The Australian Chamber Orchestra Unveils Their 2019 Season

In 2019 the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will present A New Light: a transformative adventure that will challenge, illuminate, embolden and inspire. With Artistic Director Richard Tognetti at the helm, the ACO will push the concept of 'chamber orchestra' to new heights through embarking on energising and experimental collaborations, both new and revisited. The Orchestra will also continue their exploration of the great music of the past and of today, with each program in 2019 containing music from one or more living composers.

In a highlight of the 2019 Season, the ACO will reunite with celebrated Australian photographer Bill Henson to celebrate ten years since the last performance of Luminous, the ACO's ground breaking musical and visual feast. Luminous is an arresting, multi-sensory, and beautifully evocative journey that sees the ACO perform music from Benjamin Britten to R.E.M., accompanied by a backdrop of Henson's hauntingly beautiful photography. This revival will feature new imagery and music, and Australian singer-songwriter Lior will perform as vocalist in what marks his ACO debut.

The ACO are unique in their ability to weave seamlessly between the great masterworks of the 18th and 19th centuries and enlightening new music created by the most innovative, exciting composers of today. In 2019 the ACO will continue to champion new music that ignites the senses and stretches the musical form, with each program in the Season featuring one or more works by a living composer, including Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, The National's Bryce Dessner, Sufjan Stevens, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Dobrinka Tabakova, Sally Beamish and The Jezebels' Heather Shannon. The ACO will perform a total of three world premieres and nine Australian premieres throughout the 2019 Season.

Guest artists in the ACO's 2019 Season include fiery and charismatic violinist Lorenza Borrani who, after delighting audiences on her last tour with the ACO in 2016, will return for a program of emotion-charged music in March. Renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis will make his ACO debut in May with a vivid program inspired by Latin American jazz, directed by ACO Principal Violin Satu Vänskä. The famed Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir will join the ACO for a celebration of the ethereal and otherworldly music of Bach and Arvo Pärt, while favourite ACO collaborators including pianist Dejan Lazic, violist Brett Dean, and keyboardist Erin Helyard will also appear throughout the season.