AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PREPARES FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A EUROPEAN TOUR
AMSTERDAM, WROCŁAW, STUTTGART & LONDON
MARCH 2025
© Nic Walker
“An orchestra that, by any standards, is one of the wonders of the musical world today…If there’s a better chamber orchestra in the world today, I haven’t heard it.” The Guardian.
One of the most dynamic and inventive chamber orchestras in the world, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, today announced details of its 2025 European tour. The ACO will visit Amsterdam, Wrocław, Stuttgart and London in March and with typically adventurous programmes that go from Bach to Bryce Dessner. This includes a performance of the ACO’s cinematic collaboration with award-winning film director Jennifer Peedom, Mountain (the highest-grossing homegrown documentary in Australian cinema) in Wrocław that features the ACO performing Richard Tognetti’s awe-inspiring soundtrack alongside a screening of the film.
The ACO’s Artistic Director and Lead Violin, Richard Tognetti, commented:
“As we make preparations for the ACO’s 50th anniversary, I am delighted that we will be returning to London, a city that has become the ACO’s second home over the years, as well as giving concerts in The Netherlands, Poland and Germany, including a performance of our cinematic collaboration, Mountain, in Wrocław.”
Defined by its sense of adventure and curiosity combined with the highest possible artistic standards, the ACO is comprised of 17 exceptional string musicians who hail from across the globe. It has been led by visionary pioneer and leader, Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, since 1990 who, over his 35 years at the helm, has galvanised the Orchestra into an internationally recognised trailblazing ensemble.
Where many other ensembles have followed, the ACO led the way with decades of adventurous cross-artform collaborations and programmes that embrace celebrated classics alongside new music, commissions and multi-media projects. Under the leadership of Tognetti, the ACO has collaborated with the world’s great classical musicians, from Steven Isserlis to Emmanuel Pahud, to indie, rock and cabaret artists including Jonny Greenwood, Meow Meow and Bryce Dessner, along with photographers, visual artists, surfers and filmmakers.
“Tognetti has transformed the ACO into a genuine Australian cultural icon, routinely voted one of the best orchestras of its kind on the planet.” Australian Financial Review.
By any metric, the ACO is thriving with a business model that is the envy of many arts organisations around the globe. After a campaign lasting 20 years, the ACO in 2022 opened its own 300 seat venue on Sydney Harbour. Part of the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, the hall has created an additional revenue stream through venue hires for an orchestra that receives only 8% of its budget from government funding.
The ACO is the most active touring orchestra in Australia, with a global perspective and influence. The Orchestra performs over 150 concerts each year, including at least one international tour, seven Australian tours and multiple regional tours.
The Orchestra’s unique sound is enhanced by its extraordinary collection of nine Golden Age instruments crafted by the great 18th century Italian luthiers Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri del Gesù, as well as a 400-year-old double bass. These instruments are owned by the ACO, loaned to the Orchestra by private benefactors or owned by the ACO Instrument Fund, an initiative established by the Orchestra that encourages supporters to fund the acquisition of new instruments, which are renowned for their high return on investment.
In addition to its intensive performance and recording activities, the ACO is committed to providing music education opportunities to young Australians across the country. Alongside the Orchestra’s seasons of award-winning ACO Families concerts as well as elite musician training programs, the ACO runs a programme in one of the lowest socioeconomic status schools in its state enabling pupils to play an instrument for 15 minutes a day to improve their learning and social skills. The programme’s effectiveness is monitored and assessed by the University of Sydney, with participating students showing improvements across literacy, numeracy, behaviour, school attendance and more.
In 2007, ACO Principal Violin Helena Rathbone created ACO Collective, an ensemble of ACO musicians mentoring some of Australia’s best young string players. ACO Collective was founded to increase access to world class music for Australians living outside metropolitan hubs, supporting the development of the next generation of string musicians.
The Emerging Artists Programme was formed to stop young players having to leave Australia to pursue professional careers. Five current players of the ACO came through this programme.