Key Highlights
2023
- MSO signs partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra’s LSO Live (the first from the Asia-Pacific region) establishing a new in-house record label for the MSO, during the LSO’s Australian tour.
- MSO signs partnership with the Royal Academy of Music in a program of collaboration and exchange between Royal Academy and MSO Academy members.
2022
- MSO signs four-year partnership with LSO in London, enabling cross-cultural collaboration.
2014
- MSO debuts at five esteemed classical music festivals, including BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival and Tivoli Festival, with MSO Chief Conductor, Sir Andrew Davis.
2007
- Following the MSO’s Centenary Anniversary in 2006, a Centenary Tour was undertaken to Spain, Paris, Berlin, and Milan.
2000
- MSO represents Australasia at the prestigious Festival de Música de Canarias (Canary Islands).
In November 2023, the High Commissioner to the UK, the Hon Stephen Smith announced a new international agreement between the MSO and the Royal Academy of Music. The three-year program of collaboration and exchange aims to enrich the training of the Royal Academy and MSO Academy members, preparing Australia and the UK's most exceptional young musicians for professional performance careers on the international stage. With the first intake to commence in 2025, the MSO Academy and Royal Academy will take part in an annual exchange program that will facilitate up to five members of each Academy spending two weeks with their international counterparts, deepening people-to-people links across the Australian and British music industries.
In May 2023, the MSO announced an extension to our partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra, which will see the establishment of a new in-house record label for the MSO, expanding our international reach in more than 200 countries. Under the musical direction and baton of Chief Conductor Jaime Martín and with distribution through LSO Live, the label will showcase the distinct talents of Australian musicians, artists and composers including the growing influence of First Nations musicians who continue to break new ground with the MSO. The MSO is only the sixth partner to join the LSO Live group of labels, and the first in the Asia-Pacific region.
In November 2022, a small contingent of MSO musicians and representatives travelled to London to announce a new four-year collaboration agreement with the London Symphony Orchestra. The agreement enables cross-cultural collaboration between the two orchestras, further strengthening partnerships and enhancing the deep people-to-people links in the arts and cultural sectors. Activities include reciprocal touring in Australia and the UK, facilitating emerging artists exchanges, and co-commissioning performances and events including digital innovations. The first activity undertaken as part of this agreement was the LSO’s 2023 tour to Australia, performing two incredible performances with the MSO conducted by LSO Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle. The MSO’s visit to London and the announcement was generously supported by the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season of Culture 2021-22.
MSO and LSO sign historic partnership
In 2014, on the appointment of Sir Andrew Davis as Chief Conductor, the MSO debuted at some of the world’s most esteemed classical music festivals and venues with performances at the BBC Proms, London; Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland; Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Germany; and the Tivoli Festival, Denmark. Accompanied by a significant VIP touring party, the invitation to perform at these events alongside the world’s most prestigious international orchestras and artists was an immense – and rare – honour.
Celebrating 100 years of the MSO, in 2007, the MSO conducted a special Centenary Year Tour to Spain (Castellón, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Madrid), Paris, Berlin and Milan. This tour was a strategic success, both artistically and in raising the profile of the orchestra locally and internationally. A highlight of the tour was the opportunity to perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in the same Paris theatre (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) in which it premiered in 1913.
In 2000, the MSO represented Australia at the prestigious Festival de Música de Canarias in the Canary Islands alongside many great orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic. These festival performances were followed by a highly successful tour of Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Montreux, Visp, Basel), Germany (Stuttgart, Nürnberg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf), and Austria (Linz and Salzburg) – the MSO’s first European tour which cemented the MSO’s international profile.
The MSO’s international engagement is supported by the Gandel Foundation through the MSO’s Now and Forever Future Fund.
