New Zealand and accompanied them again in 1992.
As a service orchestra the musicians are placed in an accompanying role, and as such, is available for hire in most capital cities in Australia, using local musicians to that city.  For national projects, a smaller touring group is usually used and augmented by local musicians.

Its services include:
  • Consultation for music budgets
  • Contracting of orchestras
  • Preparation for performance season
  • Comprehensive artistic administrative management
Companies worked with:
from October 2001.


Composer - Conductor
Director: Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: The Arts Group - Australia

Download CV for Paul Coppens (PDF file)

Concert Of The Century
Townsville Civic Centre 11-13 August 2006
As Conductor for this event, Paul Coppens arranged and orchestrated the entire musical programme. It celebrated 100 years of The Townsville Choral and Orchestral Society which has, during the past 53 years, produced 74 musicals. The Townsville Council presented the concert in recognition of their work and contribution to the City.  The concert highlighted excerpts from their shows.  Many of their soloists cut their teeth by participating in these productions and have now left Townsville and working in the Industry. Several were invited to return and be part of the concert.
ANZAC International Military Tattoo 2006
As Music Director for this event, Paul Coppens arranged and orchestrated all the music for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. This included Mozart's Ave Verum and many well-known tunes such as Scotland The Brave, On The Road To Gundagai, Waltzing Matilda, You Raise Me Up and more. Special tribute was made to the Anzacs with 'Gelibolu' (theme from the film), which was specially arranged for the forces used at this event. Dr Steve Watson assembled the ANZAC Chorus of 200 voices and there were Bands from around the world.

Australian Night At The Proms
As Music Director/Conductor and Arranger, Paul Coppens conducted the , which took place at the Sydney Super Dome on Friday October 5 2001 at 8pm and was attended by about 12,000 enthusiastic 'prommers'. It featured an all-Australian cast, including artists Yvonne Kenny, David Hobson, Simon Tedeschi, A Broad And Two Men, Glen Shorrock, Gina Jeffreys, Christine Anu, David Campbell, the 80-member Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, The Proms Chorus and compére Bert Newton.
Paul Coppens


Paul Coppens

Since 1974 Paul Coppens has been involved in most aspects of the music industry, especially in the area of Musical Direction of the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra and for special projects. His work in projects, where music played a critical role, has included the initial preparation of budgets and casting, to the eventual preparation of all musical forces involved.  His negotiating and administrative skills, and above all his ability in choosing the right people to help him in a project, have ensured artistic success under his direction.

from October 2001.
Arena production 'AIDA' (1996 - 1997)
The responsibilities as Music Director for this two-year project to four cities included casting of soloists, guest conductors, auditioning minor roles, sourcing and selecting local orchestras, choirs, brass bands, trumpet groups, repetiteurs and chorus masters. It also involved heading a team of Chorus masters train the amateur chorus, rewriting the brass band parts to allow for two brass bands,  giving the trumpet groups the orchestral trumpet calls at the beginning of Act 2 scene 2 and work together with the Sound Designer in achieving the best possible balance of the reinforced sound in each venue.

Melbourne production of (1986)
For this children\'s opera he was the Composer, Music Director and Conductor.

Melbourne season of 'Cox & Box'/'HMS Pinafore'(1977)
As Chorus Master and Conductor of this production, tasks also included the auditioning of musicians and singers respectively for the orchestra and chorus, and the preparation of most of the music rehearsals.
Finale2009 and GigaStudio3(GS3)

Advances in the technique of sound reproduction have thrown up new possibilities especially for the composer.   The creation of small or large scale works using the traditional 'writing' method (with such software programmes as Finale or Sibelius) can now be instantaneously realised, or 'played', with stunning realism.

Below is the newly orchestrated Dutch 'folk' song 'Berg Op Zoom', with a newly composed middle section, and fully realised using GigaStudio3(GS3), Peter Siedlaczek\'s 'Advanced Orchestra' samples and Choir samples from 'Voices of the Apocalypse'. In preparation is 'Het Loze Vissertje' and 'Aan Den Nacht'.

The choir samples come with separate vowels and consonants (english) so programming the choir to sing in Dutch was quite a challenge, and has generally been successful. Again, the technology is there for the benefit of those who are unable to 'visualise' a full score, and for the composer to 'virtually hear' his creations almost immediately.

For writing film scores, he uses Finale2009 to write the music, GigaStudio3 (music sampler) to record the music, and uses Sony Vegas6 to match film with sound. Film scenes may be emailed (in a reduced format) and can be returned by email (in reduced format) with the proposed orchestration. He is able to work on-site when/where required, as his 'writing' equipment consists of a computer (laptop) and music keyboard.

Berg Op Zoom (op.21 no.3)
View lyrics
Listen to each section.
This piece is in three parts:
I - Traditional melody (verse 1)
II - New music (verse 2).
III - Traditional melody with new ending.
NB For the purposes of this sample, verse 1 was used.
Paul Coppens
Music Director, Arranger and Conductor

As the above titles imply, Paul Coppens was involved in this project from its very beginnings to its final performance. Although there are many antecedents, this 'Prom' project was born in 1979 when he conducted a similar programme involving a healthy mix of classical and contemporary 'pop' music called 'Laser Fantasia'.

Most items have been arranged and/or orchestrated by Paul Coppens. All photos on this page are from the Proms 2001 concert.
The Beatles Revisited logo
The Audio Tracks
The Performers
'Classical' View of The Beatles
A Concert Programme for your city!
NB The mp3 sound files may take some time to download.

Comedy with Gilbert & Sullivan
The Audio Tracks
The Performers
A Concert Programme for your city!
NB The mp3 sound files may take some time to download.