For many of us, music is a form of travel. A concert hall becomes a place apart from daily life: expansive, reflective, and transporting. “I can walk into an ACO concert carrying the weight of the day, and within minutes, I’m somewhere completely different.” says Nick, ACO donor and subscriber.
These are journeys ACO audiences know well. But through ACO Foundations, music learning takes young people to more foundational places, where they can develop their confidence, teamwork, discipline, and joy. Through our in-school string music education program, we’ve learnt that the perseverance practiced while learning an instrument carries into their broader lives and learning.
“It is our civic duty to provide children, particularly those from disadvantaged circumstances, with access to music and learning an instrument. As we have seen, the results can be life-changing.”Richard Tognetti, ACO Artistic Director
Currently established in two public schools located in Western Sydney and Northern Melbourne, ACO Foundations begins with invitation. For students who may struggle to find a sense of belonging at school, music offers another way in.
“I was a desperately shy child,” reflects Helena Rathbone, ACO Principal Violin. “The violin was a way of communicating.”
That idea sits at the heart of the Foundations program. Before confidence, and before technical skill, music gives students a voice, allowing expression and ingraining a love of learning.
“They love going to school and starting the day with playing the violin or the cello,” says ACO Violin Ike See.
This enthusiasm ripples through their school life. “No one wants to miss it,” explains Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba, ACO Violin. “So attendance rates have just skyrocketed.”
Students begin to connect learning with joy, and music becomes more than an activity. It becomes a reason to arrive, and a reason to engage. As ACO Cello Julian Thompson says, “It really changes their approach to school.”
Even in the earliest stages, ACO Foundations students are learning how to listen to one another, practicing collaboration in real time. They discover that their sound matters, and the impact they can make both individually and as an ensemble. It’s a feeling ACO Violin Liisa Pallandi remembers well. “For me, music has always been connected with being with other people,”
Music gives a language to these foundational skills: patience, cooperation, and empathy. While lessons begin tentatively, they become a place for ownership and expression. “I have a connection with my violin”, says ACO Foundations student Kyiah. “When I play, I can be myself and feel free.” That freedom carries students far beyond the classroom. And in this instance, it took students to places they never imagined they could belong.
In late 2025, students from St Marys North Public School joined the ACO on stage at in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall for Celebrating the Australian Chamber Orchestra, our 50th anniversary concert performed to a packed-out audience, and broadcast across ABC.
“I was a desperately shy child,” reflects Helena Rathbone, ACO Principal Violin. “The violin was a way of communicating.”
That idea sits at the heart of the Foundations program. Before confidence, and before technical skill, music gives students a voice, allowing expression and ingraining a love of learning.
“They love going to school and starting the day with playing the violin or the cello,” says ACO Violin Ike See.
This enthusiasm ripples through their school life. “No one wants to miss it,” explains Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba, ACO Violin. “So attendance rates have just skyrocketed.”
Students begin to connect learning with joy, and music becomes more than an activity. It becomes a reason to arrive, and a reason to engage. As ACO Cello Julian Thompson says, “It really changes their approach to school.”
Even in the earliest stages, ACO Foundations students are learning how to listen to one another, practicing collaboration in real time. They discover that their sound matters, and the impact they can make both individually and as an ensemble. It’s a feeling ACO Violin Liisa Pallandi remembers well. “For me, music has always been connected with being with other people,”
Music gives a language to these foundational skills: patience, cooperation, and empathy. While lessons begin tentatively, they become a place for ownership and expression. “I have a connection with my violin”, says ACO Foundations student Kyiah. “When I play, I can be myself and feel free.” That freedom carries students far beyond the classroom. And in this instance, it took students to places they never imagined they could belong.
In late 2025, students from St Marys North Public School joined the ACO on stage at in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall for Celebrating the Australian Chamber Orchestra, our 50th anniversary concert performed to a packed-out audience, and broadcast across ABC.
“They’d transitioned from never having held a cello before,” ACO Cello Julian Thompson says, “to being able to sit on stage with us and perform.”
For the students, this was not only about performance, but about opening doors - and their eyes - to a bigger world.
“I wish this could be a program in every public school. But obviously without philanthropic support, it’s just not possible,” Pallandi says.
That aspiration is shared by the teachers who see students arrive earlier, focus more deeply, and carry their learning into other parts of their lives. And it is shared by the ACO community that understands where music can take us, because they’ve been there themselves.
“I wish this could be a program in every public school. But obviously without philanthropic support, it’s just not possible,” Pallandi says.
That aspiration is shared by the teachers who see students arrive earlier, focus more deeply, and carry their learning into other parts of their lives. And it is shared by the ACO community that understands where music can take us, because they’ve been there themselves.
“As a direct result of the ACO Foundations Program, we’ve seen improvement in our students’ ability to learn, to speak and articulate, through being exposed to the vocabulary of classical music, as well as a marked improvement in behaviour, attendance and even working memory. It also provides so much joy and passion in our classrooms on a daily basis.”Lisa Parrello, St Marys North Public School Principal
For audiences, music can offer respite and reflection.
“For a little while I can step out of the real world and just get lost in the performance,” says Ruth Kelly, ACO donor. “Adventurous while always accessible. Incredibly skilled, spell-binding to watch and sumptuous to hear.”
Through ACO Foundations, that same power is extended, not just for an evening, but for a lifetime. Music takes us places. With your support, it can take these children further than they’ve ever imagined.
