Some years ago, I heard a concert in which the work in the second half was a panoramic symphony, gripping in its almost-documentary sweep. It was preceded by a ballet which, to my mind, never quite got out of gravity’s pull. And it occurred to me to ask if there is a difference between conducting […]
Category Archives: News
MSO takes inspiration from Beethoven’s legacy in 2020
In 2020, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, taking inspiration from the composer’s legacy to create an artistic program that has innovation and collaboration at its core. To open the year, and in a first-time collaboration between the MSO and Circa Contemporary Circus, ten world-class circus artists under the […]
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra performs opening concert at the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, West HQ
In collaboration with Australian artist David Campbell, the Sydney Symphony will perform the opening concert of the newly built Sydney Coliseum Theatre, West HQ with a festive themed concert. The holiday season inspired program David Campbell with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra: Christmas at the Coliseum (12-13 Dec) marks the start of a two-year partnership between […]
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra shares Australian arts with the world
At the end of 2018, the MSO secured an international distribution agreement with UNITEL, a leading producer and distributor of classical music for TV, DVD and Blu-Ray, cinema and new media. Starting in Season 2019, a selection of eight MSO concerts were distributed via UNITEL to media outlets throughout Europe, America and Asia. The agreement […]
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on tour
Recently, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Principal Artistic Partner, the violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman, returned home after a two week tour to China and South Korea. Since returning, many of us at the ASO have been reflecting on what it takes to tour a symphony orchestra internationally. Where lay the challenges and what are […]
Queensland Symphony Orchestra supports young composers
Compose – Symphony for Tomorrow connects secondary school students with professional composers and performers, providing opportunities to improve students’ knowledge and skills in composition for orchestra. The program aims to strengthen ties between young people in schools and the QSO and encourages them in their aspirations to become composers. Students from Brisbane Boys’ College, Mansfield State […]
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Northern Engagement Strategy
TSO maintains its commitment to being an orchestra for all Tasmanians with a Northern Engagement Strategy. In 2020 the TSO will focus on deepening its engagement with Northern Tasmania through a structured, multiplatform program. Considering all key organisational areas from artistic presence, audience enjoyment and development through to community engagement, capacity building, learning resourcing and […]
West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s exciting opportunity for emerging conductors
Every year the West Australian Symphony Orchestra nurtures a new generation of young and emerging artists, assisting them in finding their pathway into the profession and helping to secure a bright future for music in Australia. WASO will invite West Australian-based musicians to be part of the inaugural Emerging Conductors program in 2020 as part […]
SSI services and products 2020
Symphony Services International has restructured to ensure relevance into 2020 and beyond.
Expression of interest: CSO Arts Leadership Position
Creative, motivated and inspiring arts professional wanted.
SSO shares more experiences with music-lovers in regional communities
SSO partners with Sydney Coliseum Theatre to provide regional communities with access to music
A broader spread: Repertoire in US orchestral seasons next year
2019-20 seasons are about to begin in the States so I thought I’d browse US orchestral brochures to see what I might want to go to. I once joked to the artistic administrator of an Australian orchestra that devising orchestral programs could be done with three spinning-wheels labelled ‘overture’, ‘concerto’, and ‘symphony’, each containing 25 […]
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Appalachian Spring
In April the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra used Aaron Copland’s ballet score Appalachian Spring as a catalyst for creating a new music-and-dance work under the guidance of internationally acclaimed Creative Director and guest artist Paul Rissmann, choreographer Carlie Angel and three ASO mentors. Over the six days of the project 20 secondary students (14 music, 6 […]
Sydney Symphony Orchestra celebrates international Make Music Day
On Friday 21 June at 7pm, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will celebrate international Make Music Day with a free, global livestream of its Music of the Oud concert, featuring Egyptian-Australian oud (Egyptian lute) player Joseph Tawardros, live from the Sydney Opera House. Originally launched in 1982 as Fête de la Musique in France, Make Music Day is an annual […]
Queensland Symphony Orchestra visits regional Queensland
