The Australian World Orchestra to Celebrate Five-Year Anniversary in 2016

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is thrilled to announce its five-year anniversary celebrations in 2016, performing two stellar concerts co-presented by the Sydney Opera House in September. The concerts will be led by two of Australia's pre-eminent conductors - AWO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Alexander Briger, and conductor of the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin and violinist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanley Dodds - and feature the premiere of the AWO's first commissioned concerto, by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.

Since its inaugural concert series in 2011, the AWO has established itself as one of the most exciting orchestral initiatives in Australia's cultural history, dazzling audiences in Australia and overseas and performing to over 31,000 music lovers. The AWO brings together the cream of Australia's national and international musicians to present performances of soul-stirring musicianship: the 2016 ensemble includes 94 Australian musicians from the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, Concertgebouw and Gewandhaus, as well as musicians from the Australian state orchestras, and other Australian music ensembles such as the Australian Opera Ballet Orchestra and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

AWO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Alexander Briger led the AWO for their inaugural performance in 2011 and he returns in 2016 for the five-year celebrations. Briger will conduct a triumphant programme on September 28, including Maurice Ravel's orchestral tour de force Boléro, PyotrIlyich Tchaikovsky's powerful and romantic Symphony No.5, and the world premiere of leading Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin's The Witching Hour, a work commissioned by the AWO, and the first concerto for eight double basses in orchestral history. Kats-Chernin has composed The Witching Hour especially to showcase the extraordinary AWO double bass section comprising Max McBride (Formerly ACO, Vienna State Opera, Senior Lecturer ANU School of Music), Kirsty McCahon (Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment), Matthew McDonald (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), Ciro Vigilante (Vienna Chamber Orchestra), Robert Nairn (Professor of Double Bass Juilliard School and Penn State University), Kees Boersma (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), Tim Dunin (Formerly Vienna Philharmonic, now Professor of Double Bass, University of Music, Graz) and Alex Henery (Sydney Symphony Orchestra, formerly Philharmonia London).

Composer Elena Kats-Chernin said, "When I was asked to write this Concerto for the 8 Double Basses I recalled how exciting and other-worldly it had seemed to me when I first heard the orchestra playing Mahler's First Symphony. The title The Witching Hour refers to that moment when time seems to stand still and very special things happen. I wanted to write something that would express the captivation and enchantment that I experienced from these very unique people and to showcase the bassists not only as representing the ground of the harmony in the orchestra, but as dazzling soloists as well!"

Over the past 25 years, Alexander Briger has conducted many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Orchester, Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmoniquede Radio France, BBC Symphony Orchestra and many more. He regularly performs in Europe and engagements in 2015 included conducting The London Symphony Orchestra's Discovery Concerts, the Teatro Dell'Opera di Roma, Toulon Opera, touring with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Opera and the Sydney Youth Orchestra, as their Conductor and Artistic Director.

Making his AWO conducting debut, Australian-born Stanley Dodds will direct two major works on September 29: Ludwig van Beethoven's electric Symphony No.7 and Antonin Dvo?ák's symphonic masterpiece, his Symphony No.9 "From the New World". Dodds is a violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and is the Principal Conductor of the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, chief conductor of the Berlin Sibelius Orchestra since 2002 and the Schoneneberg Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2014. Dodds has worked with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and numerous European Orchestras.

Under the dedicated direction of Alexander Briger, the Australian World Orchestra has notched up some extraordinary achievements over the last four years; guest conductors have included Sir Simon Rattle, Simone Young, and Maestro Zubin Mehta, who following the outstanding success of his 2013 season conducting them invited the Orchestra to his homeland of India for its inaugural international tour which was ecstatically received. Guest performers have included sopranos Cheryl Barker and Greta Bradman and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená. Embracing its educational charter the AWO has conducted workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Chennai Mumbai and New Delhi. Critics have described recent performances as "magnificent" (The Australian), "profoundly moving" (ABR), and "sublime" (Limelight).

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