In 1936 the South Australian Orchestra was supplanted by the 50-member Adelaide Symphony Orchestra led by William Cade, and sponsored by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (later the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC).[1] The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55-member South Australian Symphony Orchestra, with Henry Krips as its resident conductor. The orchestra reverted to its original title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1975.[citation needed]
The ASO's highlights have included its 1998 performances of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, the first Australian production since 1913[2] (although it was widely and erroneously claimed to be the first ever in Australia).
The orchestra participated in the first fully Australian production of The Ring in 2004.[citation needed]
In 2009 Premier and Arts Minister Mike Rann proposed and provided government funding to the ASO to commission a major orchestral work about climate change. The ASO's world premiere of Gerard Brophy's The Blue Thread, inspired by the River Murray, was performed at the Concert for the Earth at the Adelaide Town Hall on 27 November 2010.[4] The Rann government proposed and arranged funding for two further ASO commissions, the first an orchestral tribute to the cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, and the second commemorating the centenary of the ANZAClandings at Gallipoli. The world premiere of Our Don by Natalie Williams was performed by the ASO in August 2014.[5]
In 2015 the Hilltop Hoods collaborated for a second time with the 32-piece Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the 20-piece Adelaide Chamber Singers Choir for their next re-orchestrated album titled Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung.[7]
In 2016, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra formed its first artistic leadership team, comprising principal conductor, Nicholas Carter, its new artist-in-association, violinist Pinchas Zukerman, and principal guest conductor and artistic advisor Sir Jeffrey Tate.[8] Carter was the youngest principal conductor in the orchestra's history, and the first Australian conductor to be appointed to a principal conductor position with a major Australian orchestra in almost 30 years.[9] Carter completed his term as principal conductor in 2019.[10]
In 2017, the orchestra was central in the Adelaide Festival's staging of Barrie Kosky's Saul – a production from Glyndebourne Opera in the UK, and again in 2018 for the Adelaide Festival's Glyndebourne Opera production and Australian premiere of composer Brett Dean's new opera, Hamlet. These performances were received with critical acclaim and numerous Helpmann Awards.[citation needed]
In 2018, the artistic leadership team evolved to include the orchestra's new emerging artist-in-association, Grace Clifford; Australian composer and the orchestra's new composer-in-association, Cathy Milliken; and the orchestra's new principal guest conductor, Mark Wigglesworth.[citation needed] As of 2024, the artistic leadership team consists of Concertmaster Kate Suthers, Artist in Association Emily Sun, Emerging Composer in Association Jakub Jankowski, Conductor Laureate, Nicholas Braithwaite,[11] and the orchestra consists of 75 musicians.[12]
In May 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of Mark Wigglesworth as its next chief conductor, effective January 2025, with an initial contract of three years.[13]
2012 – Helpmann Award Finalist for Best Symphony Concert – Master Series 3 – Fire Series
2013 – APRA/Australian Music Centre's Arts Award for Excellence in Music Education – Australian Emerging Composers Creative Workshop with Tan Dun and six young Australian composers
^Samela Harris, Adelaide Advertiser, 25 November 2015, "Don't call me a greenie"; and ABC 7 December 2010, "Australian Broadcast Highlights, The Blue Thread" [verification needed]
^ abThe Advertiser"Off The Record: Orchestra now in baton race to replace young gun", 31 March 2017. "Complicating matters in 32-year-old Carter's case is the nature of his historic appointment – the first Australian to lead a state orchestra in 30 years and one of the youngest ever. In 2015, the ASO board recognised his youthful brilliance but, in an unusual move, also appointed old hands Jeffrey Tate and Pinchas Zukerman to help."(subscription required)
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