Jaime conducts Debussy & Strauss

JAIME CONDUCTS DEBUSSY & STRAUSS

9–11 MAY

Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall

ARTISTS

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Jaime Martín conductor

Musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)^

PROGRAM

SMYTH Overture from The Wreckers [7']

DEBUSSY La Mer [23']

– Interval –

R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben [46']

Our musical Acknowledgment of Country, Long Time Living Here by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, will be performed at these concerts.

^ This performance is part of ANAM and MSO’s Orchestral Training Partnership.

CONCERT EVENTS

9 May at 6.45pm in the Stalls Foyer on Level 2 at Hamer Hall.

11 May at 1.15pm in the Stalls Foyer on Level 2 at Hamer Hall.

Want to learn more about the music being performed? Arrive early for an informative and entertaining pre-concert talk with Miranda Hill.

These concerts may be recorded for future broadcast on MSO.LIVE

Duration: 2 hours including interval. Timings listed are approximate.

In consideration of your fellow patrons, the MSO thanks you for silencing and dimming the light on your phone.

ACKNOWLEDGING COUNTRY

In the first project of its kind in Australia, the MSO has developed a musical Acknowledgment of Country with music composed by Yorta Yorta composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, featuring Indigenous languages from across Victoria. Generously supported by Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Commonwealth Government through the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the MSO is working in partnership with Short Black Opera and Indigenous language custodians who are generously sharing their cultural knowledge.

The Acknowledgement of Country allows us to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which we perform in the language of that country and in the orchestral language of music.

Long Time Living Here

As a Yorta Yorta/Yuin composer the responsibility I carry to assist the MSO in delivering a respectful acknowledgement of country is a privilege which I take very seriously. I have a duty of care to my ancestors and to the ancestors on whose land the MSO works and performs. This new work [2024] will become the second in a suite of compositions I am creating for the MSO, known simply as Long Time Living Here.

As MSO continues to grow its knowledge and understanding of what it means to truly honour the First people of this land, the musical acknowledgment of country will serve to bring those on stage and those in the audience together in a moment of recognition as as we celebrate the longest continuing cultures in the world.

– Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Committed to shaping and serving the state it inhabits, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is Australia’s preeminent orchestra and a cornerstone of Victoria’s rich, cultural heritage.

Each year, the MSO and MSO Chorus present more than 180 public events across live performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts, and via its online concert hall, MSO.LIVE, engaging an audience of more than five million people in 56 countries. In 2024 the organisation will release its first two albums on the newly established MSO recording label.

With an international reputation for excellence, versatility and innovation, the MSO works with culturally diverse and First Nations artists to build community and deliver music to people across Melbourne, the state of Victoria and around the world.

In 2024, Jaime Martín leads the Orchestra for his third year as MSO Chief Conductor. Maestro Martín leads an Artistic Family that includes Principal Conductor Benjamin Northey, Cybec Assistant Conductor Leonard Weiss, MSO Chorus Director Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Composer in Residence Katy Abbott, Artist in Residence Erin Helyard, MSO First Nations Creative Chair Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, Young Cybec Young Composer in Residence Naomi Dodd, and Artist in Association Christian Li.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations, on whose un‑ceded lands we honour the continuation of the oldest music practice in the world.

www.eqt.com.au/future

In Loving Memory

Concert dedication to Edward Kiernan

Edward Kiernan was a music enthusiast. He was a member of the National Boys’ Choir from an early age and played the clarinet through his school years. Since Edward’s passing in April 2022, his family members have attended the MSO on numerous occasions, and the music legacy of the MSO lives on throughout the Kiernan family.

Edward’s mother, June Kiernan, was also a passionate subscriber to the MSO for almost 40 years. Since her passing in 2009, June’s passion for music has continued through the next family generations, including her sons and grandchildren.

