Australian Chamber Orchestra’s ACO Collective: A String Celebration

ACO Collective combines Australia’s most talented emerging string players with the professional musicians of the Australian Chamber Orchestra to create a high-energy 11-piece string orchestra.

ACO Principal Violin Helena Rathbone leads this tour that sees vibrant works by beloved Australians Iain Grandage and Carl Vine join British legends William Walton, Benjamin Britten, and George Frideric Handel.

Festivities get underway with Handel’s irresistible Concerto Grosso in D major. It is springy and vibrant and paves the way for Vine’s Smith’s Alchemy and Benjamin Britten’s delightful Simple Symphony, written when the composer was just 20 and thus a perfect fit for this ensemble.

Walton’s moving Sonata for String Orchestra has an intriguing West Australian link that adds to its savour. The work was premiered at the 1972 Perth Festival, an event now directed by Grandage. It brings the program to a sublime and uplifting conclusion.

“It’s only half time, and I’m already picking my jaw off the floor at the ACO Collective gig. Programming that puts a spring in the synapses and the playing hasn’t just knocked my socks of, it’s shredded them to pieces!” – THE AGE

Recommended for age 8+.

A limited number of VIP tickets will be available which will include A Reserve seating and Clairault Wines pre-event and at intermission on the mezzanine level.

Tickets: VIP $65, VIP member $56, Adult $52, Member $45, Youth $25, Family $120 (2A + 2Y)

Presented by Arts Margaret River with support from the Margaret River HEART