Delivering on its commitment to bring quality music education and concert experiences to regional Queensland, 14 musicians from Queensland Symphony Orchestra visited Gladstone during May to perform with more than 300 local high school and primary school students in the GEM Community Concert. This was QSO’s eighth year performing in Gladstone and the fifth Community […]
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s landmark Australian music project
This February, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra undertook a major and historically significant Australian music recording project, a double CD recording of the orchestral works of the Olympic gold-medal-winning oarsman, noted pianist, deeply gifted composer and WWI soldier Frederick Septimus Kelly (1881-1916), who has been described as ‘Australia’s most important cultural loss of the Great War’. […]
West Australian Symphony Orchestra helps keep the Noongar language alive
Koorlangka is described as ‘a modern take on ancient music’, with all songs performed in Noongar language. A one-hour suite of lullabies and traditional stories exploring the theme of children and legacy, these thought-provoking and beautiful works delighted everyone in their debut at the 2019 Karijini Experience. West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s string quartet of Assistant […]
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra celebrates First Nations
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is deeply committed to working side by side with Traditional Owners and increasing Australians’ experience of Indigenous cultures through meaningful, authentic and creative engagement. In 2019, the United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages, the company is undertaking a number of exciting projects which have language at their core. Eumeralla: A war […]
2018 Annual Report
Download a copy of the Symphony Services International 2018 Annual Report.
Versatile And Mobile: Hallmarks Of Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s success
The TSO is held dear by the people of Tasmania.
To ‘have a piece of my true self onstage’ – diversity in recent opera and orchestral music
My inspiration for this article came from a blog on the Los Angeles Opera website headed Seven Black Opera Singers Who Are Currently Dominating The Game. The blog cited folk such as mezzo J’Nai Bridges seen recently in LA Opera’s Satyagraha, Russell Thomas who has recently finished a season as Titus in Mozart’s La clemenza […]
Goodear website launched!
The new Goodear website has been launched! Please visit and discover it now!
QSO collaborates with the Townsville community orchestra
2018 was a year of performances and regional touring for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, including a collaboration with the Barrier Reef Orchestra.
Sydney Symphony Orchestra celebrates life of Richard Gill with free tribute concert
On 17 November, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney Chamber Choir and the Conservatorium High School Chamber Choir, celebrated the life of the late music educator Richard Gill with a free concert open to the public at the Sydney Opera House. Together with Kim Williams, Australian media executive, a former […]
Queensland Symphony Orchestra collaborates with Barrier Reef Orchestra for Stage & Screen
Queensland Symphony Orchestra was pleased to collaborate with Townsville’s community Barrier Reef Orchestra for its Stage & Screen concert, conducted by Richard Davis. With repertoire by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Mozart and of course the legendary John Williams, this was a stimulating evening for both orchestra and audience. Richard Davis travelled to Townsville two […]
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra moves out of the concert hall and into the pub
Since August 2016 the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra has actively expanded its audience base with an initiative known as TSO Live Sessions, concerts which target younger ticket buyers with little or no history of attending orchestral concerts. ‘Out of the concert hall and into the pub’ is one of the slogans that has been used to […]
West Australian Symphony Orchestra – musically mindful of employee wellbeing
Music is vital to our health and well-being, so let’s not forget those who bring music to life – from musicians to our behind-the-scenes staff, West Australian Symphony Orchestra is committed to bringing extraordinary music to the Western Australian community and their health and wellbeing is just as important to us as the performances they […]
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays for all Victorians
This year the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has travelled to nine regional centres (Geelong, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Hamilton, Warrnambool, Mildura, Warragul, Bendigo and Ballarat) giving a total of 20 performances and 26 workshops for over 11,000 people. Highlights of the MSO’s regional engagement in 2018 include: A welcome return to Mildura after 25 years saw the MSO […]
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra pops up in Parliament House
Following an invitation from the Parliamentary Friends of Orchestral Music group, Symphony Services Australia secured members of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for four pop-up performances in Parliament House in late November. Musicians Emma Perkins, Gillian Braithwaite, Rosemary McGowran and David Sharp performed works by Elgar, Vivaldi, Graeme Koehne, Coldplay and The Beatles in the Marble […]
Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony for Tomorrow project showcased at Cairns Festival
Original compositions by secondary school students were performed recently in Babinda and Trinity Beach as part of Cairns Festival’s Suburban Satellites program. The works were created under the direction of QSO cellist Craig Allister Young, and songwriters Donna Dyson and Tyrone Noonan. For the Symphony for Tomorrow project students were invited to collaborate on writing […]
Changes in artistic leadership and management at the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
2018 has been a period of organisational change for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, with both Chief Conductor and Managing Director concluding their longstanding roles with the organisation. The TSO’s current Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Marko Letonja, will come to the end of his seven-year tenure at the end of 2018. His successor will be […]
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra on tour with Mozart and Beethoven
A world- class orchestra, deeply engaged in the community, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra has been inspiring and enriching the lives of West Australians from the centre of Perth to the furthest corners of the state since 1928. To celebrate WASO’s 90th Anniversary the full orchestra will hit the road in November to present sublime, […]
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra takes The Bush Concert to China
On 23 and 24 August an ensemble of eight musicians from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra took part in the 34th Harbin Summer Music Festival in China. On the program was The Bush Concert, an ASO-commissioned work for young people based on the book of the same name by Australian author Helga Visser. The story, about […]
Focus on Australia-Singapore relationship bears fruit for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has signed a significant four-year partnership with the Singapore Symphony Group that will lead to joint orchestral performances, collaborations, exchange and concerts in both countries. Witnessing the signing of the MoU in Melbourne, Minister for Communications and the Arts Senator Mitch Fifield welcomed the partnership as significant for both nations: ‘This […]
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra leads Australia’s flagship event in international Make Music Day
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra led Australia’s flagship event in this year’s international Make Music Day with a free global livestream of its Verdi’s Requiem concert, direct from the Sydney Opera House. Held annually on 21 June, Make Music Day is a celebration of music involving 800 cities in 120 countries. Alongside the audience in the […]
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – creating new work and new audiences
In recent years ASO has been reaching out to its communities in new and exciting ways.
Brandenburg Orchestra will celebrate 30 years of baroque music making
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra will digitally preserve and catalogue its vast archive of baroque music scores.
Goodear – New Stock, New Editions, New Website
We’re delighted to announce we’ve received a new shipment of Goodear Acoustic Shields. As Symphony Services International’s flagship product, the Goodear Acoustic Shield has established itself as the most widely used product among orchestras to protect players from hearing loss. From the sturdy and lightweight plywood core to the EVA foam casing’s sound absorbing […]
2017: Opera Australia Orchestra’s 50th anniversary year
The Opera Australia Orchestra is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017. Formed in 1967 as the Sydney Elizabethan Trust Orchestra to be the performance partner of Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, it was known for many years as the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Now called the Opera Australia Orchestra, it has earned an […]
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s Australian Series: The Art Behind the Music.
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s ‘The Australian Series’ will feature at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018.
Kim Waldock and the Royal Opera House
In 2015, Kim Waldock, at that time Director of Learning and Engagement for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, was appointed by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to be its new General Manager of the Learning and Participation team. Two years later, how has she found working in another environment and what lessons has she learned? […]
Sound Practice released!
World’s best practice in occupational health and safety for orchestral musicians.
Annual Report 2016
Download a copy of the Symphony Services International 2016 Annual Report.
TSO Australian Conducting Academy Summer School
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with UTAS, will host the Australian Conducting Academy Summer School in early 2018. Under the leadership of Course Director Johannes Fritzsch, who begins his three year appointment as the TSO’s inaugural Principal Guest Conductor in 2018, students will benefit from rehearsals with pianists as well as at least five orchestra […]
Darwin Symphony Orchestra
Monica Naselow is the new Concertmaster and Education/Outreach officer at the Darwin Symphony Orchestra.