MUSICIANS PERFORMING IN THIS CONCERT

FIRST VIOLINS

Tair Khisambeev

Associate Concertmaster

Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio#

Anne-Marie Johnson

Assistant Concertmaster

David Horowicz#

Peter Edwards

Assistant Principal

Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson#

Sarah Curro

Dr Harry Imber#

Peter Fellin

Deborah Goodall

Karla Hanna

Lorraine Hook

Kirstin Kenny

Eleanor Mancini

Anne Neil#

Michelle Ruffolo

Anna Skalova

Kathryn Taylor

Jacqueline Edwards*

Jos Jonker*

Jasmine Milton+

Peter Gjelsten+

SECOND VIOLINS

Matthew Tomkins

Principal

The Gross Foundation#

Monica Curro

Assistant Principal

Dr Mary Jane Gething AO#

Isin Cakmakçioglu

Tiffany Cheng

Glenn Sedgwick#

Freya Franzen

Cong Gu

Newton Family in memory of Rae Rothfield#

Isy Wasserman

Philippa West

Andrew Dudgeon AM#

Patrick Wong

Roger Young

Shane Buggle and Rosie Callanan#

Robert Macindoe

Donica Tran^

Emily Beauchamp*

Olivia Bartlett+

Sophia Jones+

VIOLAS

Christopher Moore

Principal Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio#

Lauren Brigden

Katharine Brockman

Anthony Chataway

The late Dr Elizabeth E Lewis AM#

William Clark

Gabrielle Halloran

Jenny Khafagi

Aidan Filshie*

Isabel Morse°

Ceridwen Davies*

Hanna Wallace+

Angelina Kim+

CELLOS

David Berlin

Principal

Rachael Tobin

Associate Principal Anonymous#

Rohan de Korte

Andrew Dudgeon AM#

Rebecca Proietto

Peter T Kempen AM#

Caleb Wong

Michelle Wood

Andrew and Judy Rogers#

Anna Pokorny

Alexandra Partridge°

Joshua Jones+

Jack Overall+

DOUBLE BASSES

Jonathan Coco

Principal

Stephen Newton

Acting Associate Principal

Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser#

Rohan Dasika

Acting Assistant Principal

Benjamin Hanlon

Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio#

Emma Sullivan°

Caitlin Bass°

Luca Arcaro*

Benjamin Saffir*

Correct as of 30 April 2024. Learn more about our musicians on the MSO website

FLUTES

Prudence Davis Principal Anonymous#

Wendy Clarke Associate Principal

Sarah Beggs

Emica Taylor+

PICCOLO

Andrew Macleod Principal

OBOES

Callum Hogan Guest Principal

Michael Pisani

Acting Associate Principal

Alexandra Allan^

Joshua Webster+

COR ANGLAIS

Rachel Curkpatrick Acting Principal

CLARINETS

David Thomas Principal

Philip Arkinstall Associate Principal

Craig Hill

Rosemary and the late Douglas Meagher#

Dario Scalabrini+

BASS CLARINET

Jon Craven Principal

BASSOONS

Jack Schiller

Principal

Dr Harry Imber#

Brock Imison

William Hanna+

CONTRABASSOON

Colin Forbes-Abrams* Guest Principal

HORNS

Nicolas Fleury Principal

Margaret Jackson AC#

Andrew Young* Guest Associate Principal

Saul Lewis Principal Third

The late Hon Michael Watt KC and Cecilie Hall#

Abbey Edlin

Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM#

Rachel Shaw

Gary McPherson#

Aidan Gabriels*

Rebecca Luton*

Mel Simpson*

Emma John+

Madeleine Aarons+

TRUMPETS

Owen Morris Principal

Shane Hooton

Associate Principal

Glenn Sedgwick and Dr Anita Willaton#

Rosie Turner

John and Diana Frew#

Tim Keenihan*

Isabella Thomas+

TROMBONES

Mark Davidson Principal

Richard Shirley

Jeremy Mazurek+

Mike Szabo Principal Bass Trombone

TUBA

Timothy Buzbee Principal

TIMPANI

Matthew Thomas Principal

PERCUSSION

Shaun Trubiano Principal

John Arcaro

Tim and Lyn Edward#

Robert Cossom

Drs Rhyl Wade and Clem Gruen#

Jamie Willson+

HARP

Yinuo Mu Principal

Delyth Stafford*

+ Denotes ANAM Musician

* Denotes Guest Musician

^ Denotes MSO Academy

° Denotes Contract Musician

# Position supported by

JAIME MARTÍN CONDUCTOR

Jaime Martín is Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Sweden’s Gävle Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2022. In his native Spain he also currently holds the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra, served as Artistic Director of the Santander International Festival, and was a founding member of the Orquesta de Cadaqués, where he was Chief Conductor from 2012 to 2019.

