WASO’s Louise McKay has devised a digital platform that allows you to book and enjoy music in the comfort of your home.

In the not-too-distant past musical soirées, salons and indeed daily domestic music-making were the rule rather than the exception. Of course, professional and amateur musicians alike still enjoy playing in their own homes, for their own pleasure, or for a small circle of acquaintances.

Nowadays, however, and usually for economic reasons, we’re more likely to hear soloists and small ensembles perform in cavernous concert halls or smaller venues that still lack the warmth and intimacy of a private drawing or living room.

But what if there was a digital platform that allowed you to book and enjoy, in the comfort of your own home, as they say, quality chamber music performed live by some of Australia’s finest musicians? Well, now there is. It’s called Ensembly.

The brainchild of Louise McKay, associate principal cellist with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Ensembly was borne out of McKay’s love of chamber music and her desire to connect artists with each other and with audiences in intimate spaces.

“I thought there were probably a lot of other musicians like me who would benefit from this being more efficient to organise,” she says. “I was brainstorming with Andrew (Batt-Rawden of Arts Initiative Australia and publisher of Limelight) and we spoke about the technology used by Airbnb and UberEATS; how those kinds of services exist in other industries, and how we might be able to do the same.”

Not that you can just dial a string quartet to be home delivered. “You can’t just throw together a high-quality performance,” McKay says. “There does need to be some lead time. But you invest so much time and love in rehearsing a programme that, of course, you’d like to do it once, so perhaps we could offer a specific programme, say, four times in close succession at people’s homes.” A set menu, in other words.

Although the ultimate plan is to develop a mobile phone app, Ensembly currently relies on an excellent website and spreading the word via social media. The first four gigs were public concerts held in Studio Startup’s basement in the Perth CBD. They were a great success. Not only that; some audience members expressed a desire to host a concert, for friends and family, in their own homes. A private event in a home in the Perth suburb of Wembley, featuring McKay and violinist Margaret Blades, was the result.

“We’re definitely learning as we go,” McKay says. “I’d love to do another five, say, in people’s homes, to see what works and what doesn’t. Ideally concerts would be evenly spread between private hosted events and public concerts.”

So what should other musicians do if they want to break out of that performing box? “Talk to me, let’s put on a gig,” McKay laughs. “Seriously, I think the biggest step was talking to other people about your ideas. I have a fulltime career with WASO, and I shouldn’t need to add to that, it’s so fantastic and fulfilling.

“But I have this thing where every time I’ve got a spare minute I need to do something with it, something new, something different. And talking to people about Ensembly helped get me out of my comfort zone and made me realise people are really very happy to help you if you ask.”

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