MSO announces Season 2026

The MSO brings music to more communities – from the Bowl to Broadmeadows

In its 120^th year, the MSO reinforces its commitment to sharing orchestral music with more people, with additional no- to low-cost concerts that proudly embed the MSO within a range of communities across the state, including the world premiere of Joe Chindamo’s Flute Concerto at the Broadmeadows Town Hall.

CEO and Director of Programming Richard Wigley said a combination of hyper-local programming initiatives will allow the MSO to connect with new audiences from the heart of Melbourne’s CBD to suburban and regional communities.

“With initiatives like MSO In Your Neighbourhood, our first-ever three-concert series in Frankston, our long-running Geelong series, performances in Ringwood, Sale, Castlemaine and Cowes, we’re showcasing the remarkable talents of the MSO and our guest artists to even more music lovers across the state,” Mr Wigley said.

“Despite the increased costs of producing world-class performances, we’re also pleased to keep 2026 ticket prices at 2025 levels. Thanks to generous philanthropic support, we continue to offer affordable access to audiences and strengthen our commitment to sharing orchestral music with more communities across Victoria.”

Melbourne’s much-loved Sidney Myer Free Concerts will return to tradition in February – for the first time since 2013, the MSO will present four free concerts at the Bowl across one week in a festival-style model. This hugely popular annual event will showcase artists and composers form Melbourne, Victoria and Australia:

· The opening concert, Symphonic Celebration, sees conductor Leonard Weiss leading the MSO through audience favourites Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Holly Harrison’s Hellbent, and a new work by Cybec Young Composer in Residence Andrew Aronowicz.

· The second concert features the Australian Youth Orchestra, led by the GRAMMY Award-winning conductor Christian Reif in a program that blends late Romantic fantasy with the expansive soundscapes of digital gaming.

· MSO x Find Your Voice Collective is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between the MSO and Warrnambool-based Find Your Voice Collective (FYVC). Led by Principal Guest Conductor Benjamin Northey, the performance brings together ten artists with lived experience of disability, MSO musicians, four internationally renowned composers, and a 150-voice all-abilities choir in a moving and uplifting program of original songs and stories celebrating the full spectrum of humanity.

· The Bowl series concludes with a musical tribute to 50 years of ABC Classic on the airwaves. Also conducted by Northey, this final concert proudly features works by Australian composers and showcases a brilliant line-up of Australian artists celebrating the broadcaster’s enduring impact on and reach of classical music.

A year of festivities and festivals as the MSO celebrates 120 years

The MSO will expand upon February’s week of Free Concerts with more ‘binge-listening’ opportunities throughout the year, with multi-day orchestral festivals and new immersive venue takeovers providing a fresh variety of different ways to experience the MSO.

The superb acoustics of Melbourne Recital Centre set the stage for an immersive weekend of MSO Ensemble performances. String Spectacular, curated and directed by Concertmaster Natalie Chee, with works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Grieg and Ella Macens. Mass of Deliverance, conducted by Warren Trevelyan-Jones, pairs choral works by John Rutter and Dan Walker with musicians of the MSO Chorus and Orchestra. The weekend concludes with Gran Partita, showcasing the MSO Wind Ensemble with music by R. Strauss and Mozart.

Melbourne Town Hall, home to the largest romantic organ in the southern hemisphere, hosts the Grand Organ Festival with acclaimed organist Joseph Nolan for three extraordinary concerts. Making her MSO debut, Finnish conductor Emilia Hoving leads a program of classical dance music followed by Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Nocturne (one of the first works the MSO performed in this venue a century ago), and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony No.3 which includes that thundering Town Hall Organ. In the second concert, Warren Trevelyan-Jones conducts the brilliant singers of the MSO Chorus for Duruflé’s Requiem, while the final concert sees Nolan’s award-winning virtuosity centre stage for Guilmant’s Organ Sonata No.1 and Widor’s Symphony for Organ No.5.

Building on the success of 2024’s Beethoven Festival, Jaime Martin’s Season 2026 concludes with a Brahms Festival in November, six concerts across two weeks dedicated to this remarkable composer. Martín leads the Orchestra through all four Brahms symphonies, with internationally acclaimed pianist Denis Kozhukhin who will perform both Brahms Piano Concertos with the Orchestra and Brahms Sonata No.3 and Horn Trio in a special chamber music concert of intimate works.

The Spring Gala: Brahms’ German Requiem concludes the festival with acclaimed Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel opening the concert with a selection of spiritual works, then joined by the MSO Chorus for Brahms’ transcendent Ein Deutsches Requiem, one of the most moving tributes to grief and remembrance.

Brahms enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to experience returning conductor Tianyi Lu leading the MSO with MSO Young Artist in Association Christian Li performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto alongside performances of Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Swan Lake Suite and Elfrida Andrée’s rarely heard Andante Quasi Recitativo.