Pockets everywhere: Australian music overseas
I was watching Suicide Squad when I heard ACDC underneath the opening sequence. It’s not the first time I’ve heard ‘Dirty Deeds’ in a film soundtrack but it was the first time that it occurred to me that this might be the most famous piece of Australian music in all the world. Actually I soon […]
Australian Chamber Orchestra
The ACO presents a range of programs for children and young people that focus on access, excellence and regional engagement.
The inspirations of place
One of the key moments for me in thinking about the relationship between music and place occurred when I was providing performance histories for works to be played by the former ABC orchestras in Australia. I realised that whereas the first performances of earlier repertoire might have taken place in Munich or Mannheim, they could […]
A new home for the Young Performers Awards
MOST announced to take over the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards.
2016 Orchestral Summit Speakers
Day 1 – Tuesday 15 November 2016 Malcolm Long AM Malcolm Long is Principal of the broadcasting, communications and digital media consultancy Malcolm Long Associates. He is a director of the communications infrastructure and services provider BAI Group. He is immediate past Chair of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and is a former […]
MSO launches its 2017 season
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has announced a mighty 2017 season filled with extraordinary choral delights, dreamy orchestral nights, superstar music sensations and stories of romantic temptations! The new season will see 38 international guest artists performing in Melbourne with the MSO. Twelve of these artists will be visiting Australia for the first time and 21 […]
Indigenous children visit the SSO
Sixteen high school students from remote communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory travelled to Sydney last month with the Cathy Freeman Foundation, thanks to support from SSO Premier Partner Credit Suisse. Hailing from Palm Island, Woorabinda, Galiwin’ku and Wurrumiyanga, the students visited the Sydney Opera House for a behind-the-scenes tour and window into daily […]
QSO’s 2017 season
QSO’s Music Director, Alondra de la Parra, recently announced the 2017 Season for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Her international influence can be seen in the diverse program and star-studded roster of leading soloists and conductors, featuring many QSO exclusives and Australian debuts, in grand celebration of the Orchestra’s 70th anniversary year. In a significant international […]
TSO composer project
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra partnered with the UTAS Conservatorium of Music and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) to create the Composers’ Project, an exciting new training initiative for composition students in grade 11/12. Nine Tasmanian high school students and six music teachers took part, guided by Dr Maria Grenfell, Co-ordinator of Composition and […]
A milestone recording for WASO
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s first recording in seven years is a significant milestone. Titled Brahms: The Symphonies, the album features WASO and Principal Conductor Asher Fisch performing the complete cycle of all four of Brahms’ symphonies. These four symphonies are regarded as some of the most important works in the classical music canon, and […]
ASO’s Chinese connections
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s China engagement initiatives have been given a major boost with the announcement of a substantial financial gift over the next three years. ASO Managing Director, Vincent Ciccarello, said that thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Dr Sing Ping Ting, the orchestra will be able to undertake a range of activities focusing […]
Occupational noise management for orchestral musicians: changing workplace culture
G Williams, W Williams, K Lidbetter Introduction Occupational noise management is an important Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) priority. Noise exposure is a significant difficulty in many workplaces and not confined to what would normally be considered noisy workplaces, such as factories and construction sites. It is also an important issue for serious consideration by […]
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is New Zealand’s national touring orchestra.
Annual Report 2015
Download a copy of Symphony Australia’s Annual Report for 2015.
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra showcases many of the world’s finest classical musicians.
