Navs feature in Orion overture

Squadron Leader Graeme Nayler and Flight Lieutenant Mick Durant with composer James Ledger.

By Deanna Nott
WHEN P-3C Orion navigators Squadron Leader Graeme Nayler and Flight Lieutenant Mick Durant were asked to answer a few questions about their involvement in the daring Southern Ocean rescues six years ago they had no idea they would end up starring in an orchestral piece.

SQNLDR Nayler and FLTLT Durant’s pre-recorded voices resonated through the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra concert hall on several occasions during the world premiere of Orion last month.

“It was very strange hearing my own voice during the piece,” said FLTLT Durant, who witnessed the performance.

“I never imagined that by answering a few questions about the rescues that I would become part of the music. It was a great privilege to be involved.”

Composer James Ledger was inspired to write Orion as a musical response to the conditions encountered by international solo yachtsman Tony Bullimore and also as homage to the men and women who were involved in his rescue.

“This piece draws on its title from the Orion aircraft … it was the Orions that played a pivotal role in the events that surrounded and led to the rescue of lone yachtsman Tony Bullimore after his boat, the Exide Challenger, capsized far down in the South Ocean in January 1997,” Mr Ledger said.

“On receiving Bullimore’s distress signal, the RAAF flew many Orion sorties to a spot in the Southern Ocean where they located Bullimore’s upturned yacht.

“I tried to imagine what it must have been like for Tony in those conditions and, as time progressed, the prospect of a lonely and frightening death becoming more imminent.”

SQNLDR Nayler and FLTLT Durant, who was actually the first person to spot Bullimore’s yacht, met with the composer several weeks ago and took him on a tour of both the P-3C and AP-3C Orions at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

In addition to a large symphony orchestra, Orion included a sampler part where pre-recorded sounds were incorporated into the piece.

These included sounds of the ocean, female voices, recollections of the events from Tony Bullimore, SQNLDR Nayler and FLTLT Durant, as well as sounds of Orion aircraft, provided to the composer by No. 92 Wing Photographic Unit.
At the premiere, concert-goers were provided with information about the P-3C Orion and had the opportunity to watch Orion videos and learn more about the aircraft’s capabilities.

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