From meeting Artistic Director Richard Tognetti on the Manly ferry after a concert, to singing with the Orchestra as part of a choral performance, our long-time audience-members have been sharing their most memorable ACO experiences from over the years.
Reminisce below – and do feel free to share with us: what is your favourite ACO memory?
Our ACO family has always been at the heart of our story.
Our supporters have helped shape and define our journey over the past half century. It is your belief and generosity which have paved the way for us to become the dynamic Orchestra you know and love today.
Donate now to help us step boldly into our next chapter with the same free thinking, creativity and ambition which have defined our first 50 years, and which define the ACO today.
Take us beyond 50.
“I had just enjoyed an exhilarating concert at the Sydney Opera House and marvelled at Richard Tognetti's poise and sophistication, and talent. Then who should I spot on the ferry to Manly, but a very different Richard Tognetti in jeans and a t-shirt, chomping on takeaway pizza. I couldn't tell if he was happy to be recognised, but he was gracious to the core.”– Anne
“My favourite, as an old surfer, was The Reef show when my son Geoffrey joined the band on guitar at the Sydney Opera House in 2012, and we all partied afterwards.”– Tim
“My story as a subscriber and supporter of the ACO began 36 years ago in Canberra when Carl Pini was Artistic Director. When retiring to a town near Port Macquarie we continued to follow your extraordinary concerts whenever we could. My husband, Niels, and I listened to Nicholas Altstaedt at ACO On The Pier some months ago and after the concert he came into the foyer to mingle with the audience. Richard Tognetti and other members of the ACO joined us, and I got a kiss on my cheek from Richard in recognition of my long 'association' with the ACO. There you go! Top that! It was a great evening in every aspect.”– Charlotte
“Peter Sculthorpe, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and then – Abel Selcaocoe. What a revelation!”– C
“Singing with the ACO Voices in the St John Passion all those years ago – and now being a proud subscriber with my 12-year-old daughter! We love the ACO. ”– Emma
“1. Theremin & Beyond. 2. Memoir of a Snail. Thank you.”
“I live at Devoncourt station, Cloncurry, which is 1600km from Brisbane so we can't always get to concerts. Years ago, the ACO sent a quartet to play at Cannington Mine, Cloncurry and you came to our station and we had a concert, with our 12-year-old cello player granddaughter, Isabella McDonald given great encouragement by Tipi, who is still your principal cellist. She learned to play over the telephone with Yvonne Moore. And later she went to boarding school at Somerville House, which had a great music program, before getting a music degree in New Zealand with an Edmund Hilary scholarship.”– Christine
“The ACO is an extraordinary example of human connection, bringing peace, love and joy to our glorious nation and abroad with the magnificence of music. Everything you do truly inspires and uplifts me.”– Loretta
“A wonderful five decades of hard work. I would like to share my eternal congrats to you all when I was invited to see you performing for the first time at this beautiful Sydney Opera House, I was forever fascinated about the Australian Chamber Orchestra. I saw the ACO in London several times when you were performing here, and always enchanted to see you. My very best wishes for a fantastic future. Keep playing those wonderful tunes.”– Walter