Offshore Perspectives
Australia’s orchestras have always had visits from international artists but, since the mid-1990s, the country’s artistic administrators have increasingly come from Europe or America – and gone back. I wanted to talk to people who have worked with Australian orchestras and see if I could gain a sense – from their international perspective – of […]
SSO teaches the teachers
Fifty-five teachers from across NSW gave up one week of their holidays in January to participate in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s teacher training residency TunED-Up! at the ABC Centre in Sydney. Travelling from as far as South Tweed Heads, the teachers hailed from 41 schools including Cobar Public School, Ross Hill Public School and […]
2015 – a year of success for QSO
In another record-breaking year, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra has continued to set new standards in orchestral management, financial sustainability and artistic rigour. QSO once again achieved a surplus in 2015. Ticket sales for QSO mainstage concerts grew by 26% in 2015, including an increase of 45% in single ticket sales. Sales of subscription packages […]
TSO Prison Outreach Program
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra inaugurated its Prison Outreach Program in 2015 with a series of activities involving inmates at the Ron Barwick Minimum Security Prison in Hobart. Musicians from the TSO conducted workshops in May and June involving prisoners and their families. This was a way of bringing music to the inmates and, at […]
WASO’s Crescendo
WASO’s Crescendo is an El Sistema-inspired music education program, providing free music lessons on a weekly basis to all Pre-primary, Year 1 and Year 2 students at two schools in Perth’s southern suburb of Kwinana. The El Sistema model, established by Venezuelan José Antonio Abreu in 1975, seeks to empower children from disadvantaged backgrounds […]
Nicholas Carter makes his debut as ASO Principal Conductor
The first concert in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Great Classics 2016 series, Carter & Wagner, has been hailed as “beautiful”, “outstanding”, “fantastic” and “incredible”. Nicholas Carter stepped onto the Festival Theatre stage for his first concert as the ASO’s Principal Conductor to officially open the orchestra’s 80th anniversary season on Saturday 13 February. Carter’s inaugural […]
The Pizzicato Effect
Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up with music in their lives and with The Pizzicato Effect, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s community music program, music is far more than notes on a page. On 9 December, 163 students joined MSO musicians and Pizzicato Effect Teaching Artists in a concert celebrating the achievements of the […]
The Beat Starts Here 2016
Conducting course for teachers and community conductors. Sydney, 9 – 13 April 2016 with Luke Dollman. Applications close Thursday 17 March.
Christmas Greetings!
Symphony Services International wishes all of its Members, Associates and clients a happy festive season and a wonderful 2016.
Orchestra Victoria
As the proud performance partner of The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera it is one of Australia’s busiest and most respected orchestras.
The Future Lies In Our Orchestras
At a time when the Western media regularly foretell classical music’s imminent demise, the Chinese interest in Western classical music sounds like a good news story. But is this exactly the true situation? To most English-speaking communities, China remains a mysterious country. Its population is 66 times that of Australia. The dominant Han people plus […]
Letter from LA
Things I have discovered since the last edition of The Podium: In the same period that I began reading Kevin Starr’s series of Californian histories and continued my usual round of musical and other activities, I also finally visited Yosemite and the gold country and other Californian sights. As some friends and I travelled down […]
2015 Young Performers Awards winner announced
MEDRELYPA2015GrnadFinalWinnerLloydVan’tHoffFInal
2015 YPA Finals – Winner announced!
Lloyd Van’t Hoff wins the 2015 YPA awards with a spectacular performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto.
Your hearing is precious. Protect it with Goodear
Used by orchestras, bands and educational institutions, Goodear Acoustic Shield provides an 84% reduction in noise.
Orchestral Summit 2015
Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November International philanthropy expert Russell Willis Taylor, President and CEO of National Arts Strategies (2001-14) and Executive Director of the English National Opera (1997-2001) will present two keynote addresses (development and governance). Antonia Ruffell, CEO of Australian Philanthropic Services, will also be featured. See the program schedule. Russell Willis Taylor […]
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
WASO is Western Australia’s largest and busiest performing arts organisation.
Beyond French Fries and Gravy: A Librarian’s Trip to the MOLA Conference in Montreal
Vi King Lim Just as migratory birds return every year to warmer climes in search of sustenance, so too orchestra librarians from all over the world make the yearly pilgrimage to the largest conference of its kind to hone their professional skills and expertise. The Conference of the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association (MOLA) has […]
Applications for the 2016/17 Conductor Development Program are now open!
Exciting changes to the program for 2016 and beyond.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The MSO is Australia’s oldest orchestra and an essential part of Melbourne’s rich cultural fabric.