Recent highlights include acclaimed debut performances with the Dallas and Indianapolis Symphonies and the Dresden Philharmonic, an extensive UK tour with Gävle Symphony, and his debut appearance at the BBC Proms, leading the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In the 2023/24 season he will make his debut with the prestigious Budapest Festival Orchestra, and return to lead the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Queensland Symphony, Colorado Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon.

Before turning to conducting full-time in 2013, Martín was principal flute of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English National Opera, Academy of St Martin the Fields and London Philharmonic Orchestra, and was a sought-after soloist. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in London, and in 2022 the jury of Spain’s Premios Nacionales de Música awarded him their annual prize for his contribution to classical music.

The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a dynamic and outward-facing cultural institution; a training and performance company committed to engaging with its communities. It is recognised as the only professional performance training institute of its kind in Australia, and one of few in the world.

ANAM has industry partnerships with over 20 organisations across Australia and internationally. It is a member of the Australian Government-funded Arts8 group of training organisations committed to providing the high level studio-based training necessary to ensure that the national performing arts sector can continue telling Australian stories for generations.

ANAM’s intensive program provides a global network of artists and performers who provide mentorship and guidance for emerging young musicians. ANAM alumni are found in many of the world’s leading orchestras, ensembles and as independent artistic leaders.

This performance is part of ANAM and MSO’s Orchestral Training Partnership.

TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION

“Today’s world is in need of musicians who are creative, independent, and ready to be the torchbearers for the art we all love. We pledge to guide them wisely during what is possibly the most exciting chapter in their artistic lives so far – the time when talented students transform into young professional artists.” – Paavali Jumppanen, ANAM Artistic Director

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Thank you for your support.

Jaime Martín, Chief Conductor Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

PROGRAM NOTES

ETHEL SMYTH

(1858–1944)

Overture from The Wreckers

In 1882, while in Florence, English composer Ethel Smyth (1856–1944) met the American philosopher and poet Henry Brewster (1850–1908). By 1890, Smyth and Brewster had not only become intimate friends but also close professional collaborators.

The Wreckers (1906), begun in the fall of 1902, is Smyth’s third opera and her first collaborative work with Brewster. The 3-act opera is based on a legend, discovered by Smyth in 1886, that communities in Cornwall would loot the ships that crashed on the rocky shore. In Smyth and Brewster’s telling, the village is led by a Wesleyan Methodist pastor, Pascoe, who along with his community believes they are God’s chosen people, and that the crashing of ships is God’s way of providing for them. Rather than an act of God, however, it turns out that these shipwrecks are part of a sinister community-wide plot in which the villagers darken the lighthouses, loot the wreckage, and kill any survivors. Pascoe’s young wife, Thirza, is conflicted by this practice and, with the help of her lover Mark, conspires to re-light the beacons and defy the community. They are caught and condemned to die by drowning in one of the caves below the sea.

The Overture introduces many of the opera’s main themes, which, like Wagner’s leitmotivs, are associated with the main characters or with important ideas. Smyth describes the opening theme as being ‘indicative of abrupt savage energy.’ This is later countered by a Cornish melody associated with the

hero and tenor, Mark, along with themes associated with Thirza and Pascoe.

Written originally with French libretti, The Wreckers, premiered in German translation in Leipzig on 11 November 1906. Subsequent performances English translations took place in 1908; and although concert versions of the opera were performed in the 1920s and 1930s, it was not revived for the stage until 2006.

While the opera’s reputation has suffered from Smyth’s historical marginalisation as a female composer, scholar Eugene Banks hailed The Wreckers in no uncertain terms, as the “most important English opera composed during the period between Purcell and Britten.”

Amy E. Zigler, adapted by Adam Weitzer from the preface to the published libretto (London: C. Mitchell, 1909), 3-5.

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

(1862–1918)

La Mer – Three Symphonic Sketches

I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer (From Dawn to Noon on the Sea)

II. Jeux de vagues (Play of Waves)

III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea)

‘Never before had that marvellous music La Mer appeared so seductive and yet mysterious at the same time, so imbued with the enigmatic life of the Cosmos, than on that evening when her great creator, with a gentle hand, was ruling over her waves.’

