In the days following Sondheim’s sudden death at age 91, the internet has been saturated with an outpouring of reaction to the loss of the ‘Shakespeare of Music Theatre’, arguably the greatest writer of the form in the 20th century. In the past few days, singers, actors, teachers, writers, directors, artists and journalists have articulated tributes far more eloquently than I can.

My first Sondheim experience was the movie of West Side Story in 1961, though like many at the time, I thought of it as mainly Bernstein’s piece.

Some years later in late 1973, on my first solo trip to Sydney as a young adult, I saw A Little Night Music at Her Majesty’s Theatre (restored after fire destroyed it in 1970). This was a pivotal point in my musical life. I can still remember sitting up in the dress circle, trying to absorb it all.

In my 30 plus years of teaching singing at WAAPA, I have been privileged to work with and learn from three Sondheim devotees. Firstly John Milson, founding head of Musical Theatre at WAAPA. It was John Milson’s ambition to direct all of Sondheim’s musicals. Denis Follington followed John Milson and would often say “To sing Sondheim well, you simply follow all the instructions contained in the score – Sondheim has written it all down for you.” I was reminded of this when watching the Times Square tribute below. Most recently, retiring former head of Music Theatre, David King, has taught, played, MD’d and researched all of Sondheim’s works.

What a huge legacy Sondheim has left for us all.

Please look at the three links below. They are among my favourites from these recent days.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/parenting/stars-react-to-the-death-of-legendary-composer-and-lyricist-stephen-sondheim/ar-AARcsbU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKSYeMgamIA

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Broadway-Sings-in-Times-Square-to-Honor-Stephen-Sondheim-20211128?utm_source=newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email