Soundings across the Tasman – Over Time
David Garrett surveys orchestral activity in New Zealand and Australia, comparing changes in the past 20 years In the mid 1990s I spent several months filling in as artistic manager for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, based in Wellington. I went on tour with the orchestra, to most of the major cities, and came tantalisingly […]
2015 YPA Finalists Announced!
2015 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards Finalists Announced!
Asia-Pacific Orchestral Librarians’ Summit 2014
Just a couple of weeks after world leaders descended on Brisbane for the G20 Summit, orchestral librarians from around Australia and overseas convened for the Asia-Pacific Orchestral Librarians’ Summit 2014 on the 29th of November. The day-long event was hosted by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at the ABC Building in South Bank and was attended […]
A thriving Artist Development program – what really counts?
I have been involved in the Artist Development endeavours of the six professional Australian symphony orchestras (known as ‘the network’) since Symphony Australia was created out of ABC Concerts, the national broadcaster’s concert division, in 1997. During those 17 years I have observed the network’s commitment to furthering the careers of countless Australian conductors, composers […]
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The SSO has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities.
2015 YPA applications closed!
Applications for the 2015 YPA are now closed. Good luck!
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
TSO is a much loved cultural institution and ‘a source of pride’ to 90% of Tasmanians.
Orchestras in our time and place: the League of American Orchestras’ conference, Seattle, 2014
League of American Orchestras conferences are inspirational affairs. It’s not just the wealth of sessions or the chance to hear orchestras and ensembles you might not otherwise hear; it’s the chance to run into colleagues, including former employees of Australian orchestras who now work, say, in Atlanta or Dallas. Mostly, it’s those moments sitting in […]
The orchestral business model – that’s no way to run a business!
In recent years there has been much discussion of the orchestral business model. What is the view from the UK? Mark Pemberton, Director of the Association of British Orchestras, offers his perspective. The permanent orchestra season has, as usual, been financially a bad one all over the country. There is always a deficit, which public-spirited […]
2014 YPA Finals. Winner announced!
Grace Clifford wins the 2014 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the year.
2014 YPA Finals. Chamber Music round results announced!
Three finalists selected to proceed to the next stage.
2014 YPA Finals. Recital round results announced!
Six finalists selected to proceed to the next stage.
Annual Report 2013
Download a copy of Symphony Australia’s Annual Report for 2013.
Performance and new media licensing in Australia and New Zealand
by Scot Morris APRA/AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) Scot Morris: Thank you for the invitation to come and speak to you all, I feel a little bit like I’m here under false pretences. My role at APRA is Director of International, so essentially I’m in charge of all […]
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Each year, the QSO delivers over 100 extraordinary musical experiences to people of all ages.
Score reading in Studio City – Getting ‘under the hood’
The cabaret room of Vitello’s in Studio City (the same suburb where Mack Sennett built his film lot in 1927; where The Brady Bunch lived in the early 1970s) is not the sort of place you’d expect to find composer activity on a Friday morning. But once a month, of a Friday, 50+ LA composers […]
An Interview with Hoang Pham
Winner of the 2013 ABC Young Performer of the Year Award.
2014 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards Finalists Announced!
12 performers selected.
Young Performers Awards 2014 gets underway
Preliminary auditions for YPA 2014 are now in full swing.
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
They started as a radio ensemble in 1936. Today they play to international acclaim.
Orchestra Manager – ABO
Wanted! Apply for the rewarding position of Orchestra Manager at the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.
A musical kick-start – reflections on YPA and music competitions
The ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards can justly claim to be the highest profile competition for Australian musicians. Having started out in 1944 as an annual, state-based concerto competition for young performers, it boasts a long and rich history and has helped launch the careers of some of Australia’s most outstanding musical talents. Overseas […]
2013 YPA Finals. Winner announced!
Hoang Pham is announced the 2013 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year.
2013 YPA Finals. Recital round results announced!
Six finalists selected to perform Chamber recitals at Iwaki Auditorium.
Will Bruckner survive the 21st century? Should he?