Chief Conductor Jaime Martín makes his Melbourne Recital Centre debut

Returning for his fifth year as Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín revisits his musical beginnings to lead Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.1 as both soloist (flute) & director in Strauss & Mozart at the Melbourne Recital Centre next February. He’ll also guide the MSO in a series of unmissable concerts across the year, including headline concerts with international symphonic superstars and continued exploration though the symphonies of Dvořák and Mahler.

The highly anticipated Gala Series – the centrepiece of the MSO’s yearly program, helmed by Martín – begins with the Season Opening Gala, featuring French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s performance of Gershwin’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in F, alongside John Williams’ Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra and Rachmaninov’s lively Symphonic Dances. The Winter Gala features Melbourne-born superstar soprano Danielle de Niese bringing drama and joy to the stage with selections from classic musicals by Gershwin, Porter and Bernstein.

Martín returns to the works of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, in Dvořák Smetana & Coll with Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein. Great Passions: Radulović plays Khachaturian marks the MSO debut of Serbian violin virtuoso Nemanja Radulović, and features musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). UK Cellist Sheku Kanneh–Mason joins Martín to perform the Australian premiere of Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto, an MSO co-commission.

Martín will also continue his Mahler cycle with his spectacular Sixth Symphony alongside the world premiere of a new work from Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence James Henry.

Continuing a tradition of supporting women in orchestral music

Throughout its 120-year legacy the MSO has spotlighted trailblazing female artists, from former Concertmaster Bertha Jorgenson – Australia’s first female lead in a professional orchestra – to new Concertmaster Natalie Chee.

In 2026, the MSO continues to celebrate extraordinary women in music, including the Australian premiere of Melbourne composer Melody Eötvös The Deciding Machine, honouring women’s suffrage and Ada Lovelace’s pioneering computer work in a special International Women’s Day program.

Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund makes her Australian debut in a Nordic-inspired program with Andrea Lam performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1; while Also sprach Zarathustra includes the Australian debut of Spanish violinist Maria Duenas playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Anja Bihlmaier returns to lead the Orchestra in A Trip to Vienna performing works by R. Strauss, Mozart, and Bartók.

Championing a symphonic new wave in Australia

The MSO continues its deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of musical talent through a diverse suite of programs for emerging artists, composers, conductors, and instrumentalists, to help build a sustainable future for orchestral music and shape the musical voice of our state.

This year unveils 29 new works commissioned by the MSO across our 2026 Season, contributing to an oeuvre of new and modern orchestral music by the composers of our time.

Annual programs include the MSO Academy, Side by Side concerts with both Melbourne Youth Orchestra and Australian National Academy of Music, Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers’ Program, Cybec Young Composer in Residence, the First Voices Composer Program and First Voices Showcase, conducted by Aaron Wyatt, the Ensemble Dutala Residency, in partnership with Short Black Opera and the Snare Drum Award for tertiary percussionists. The MSO also fosters future orchestral leadership through the Australian Conducting Academy, led by Benjamin Northey.

Family-favourite series Jams for Juniors and Classic Kids – which introduce the joy of orchestral music to a younger generation – will continue across the year. The MSO’s 2026 Classic Kids series – programmed for children aged 5-10 and their adults – includes Beethoven’s Gaming Quest hosted by Dr Richard Vaudrey, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals and an evening of traditional carols, modern holiday favourites and classical Christmas selections in Classic Kids Christmas led by Leonard Weiss with singers from Melba Opera Trust.  The much-loved (and always sold-out) Jams for Juniors returns, led by MSO Artist in Residence for Learning and Engagement Karen Kyriakou.

More of the screen moments that Victorians love

MSO’s foray into film music includes the return of Metropolis Festival, Art of the Score and a series of cinematic blockbusters performed live to screen.

Art of the Score celebrates legendary Hollywood composer James Horner while Metropolis: Sounds of Cinema explores the fascinating world of Foley – the art of creating sound effects for film. The Metropolis program includes the Australian premiere of Thomas Meadowcroft’s MSO co-commission Hollywood Parsifals Concerto for Foley Artists and Orchestra, along with film music by Australian composers Bryony Marks and David Hirschfelder. Conducted by Benjamin Northey, the concert features guest artists Slava and Leonard Grigoryan (guitar), John Simpson (Foley artist), Eugene Ughetti (percussion) and David Hirschfelder (piano).

The hugely popular MSO at the Movies concerts celebrate legendary scores with Disney’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast featuring Alan Menken’s Academy Award®-winning score, John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 and iconic titles featuring John Williams masterpieces including Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Home Alone with the MSO Chorus.

Reflecting on the scale and ambition of the 2026 program, Richard Wigley said: “Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Jaime Martín and our Programming team have created a wonderful blend of concerts that appeal to all tastes and expectations. They have truly found that magical symphonic ‘sweet spot’, creating a program that balances artistic depth with wide appeal, promising phenomenal MSO experiences throughout the year.

“We’re excited to share the 2026 Season and look forward to welcoming you for another unforgettable year,” Jaime Martín said.

Subscription packages to the MSO’s Season 2026 are available from 8pm Wednesday 13 August.

Individual concert tickets will be available from 10am Thursday 30 October.

For further information, visit mso.com.au