THE West Australian Symphony Orchestra has dropped its Supreme Court of Western Australia action against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The legal action for more than $1 million, which was started more than a year ago, also named Symphony Australia as a party to the action. WASO chief executive Keith Venning said the action had been dropped because “we felt it wasn’t in the interest of both parties [WASO and the ABC] at the end of the day”. The legal action related to losses WASO incurred when it was incorporated as a subsidiary of the ABC in 1997. Australia’s six state orchestras had all been part of the ABC. In the late 1990s they were all cut adrift as separately incorporated entities and encouraged to be more entrepreneurial. The WASO responded by targeting the corporate market and running its own events. These include the orchestra’s Sandalford Concert series, where the orchestra has partnered with international performers such as Dionne Warwick and Harry Connick Jr, and concerts such as the one it recently held in Kings Park with Ben Folds.
