Shanghai Orchestra Academy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Building its role as the leading cultural ambassador for Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has entered an agreement with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Orchestra Academy, which will see the SSO provide mentoring and performance opportunities to Chinese students in Shanghai and Sydney.

On March 17 at Shanghai Symphony Hall, Sydney Symphony Orchestra Managing Director Rory Jeffes and Maestro Long Yu, Music Director at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and President of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding, demonstrating a shared commitment to strengthening connections between their organisations and ensuring the success of classical music in China through training the next generation of musicians.

Under this agreement, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will mentor students at the SOA on 21 May 2015, with Concertmaster Andrew Haveron attending a student audition and critiquing performances. Three students from the Academy - two violin and one viola - will later fly to Sydney to undertake a training and performance residency from 13 July to 24 July 2015 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

This new agreement builds on the SSO's existing MOU's with Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, Guangzhou's Xinghai Conservatory of Music and Guangzhou Opera House.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Managing Director Rory Jeffes said the agreement demonstrated the Orchestra's commitment to helping to develop the next generation of Chinese orchestral musicians.

"We are delighted to have forged a partnership with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Orchestra Academy, which again signifies our commitment to participating in a meaningful dialogue with China that benefits the cultural, political and economic aspirations of our countries," Mr Jeffes said. "I'm confident that our visit to Shanghai in May, and the Academy's visit to Sydney in July, will be the beginning of a prosperous friendship for our organisations."

Fedina Zhou, President of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Vice President of SOA, said it was "a great honour" to enter a relationship with the world-renowned Sydney Symphony Orchestra: "The cooperation will enable more talented young musicians to gain practical experience in an orchestral environment at the beginning of their career," Ms Zhou said.

The new agreement signifies the SSO's continued commitment to building meaningful friendships with China and expanding its role as the leading cultural ambassador for Australia, a position that last year saw the SSO named a winner in the Australian Government's inaugural Australia-China

Achievement Awards at a dinner in Canberra attended by His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China.

On the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's visit to China in May, it will also perform at the annual May Festival at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts on May 20.

The new agreement is one of several close partnerships the Academy has with leading orchestras in Asia, including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra.

The Academy's mission is to train emerging musicians to become eminent performing artists in orchestras around the world. Inspired by Maestro Long Yu's vision, the Academy was jointly founded by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

At the first inauguration ceremony of the Academy, Maestro Long Yu said: "The Academy provides an important platform to its students, offering not only lessons, but chamber music coaching, orchestral repertoire classes and sectional trainings. More importantly, we offer our students opportunities to refine their performing skills in professional orchestras around the world, which will broaden their horizon and give them an international perspective."

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