Our Collaborations

The Radiohead guitarist took up residence with the ACO in 2013 to compose Water, which was released on vinyl alongside Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in 2017. Jonny’s suite from There Will Be Blood also appeared in our 2019 Season.

In 2014, the Australian electronic duo joined forces with the ACO for Timeline, an ambitious project arranging 4,000 years of written music into one mega arrangement that flows seamlessly into the modern day.

Joseph and James Tawadros have been creating musical alchemy with Richard Tognetti for over a decade. The brothers’ virtuosity on Riq’, Bendir and Oud diffuses a middle eastern feeling through the orchestra, most memorably in our transformation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

In 2013 Richard Tognetti and Sherpa film director Jennifer Peedom began work on Mountain, a creative and philosophical collaboration telling the story of high-places through music and film. Narrated by actor Willem Dafoe, Mountain is now one of the highest grossing Australian documentaries ever made, and remains one of our most ambitious collaborative projects.

Australian artist and photographer Bill Henson has won accolades with his dreamlike images of twilight moments. Across the years, incarnations of our Luminous project has allowed Richard Tognetti and the Orchestra to bring further life to Bill’s vivid images, curating music that draws audiences deeper into these immediately striking works.

Barry has been a long term collaborator with the ACO and our musicians individually. From our first collaborative performance in 2013 to Satu Vänskä’s recent appearance leading the Aurora Orchestra for Barry’s Weimar Cabaret with Meow Meow in London, collaborations with Barry are a chance to stretch out and explore our comedic side.

The Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company have collaborated on movement and music programs within each of our Seasons - first with Project Rameau as part of Sydney Dance’s 2012 Season, followed by the ACO’s Illuminated in 2015, which visited Hong Kong on top of it’s national tour dates.

A long term friend of the Orchestra, Steven Isserlis has been performing as a guest with the ACO since the early nineties. Steven's visits always carry the feeling of a family reunion, not least because of the antics that inevitably arise when he and Richard Tognetti are in a room together.

Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova is famed the world over for her passion, intensity and virtuosity. She performed with the ACO most recently in 2018 when we were fortunate to have her leading the Orchestra in a darkly romantic program featuring music by Schubert, Barber and Karl Amadeus Hartmann.

Principal flautist with the Berlin Philharmonic and a long term musical friend, Emmanuel Pahud is one of our favourite guests. Emmanuel delighted audiences when he last visited our shores in 2017, and our collaborative recording of Vivaldi’s Flute Concertos continues to be on high rotation in classical circles the world over.

Australian Soprano Nicole Car’s star has been rising on the international stage, dazzling audiences with leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Paris Opera. Our debut concert together explored the many powerful female roles within the Opera canon, and has been released under the title Heroines in CD and Digital formats.

Violist and composer Brett Dean has earned an international reputation for striking performances and forward thinking music. A favourite collaborator for our chamber tours, Brett’s appearances with the Orchestra are a special opportunity to catch two of Australia’s world class arts exports at once.

The Melbourne-based harpsichordist is a frequent guest of the ACO’s, helping us bring authenticity to the sound of the many early keyboard works we perform. Erin and Richard have also collaborated externally, appearing in festival line-ups together in Australia and abroad.