So wrote a young Russian composer, Lazare Saminsky, on hearing Debussy conduct La Mer in St Petersburg in 1913. But the work’s greatness had by no means seemed self-evident when it had first appeared in 1905. Debussy himself was weathering a personal scandal, having left his wife, and part

of the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the Parisian public may stem from its disapproval. The first performance, too, was by all accounts under-rehearsed and the conductor Camille Chevillard unsympathetic to Debussy’s style. The critic Pierre Lalo complained that he could neither hear, see nor feel the sea, and a reviewer in Boston wrote that ‘we clung like a drowning man to a few fragments of the tonal wreck, a bit of theme here, a comprehensible figure there, but finally this muted-horn sea overwhelmed us’.

The point missed by the authors of such remarks, however, is that Debussy’s music (both generally speaking and in regard to this work) is not intended as visual imagery, or the soundtrack to some imaginary film. (This is what Debussy’s colleague Satie was burlesquing when he praised the first movement, ‘From dawn to noon on the sea’, by saying he particularly liked the bit ‘around a quarter to eleven’.)

The composer may have invited such misinterpretations: in subtitling the work ‘Three Symphonic Sketches’ he of course evokes the media of visual art; moreover, he often used terms like ‘colour’ and ‘shading’ when discussing his music. But in 1903, when he began work on La Mer, Debussy wrote to a friend from the Burgundian countryside:

You may not know that I was destined for a sailor’s life, and that only chance led me in another direction …You will say that the ocean does not exactly bathe the hills of Burgundy, and my seascapes may be studio landscapes, but I have an endless store of memories, and in my mind they are worth more than reality, whose beauty often weighs heavily on the imagination.

The work, then, is about the idea of the sea rather than being a representation of it; significantly, much of the composition of the work took place away from the coast.

Debussy’s genius for orchestration and subtle rhythmic organisation certainly make for an evocative work where it is possible to imagine the crash of waves, the call of seagulls and the protean movement of light on water. The final climactic moments of the first movement, for instance, somehow create a sense of emerging from the deep into the light.

Other masterly touches abound: the unusual timbre of cellos divided into four parts; the use of muted horns (which Debussy admitted to taking from the music of Weber) to evoke space; the soloistic use of wind instruments and harp.

But La Mer is as much ‘symphonic’ as it is ‘sketch’. Its three movements are by no means simply rhapsodic, but rather show Debussy’s subtle and careful approach to form. In the first movement his careful development of short motifs is perfectly symphonic; the second movement, ‘Play of Waves’, is, among other things, a symphonic scherzo; and the third movement—which has one of the rare ‘big finishes’ of any work by this composer—is a symphonic finale. (This movement, with its references back to the first, also show Debussy’s adherence to the notion of cyclical form that he learned from César Franck and applied in such works as his String Quartet.)

The pianist and Debussy expert Roy Howat has also shown how Debussy’s structure corresponds to the ancient Greek idea of the Golden Section where a line is divided so that the ratio of the shorter portion to the longer portion forms the same ratio as the longer portion does to the whole length. (The façade of many a classical temple is built such that the ratio between its height and width corresponds to these divisions.) By applying this formula to time, a composer can plot where significant events (changes of speed, colour moods or metre) will have the

greatest dramatic effect. Howat has argued persuasively that the moment in the last movement of La Mer where the violins play a soft, impossibly high harmonic represents the Golden Section of the piece.

By a nice paradox, Debussy’s marvellous musical reflection on the constant flux of the sea is achieved by the most painstaking and careful calculation. Not for nothing did the published score carry the intricately designed woodcut, The Hollow Wave, by the Japanese artist Hokusai.

Gordon Kerry © 2005

RICHARD STRAUSS

(1864–1949)

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)

Der Held (The Hero)

Des Helden Widersacher (The Hero’s Adversaries)

Des Helden Gefährtin (The Hero’s Companion)

Des Helden Walstatt (The Hero’s Deeds of War)

Des Helden Friedenswerke (The Hero’s Works of Peace)

Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung (The Hero’s Retirement from this World and Fulfillment of his Life)

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) might be the most egotistical piece in the orchestral repertoire—a musical depiction of one Richard Strauss battling villainous music critics, romancing a lady, reminiscing over past triumphs, and finally growing wise and settling into a happy ending. Written between 1897–98, Strauss intended it as the “serious” counterpoint to his comic tone poem Don Quixote, written around the same time. While Quixote is a mock hero who fancies himself a chivalrous knight, the composer protagonist of Heldenleben is ostensibly the real deal. Still, Strauss was not

oblivious to his monstrous act of inflated autobiography—though the music is earnest, the story is best understood with a dose of winking humour.

