The Australian Chamber Orchestra has unveiled its digital streaming platform, ACO On Demand, launched today on acoondemand.com, Apple TV and Android mobile.
Featuring award-winning ACO StudioCast films, live concert streams, ARIA award-winning audio recordings, behind-the-scenes content and more, ACO On Demand provides the ACO’s global audience access to extraordinary music and content from one of the world’s great chamber ensembles.
Alongside the launch of ACO On Demand, the ACO will release an eighth film in its ACO StudioCasts catalogue, the Orchestra’s series of award winning concert films. Directed by Matisse Ruby and with cinematography by Jeremy Rouse (Blaze, Burden, Jonathan) and editing by Phoenix Chisholm (Latecomers SBS, Bangarra’s World ABC, Wellmania, Heartbreak High), The Four Seasons is a cinematic take on the ACO’s critically acclaimed cross-cultural collaboration with oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros and riq master James Tawadros. The first ACO StudioCast to be filmed at the ACO’s spectacular home at Pier 2/3 in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, the film will be released exclusively on ACO On Demand later in 2023.
Director Matisse Ruby said: “The ACO’s performance of The Four Seasons is nothing short of mesmerising, delivering a powerful and intense rendition that breathes new life into this timeless classic. As a director, my goal was to create a visual language, that would complement and elevate the ACO's extraordinary talent, without distracting from the Orchestra’s brilliance.
“Collaborating with Richard Tognetti and the ACO was truly inspiring and together, we've forged a deeply emotional and visually stunning tribute to The Four Seasons that not only highlights the ACO’s artistry but reflects my own passion for crafting memorable cinematic experiences."
The ACO performed The Four Seasons in a sell-out tour in March 2023 to critical and popular acclaim. The tour marked a triumphant return to pre-Covid audience numbers for the ACO, with over twenty thousand people purchasing tickets to The Four Seasons, over a third of whom were booking tickets to an ACO concert for the first time.
ACO On Demand is the latest evolution of the ACO’s expansion into digital, multimedia and cinematic platforms. The Orchestra has become renowned throughout the world for the quality and inventiveness of its experimental multimedia music hybrid productions, from films Musica Surfica and The Reef to collaborations including Luminous (created in collaboration with photographer Bill Henson) and Mountain and River (created in collaboration with director Jennifer Peedom and Stranger Than Fiction Films), which challenge assumptions of what a chamber orchestra can be and do.
The Four Seasons was produced with support from grant income from the Australian Government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund. The RISE Fund was created by the Australian Government to support the reactivation of the arts and entertainment sector. The film will released exclusively on ACO On Demand later in 2023.
Click here to explore ACO On Demand, or head to App Store or Play Store on your Apple TV or Android mobile to download the new app.