Orchestras and the quest for relevance. Thank you, Kate, and a special thank you to each of you for your flexibility. Scheduling this presentation has been an enormous challenge and I am really grateful for the opportunity to be here today. This is my second visit to Australia in as many months after never having […]
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra brings to life original baroque and early classical masterpieces.
Inside Conducting by Christopher Seaman
What does a conductor do? Conductor Development course director Christopher Seaman’s witty new book tells all.
2014 Conductor Development Program
Applications for the 2014 Conductor Development Program are now open!
Annual Report 2012
Download the Symphony Services International Annual Report for 2012 .
2013 Orchestral Summit
In August 2013, Symphony Services International will be hosting the 2013 Orchestral Summit for Member and Associate orchestras. Our guest speakers this year will be Brent Assink (Executive Director, San Francisco Symphony) and Joseph LaPosta (State Operating and Major Projects Manager, AFL NSW/ACT). Their biographies appear below. Keynote addresses and workshops will be presented on […]
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra
MCO has a core of string players drawn from Melbourne’s outstanding community of orchestral artists.
The Problem of Popularity
by James Koehne When Donald Mitchell set out to write an appreciation of Malcolm Arnold in 1977, he felt compelled to rescue the composer from the ‘curse of popularity’. Even in his symphonies, Arnold’s music indulges in big, beautiful tunes, and this, Mitchell points out, ‘gives rise to suspicions that we’re being seduced by something […]
2013 Finalists announced!
12 young performers have been selected to proceed to the Finals for the 2013 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards.
2013 Symphony Australia TSO Composers’ School
Applications for the 2013 Symphony Australia TSO Composers’ School (October 14-18) are now open.
A new direction for YPA
A new look, two-stage competition for the 2013 Young Performers Awards
Orchestra Victoria
Orchestra Victoria makes a significant contribution to the vibrant cultural identity of Victoria
Katerina Nazarova wins 2012 YPA!
Katerina Nazarova wins the 2012 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards.
Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra
This busy orchestra gives around 250 performances each year.
Offal? There was plenty of heart and brains on display
ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards 2012 At first glance you could be forgiven for failing to see the common link between the three 2012 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards string finalists. Katerina Nazarova (27), an Australian expat living and working in London, Anna Da Silva Chen (15) a Sydney high-school student, and Shane […]
2012 ABC Symphony Australia YPA Grand Final
The winners of each category will now compete in the Grand Final
YPA Stage 3 Keyboard Final Winner
Young Kwon Choi wins the YPA Stage 3 Keyboard Final
YPA Stage 3 Other Instruments Final Winner
Som Howie wins the YPA Stage 3 Other Instruments Final
YPA Stage 3 Strings Final Winner
Katerina Nazarova wins the Stage 3 Strings Final in the 2012 ABC Symphony Australia YPA
Annual Report 2011
Download the Symphony Services International Annual Report for 2011. Part 1 (Report)Part 2 (Financial)
2012 ABC Symphony Australia YPA
2012 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards Stage III finalists announced!
An international participant’s view of the 2012 Conducting Summer School
It was a timely coincidence that, a few days only after graduating from the conducting course at the Royal Academy of Music in London, I received an email from the department describing the various mastercourses organised by Symphony Services International and specifying that these were open, for the first time, to international students like myself. […]
2012 Conductor Development Summer School
It was an extremely hot January day in Hobart that saw the coming together of eight of Australia’s and one of Europe’s most promising young conductors, to attend the inaugural Symphony Services International Conducting Summer School. Christopher Seaman, director of SSI’s Conductor Development program, was the teacher for the two weeks, and the Tasmanian Symphony […]
Can conducting be taught?