Strauss conducted the premiere in Frankfurt on March 3, 1899, though he dedicated it to Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. His preference was to program it alongside Don Quixote; together they were his last tone poems (not counting the officially symphonic Alpine Symphony and Symphonia Domestica)—by the turn of the century, he turned mostly to opera, which he kept up until his semi-retirement in the early 1940s.

The tone poem as a genre originated with Franz Liszt in 1848, and its fusion of instrumental music with explicit storytelling was highly controversial for much of the 19th century. Though the so-called “War of the Romantics” between radical Wagnerians and conservative Brahmsians had cooled by the time Strauss joined Team Wagner the mid-1880s, it clearly left him with a heightened sense of stakes when it came to musical aesthetics, not to mention a raw sensitivity to criticism.

In Ein Heldenleben, Strauss was inspired by Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony (originally dedicated to Napoleon) and his own lifelong interest in the romantic hero tradition. Wanting to distil the heroic archetype into a tone poem, he drew from his own experiences as a kind of compositional method acting. Strauss never fought in battle or wooed a princess, but he found modest parallels in his career struggles and marriage. With a little imagination and wit, he could take a leap and declare: “I do not see why I should not compose a symphony about myself; I find myself quite as interesting as Napoleon.” Well, why not?

The music unfolds in six continuous

sections. The opening (Der Held ) introduces the hero himself, in a leaping (and heroically difficult) line for horns and low strings, soon elaborated upon and driven forward in vivid colour. The next section introduces the hero’s enemies (Des Helden Widersacher), hilariously snivelling music critics in flutes, oboes, and low brass. “They are jealous, they envy him, they sneer at his aims and endeavours, they are suspicious of his sincerity,” described the early commentator Philip Hale (“nor is there any music more maliciously, malevolently petty,” added an offended music critic).

The third section (Des Helden Gefährtin) introduces the hero’s companion, his love interest. Suddenly the piece turns into a little violin concerto, the soloist representing the leading lady, and growing into a wild exploration lushly coloured by two harps. Strauss later described:

It’s my real-life wife, Pauline, whom I wanted to portray. She is very complex, very much a woman, a little depraved, something of a flirt, never twice alike, every moment different from what she was the moment before. At the beginning, the hero follows her … but she always flies further away. Then at the end he says, “No, I’m staying here.” He stays in his thoughts … Then she comes to him.

Now with his companion by his side, the hero is ready for the battlefield ( Des Helden Walstatt), where he vanquishes the critics with military drums and brass calls. The next section, Des Helden Friedenswerke (The Hero’s Deeds of Peace) revisits highlights from Strauss’s earlier tone poems, including Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra, Tod und Verklärung, and Don Quixote (“the only way I could express works of peace was through themes of my own,” Strauss said).

Now wise and fulfilled, the hero retreats

from the world (Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung). In his sketchbook, Strauss jotted his plan for the ending: “[the hero] withdraws entirely into the idyll, in order to live only for his thoughts, his wishes, the unfolding of his own personality in quiet and contemplation. Autumnal forest— resignation at the side of the beloved —music dies away warm-heartedly.”

Benjamin Pesetsky © 2024

SUPPORTERS

MSO PATRON

Her Excellency Professor, the Honourable

Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE

The Gandel Foundation

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Di Jameson OAM and Frank Mercurio

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Cybec Foundation

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Anonymous (1)

ARTIST CHAIR BENEFACTORS

Concertmaster Chair

David Li AM and Angela Li

Cybec Assistant Conductor Chair

Leonard Weiss

Cybec Foundation

Acting Associate Concertmaster

Tair Khisambeev

Di Jameson OAM and Frank Mercurio

Cybec Young Composer in Residence

Naomi Dodd

Cybec Foundation

PROGRAM BENEFACTORS

Now & Forever Fund: International Engagement Gandel Foundation

Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program Cybec Foundation

Digital Transformation Perpetual Foundation – Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment

