In what could be a world first, Narrogin last week constructed a temporary arena made of 500 big square bales that hosted members of the Perth Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and local musicians for a one-off concert under the stars last Saturday night.
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The PSO has previously played in places and spaces where you would never expect to find an orchestra, including sheds, warehouses and aeroplane hangars.
But never before has it tried the acoustics of a hay bale amphitheatre.
Such was the popularity of this event that tickets sold out within 45 minutes to the performers' families and friends, members of the Arts Narrogin group and locals around Narrogin, before they could even be offered to the general public further afield.
Arts Narrogin events manager Brad Flett said the idea for hosting a concert in a custom-designed hay bale arena was first imagined by former PSO creative director and executive producer Bourby Webster, who had seen a similar - but much smaller - event in Spain held within the confines of round bale walls.
"All she said she wanted was a heap of square bales and a paddock," Mr Flett said.
"We got that sorted and then we got some funding from Lotterywest mid-last year to progress the project."
Ballard Hay loaned the 500 square bales that each weigh 450-500 kilograms and these were put in place using a telehandler.
It took just six hours to build the arena, which in some places is six bales high and graduates down to three bales high.
It is a rectangular shape with strategically placed exits in case of any emergencies.
Mr Flett said the stage itself was monstrous and had been used for many other events, including Perth's Big Day Out.
He said last weekend's concert was the culmination of the year-long journey of collaboration and mentorship of PSO's Green Shoots initiative.
Mr Flett said this involved members of the orchestra coming to Narrogin every month to mentor and coach a range of local musicians and develop songs that would make a program for the Narrogin Hay Bales Concert.
He said there were more than 140 participants of all ethnicities from the Narrogin district whose ages ranged from 15 to 90-years-old.
These local musicians formed ensembles including a choir, pub choir, folk, jazz, blues, rock and pop groups.
Twelve ensembles played on Saturday night under the watchful eye of conductor Laurissa Brook.
They were accompanied by 23 musicians from the PSO for the 2.5-hour program.
Mr Flett said the model of working with the orchestra and small local ensembles was really successful.
Mr Flett said Arts Narrogin, with about 130 members, was a very active group in the community and aimed to boost cultural events in the town.
It hosts a wide range of activities and events that will include an evening with Marina Prior in May next year.
In another first for the town, the Narrogin Hay Bales Concert was live streamed worldwide via Australian Digital Concert Hall and people can now access this on-demand for $10 and have a week to watch it.
By taking the PSO out of the concert hall and into communities across WA, the orchestra has performed to more than 350,000 people.