You cannot train anybody to be a conductor, and I will say until my dying day, conductors are born and not made. – Sir John Barbirolli A technique of conducting does exist and can be learnt and practised down to its smallest details before a student first attempts to conduct an orchestra. – Hermann Scherchen […]
2011 Orchestral Summit in Melbourne
On 2-3 November 2011, Symphony Services International hosted its second annual Orchestral Summit in Melbourne. Featuring guest speakers Paul Hogle (Executive Vice President, Detroit Symphony Orchestra) and Frankie Airey (Director, Philanthropy Squared), the event was a great success. Read below for various reports on sections of the Summit, and to view the PowerPoint presentations by […]
2011 ABC Symphony Australia YPA winner
Nicholas Russoniello wins the Young Performers Awards with the Yoshimatsu Saxophone Concerto “Cyber-bird”
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
In 2012 the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO) celebrates 62 years in our nation’s capital.
Conducting Courses 2012 – apply by 29 July 2011
Applications open for Conducting Courses 2012
Annual Report 2010
Annual Report 2010.pdf (1.8mb) Click to download a copy of Symphony Services Australia’s Annual Report for 2010.
The Podium #3
The April 2011 issue of The Podium (issue #3) contains the following items: Associate Profile: the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Surtitles – about our new service for surtitling Top tip: applying for an Australia Council grant A Heritage Worthy of Revival – Australia’s forgotten music – by Rhoderick McNeill Foreign Correspondence – East side story […]
East Side Story
Gordon Kalton Williams writes from San Francisco You’d almost expect musical innovation in the East Bay area of San Francisco. Harry Partch, who conceived music with 43 tones to the octave, was born in Oakland in 1901 and, though a hobo for much of his life, regarded the Oakland/East Bay area as his preferred stomping […]
A Heritage Worthy of Revival – Australia’s forgotten music
by Rhoderick McNeill None of Australia’s important composers have captured the national imagination like our sporting heroes. They are not commemorated on Australian postage stamps or our money. Nevertheless, in recent years it has been possible to hear and purchase commercial recordings of the major Australian orchestral works of our time, including music by Sculthorpe, […]
The Podium #2
In the second edition of the Podium (December 2010): The Accidental Necessity: ABC involvement with the Australian orchestras – by David Garrett 10% – 25% discount on hire of Symphony Services Music Library top 20s Associate Profile: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Symphony Services Music Library announces new hire charges for 2011 – better value than ever […]
Associate Profile: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) is the resident orchestra of New Zealand’s biggest city, and has achieved iconic status in its 30 year history. The orchestra was formed in 1980 when 19 players from the collapsed Symphonia of Auckland founded a cooperatively-run orchestra. APO is now supported by Creative New Zealand, the ratepayers of Auckland, The […]
The Accidental Necessity: ABC involvement with the Australian orchestras – by David Garrett
Australia now has six fully-professional symphony orchestras, all of whom are Members of Symphony Services International, but their existence was not inevitable. So how did it happen? David Garrett looks at the early history and the role of some visionaries. There was no historical necessity that a broadcasting organisation, the Australian Broadcasting Commission (as it […]
Summit Summaries
One of the key benefits that Symphony Services International offers to its Associates and Members is annual Summits. These are get-togethers of similar people from within professional orchestras across Australia and the region. In 2010 we hosted three Summits – for orchestral librarians, Chief Executives and Artistic Administrators.
The Podium #1
The podium is our newsletter – the inaugural edition features Death and Transfiguration (the prognosis for classical music)
Oliver She wins 2010 young performers award final
New associate: Philharmonia Taiwan
Become a member of the Symphony International Family
Top Tip: what to consider when sourcing music
…and much more! Click the heading to view.
Consultancy brokerage service
Symphony Services International introduces its Consultancy Brokerage service.
Institute of Musical Research, University of London – David Garrett
From 1-3 July 2010, our colleague David Garrett attended a conference hosted by the Institute of Musical Research, University of London, titled The Symphony Orchestra as Cultural Phenomenon. David kindly agreed to provide us with a report on the sessions he attended. The full program of the conference can be accessed at: http://music.sas.ac.uk/imr-events/imr-conferences-colloquia-performance-events/the-symphony-orchestra-as-cultural-phenomenon.html#c1420 David presented […]
Annual Report 2009
Annual Report 2009 Download a copy of Symphony Australia’s Annual Report for 2009.