First Nations Emerging Artist Program

The Ullmer Family Foundation

East meets West The Li Family Trust, National Foundation for Australia-China Relations

Community and Public Programs

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Dr Celia Godfrey

Dr Marged Goode

Hilary Hall, in memory of Wilma Collie

David Hardy

Tilda and the late Brian Haughney

Cathy Henry

Dr Jennifer Henry

Anthony and Karen Ho

Rod Home

Lorraine Hook

Jenny and Peter Hordern

Katherine Horwood

Penelope Hughes

Jordan Janssen

Shyama Jayaswal

Basil and Rita Jenkins

Jane Jenkins

Emma Johnson

Wendy Johnson

Sue Johnston

John Kaufman

Angela Kayser

Drs Bruce and Natalie Kellett

Dr Anne Kennedy

Akira Kikkawa

Dr Judith Kinnear

Dr Richard Knafelc and Mr Grevis Beard

Tim Knaggs

Professor David Knowles and

Dr Anne McLachlan

Dr Jerry Koliha and Marlene Krelle

Jane Kunstler

Kerry Landman

Janet and Ross Lapworth

Bryan Lawrence

Lesley McMullin Foundation

Dr Jenny Lewis

Phil Lewis

Dr Kin Liu

Andrew Lockwood

Elizabeth H Loftus

Chris and Anna Long

John MacLeod

Wayne McDonald and Kay Schroer

Lois McKay

Dr Eric Meadows

Professor Geoffrey Metz

Sylvia Miller

Ian Morrey and Geoffrey Minter

Dr Anthony and Dr Anna Morton

Barry Mowszowski

Dr Judith S Nimmo

Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James

Susan Pelka

Ian Penboss

Kerryn Pratchett

Peter Priest

John Prokupets

Professor Charles Qin OAM and Kate Ritchie

Roger Parker and Ruth Parker

Dr Peter Rogers and Cathy Rogers OAM

Dr Ronald and Elizabeth Rosanove

Marie Rowland

Viorica Samson

Marshall Segan in memory of

Berek Segan OBE and Marysia Segan

P Shore

Janet and Alex Starr

Dr Peter Strickland

Dr Joel Symons and Liora Symons

Russell Taylor and Tara Obeyesekere

Geoffrey Thomlinson

Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher

Andrew and Penny Torok

Christina Turner

Ann and Larry Turner

Sandra and the late Leon Velik

Jayde Walker

Edward and Paddy White

Nic and Ann Willcock

Lorraine Woolley

Dr Kelly and Dr Heathcote Wright

George Yeung

Demetrio Zema

Anonymous (13)

OVERTURE PATRONS $500+

Jane Allan and Mark Redmond

Mario M Anders

Jenny Anderson

Dr Judith Armstrong and Robyn Dalziel

Doris Au

Lyn Bailey

Mr Robin Batterham

Peter Berry and Amanda Quirk

Dr William Birch AM

Richard Bolitho

Dr Robert Brook

Elizabeth Brown

Roger and Coll Buckle

Daniel Bushaway

Jungpin Chen

Dr John Collins

Gregory Crew

Sue Cummings

Oliver and Matilda Daly

Suzanne Dembo

Carol des Cognets

Bruce Dudon

Margaret Flatman

Brian Florence

M C Friday

David and Geraldine Glenny

Hugo and Diane Goetze

Louise Gourlay OAM

Christine Grenda

Dawn Hales

George Hampel AM KC and

Felicity Hampel AM SC

John Hill

William Holder

Gillian Horwood

Noelle Howell and Judy Clezy

Oliver Hutton

Rob Jackson

Irene Kearsey & Michael Ridley

John Keys

Lesley King

Dr Kim Langfield-Smith

Pauline and David Lawton

Paschalina Leach

Kay Liu

David Loggia

Helen Maclean

Eleanor & Phillip Mancini

Joy Manners

Dr Morris and Helen Margolis

Sandra Masel in memory of Leigh Masel

Janice Mayfield

Gail McKay

Shirley A McKenzie

Alan Meads and Sandra Boon

Adrian and Louise Nelson

Marian Neumann

Ed Newbigin

Valerie Newman

Amanda O’Brien

Brendan O’Donnell

Jillian Pappas

Phil Parker

Sarah Patterson

The Hon Chris Pearce and Andrea Pearce

William Ramirez

Geoffrey Ravenscroft

Dr Christopher Rees

Professor John Rickard

Michael Riordan and Geoffrey Bush

Fred and Patricia Russell

Carolyn Sanders

Dr Marc Saunders

Dr Nora Scheinkestel

Julia Schlapp

Hon Jim Short and Jan Rothwell Short

Madeline Soloveychik

Tom Sykes

Allison Taylor

Reverend Angela Thomas

Mely Tjandra

Chris and Helen Trueman

Rosemary Warnock

Amanda Watson

Michael Whishaw

Deborah and Dr Kevin Whithear OAM

Charles and Jill Wright

Anonymous (13)

FUTURE MSO ($1,000+)

Justine Battistella

Shayna Burns

Jessica Agoston Cleary

Alexandra Champion de Crespigny

Josh Chye

Barry Mowszowski

Jayde Walker

Demetrio Zema

MSO GUARDIANS

Jenny Anderson

David Angelovich

Lesley Bawden

Peter Berry and Amanda Quirk

Joyce Bown

Patricia A Breslin

Jenny Brukner and the late John Brukner

Peter A Caldwell

Luci and Ron Chambers

Sandra Dent

Sophie E Dougall in memory of Libby Harold

Alan Egan JP

Gunta Eglite

Marguerite Garnon-Williams

Dr Clem Gruen and Dr Rhyl Wade

Louis J Hamon OAM

Charles Hardman and Julianne Bambacas

Carol Hay

Dr Jennifer Henry

Graham Hogarth

Rod Home

Lyndon Horsburgh

Katherine Horwood

Tony Howe

Lindsay and Michael Jacombs

John Jones

Pauline and David Lawton

Robyn and Maurice Lichter

Christopher Menz and Peter Rose

Cameron Mowat

Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James

David Orr

Matthew O’Sullivan

Rosia Pasteur

Penny Rawlins

Margaret Riches

Anne Roussac-Hoyne and Neil Roussac

Michael Ryan and Wendy Mead

Anne Kieni Serpell and Andrew Serpell

Jennifer Shepherd

Suzette Sherazee

Professors Gabriela and George Stephenson

Pamela Swansson

Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman

Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock

Peter and the late Elizabeth Turner

Michael Ullmer AO

The Hon Rosemary Varty

Francis Vergona

Terry Wills Cooke OAM and the late Marian Wills Cooke

Mark Young

Anonymous (23)

The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Estates:

Norma Ruth Atwell

Angela Beagley

Barbara Bobbe

Michael Francois Boyt

Christine Mary Bridgart

Margaret Anne Brien

Ken Bullen

Deidre and Malcolm Carkeek

The Cuming Bequest

Margaret Davies

Blair Doig Dixon

Neilma Gantner

Angela Felicity Glover

The Hon Dr Alan Goldberg AO QC

Derek John Grantham

Delina Victoria Schembri-Hardy

Enid Florence Hookey

Gwen Hunt

Family and Friends of James Jacoby

Audrey Jenkins

Joan Jones

Pauline Marie Johnston

Christine Mary Kellam

C P Kemp

Jennifer Selina Laurent

Sylvia Rose Lavelle

Peter Forbes MacLaren

Joan Winsome Maslen

Lorraine Maxine Meldrum

Prof Andrew McCredie

Jean Moore

Joan P Robinson

Maxwell and Jill Schultz

Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE

Marion A I H M Spence

Molly Stephens

Gwennyth St John

Halinka Tarczynska-Fiddian

Jennifer May Teague

Elisabeth Turner

Albert Henry Ullin

Jean Tweedie

Herta and Fred B Vogel

Daphne White

Joyce Winsome Woodroffe

Dorothy Wood

COMMISSIONING CIRCLE

Cecilie Hall and the Late Hon Michael Watt KC

Tim and Lyn Edward

Weis Family

FIRST NATIONS CIRCLE

John and Lorraine Bates

Colin Golvan AM KC and Dr Deborah Golvan

Sascha O. Becker

Maestro Jaime Martín

Elizabeth Proust AO and Brian Lawrence

Guy Ross

The Kate and Stephen Shelmerdine Family

Foundation

Michael Ullmer AO and Jenny Ullmer

ADOPT A MUSICIAN

Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson

Peter Edwards

Shane Buggle and Rosie Callanan

Roger Young

Andrew Dudgeon AM

Rohan de Korte, Philippa West

Tim and Lyn Edward

John Arcaro

Dr John and Diana Frew

Rosie Turner

Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser

Stephen Newton

Dr Mary-Jane Gething AO

Monica Curro

The Gross Foundation

Matthew Tomkins

Dr Clem Gruen and Dr Rhyl Wade

Robert Cossom

Cecilie Hall and the late Hon Michael Watt KC

Saul Lewis

Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM

Abbey Edlin

David Horowicz

Anne Marie Johnson

Dr Harry Imber

Sarah Curro, Jack Schiller

Margaret Jackson AC

Nicolas Fleury

Di Jameson OAM and Frank Mercurio

Elina Fashki, Benjamin Hanlon, Tair Khisambeev, Christopher Moore

Peter T Kempen AM

Rebecca Proietto

The late Dr Elizabeth A Lewis AM

Anthony Chataway

Rosemary and the late Douglas Meagher

Craig Hill

Gary McPherson

Rachel Shaw

Anne Neil

Eleanor Mancini

Newton Family in memory of Rae Rothfield

Cong Gu

Patricia Nilsson and Dr Martin Tymms

Natasha Thomas

Andrew and Judy Rogers

Michelle Wood

Glenn Sedgwick

Tiffany Cheng, Shane Hooton

Anonymous

Prudence Davis

Anonymous

Rachael Tobin

HONORARY APPOINTMENTS

Life Members

John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel AC

Sir Elton John CBE

Lady Primrose Potter AC CMRI

Jeanne Pratt AC

Michael Ullmer AO and Jenny Ullmer

Anonymous

MSO Ambassador

Geoffrey Rush AC

The MSO honours the memory of Life Members

The late Marc Besen AC and the late Eva Besen AO

John Brockman OAM

The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC

Harold Mitchell AC

Roger Riordan AM

Ila Vanrenen

MSO ARTISTIC FAMILY

Jaime Martín

Chief Conductor

Benjamin Northey

Principal Conductor

Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement

Leonard Weiss

Cybec Assistant Conductor

Sir Andrew Davis CBE †

Conductor Laureate (2013–2024)

Hiroyuki Iwaki †

Conductor Laureate (1974–2006)

Warren Trevelyan-Jones

MSO Chorus Director

Erin Helyard

Artist in Residence

Karen Kyriakou

Artist in Residence, Learning and Engagement

Christian Li

Young Artist in Association

Katy Abbott

Composer in Residence

Naomi Dodd

Cybec Young Composer in Residence

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO

First Nations Creative Chair

Xian Zhang

East meets West Ambassador

Artistic Ambassadors

Tan Dun

Lu Siqing

MSO BOARD

Chairman

David Li AM

Co-Deputy Chairs

Margaret Jackson AC

Di Jameson OAM

Managing Director

Sophie Galaise

Board Directors

Shane Buggle

Andrew Dudgeon AM

Martin Foley

Lorraine Hook

Gary McPherson

Farrel Meltzer

Edgar Myer

Glenn Sedgwick

Mary Waldron

Company Secretary

Demetrio Zema

The MSO relies on your ongoing philanthropic support to sustain our artists, and support access, education, community engagement and more. We invite our supporters to get close to the MSO through a range of special events.

The MSO welcomes your support at any level. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible, and supporters are recognised as follows:

$500+ (Overture)

$1,000+ (Player)

$2,500+ (Associate)

$5,000+ (Principal)

$10,000+ (Maestro)

$20,000+ (Impresario)

$50,000+ (Virtuoso)

$100,000+ (Platinum)

Thank you to our Partners

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM PARTNER VENUE PARTNER

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

PREMIER PARTNERS

EDUCATION PARTNERS

ORCHESTRAL TRAINING PARTNER

MAJOR PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS

The Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation, The Angior Family Foundation, Flora & Frank Leith Trust, Perpetual Foundation – Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment, Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund