MSO November & December 2025 What’s On

What’s On
November & December 2025
Season 2025 draws to a close with a dazzling line-up of artists and concerts

Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala: Joyce DiDonato & Jaime Martín
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon. William Barton
Dvořák. Handel. Joe Hisaishi. Billy Joel.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Classic Kids: A Symphonic Christmas
MSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Jaime Martín’s Season 2025 culminates in two spectacular concerts featuring the Australian debut of Multi-Grammy Award-winning opera singer, Joyce DiDonato (USA) at the Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala, and the Australian premiere of Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Treaty, featuring yidaki (didgeridoo) virtuoso William Barton.

The MSO pays homage to Japan’s great Maestro with The Music of Joe Hisaishi and celebrates the music of Billy Joel in Piano Man. December’s festive entertainment includes a family-friendly live to film performance of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Classic Kids: A Symphonic Christmas, and the uplifting annual celebration of Handel’s magnificent Messiah.

November

The Music of Joe Hisaishi presented by Art of the Score
Thursday 06, Friday 07 & Saturday 08 November 7.30pm at Hamer Hall – Final tickets
Saturday 08 November 1.00pm at Hamer Hall – New performance added!

From Studio Ghibli classics My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away to more than 100 works for the screen and concert hall, Joe Hisaishi is one of the most prolific and beloved composers worldwide. Art of the Score podcasters Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding, special guest pianist Aura Go and conductor Nicholas Buc, return to Hamer Hall to guide you through the musical world of Hisaishi in a love letter to Japan’s great Maestro. Limelight magazine awarded five stars to the performance with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, calling it “A resoundingly successful concert (that) shows us how Joe Hisaishi’s music touches the hearts of movie fans worldwide”.

The Voice of the Viola: Fiona Sargeant
Friday 07 November 7.30pm at The Round, Nunawading
Saturday 08 November 7.30pm at Melbourne Recital Centre

The sonorous sounds of the viola anchor both works in this program featuring MSO viola player Fiona Sargeant, conducted by 2025 Cybec Assistant Conductor Leonard Weiss. The concert opens with Hindemith’s concerto Der Schwanendreher, based on German folk song, which portrays a travelling medieval musician. With no violins in the orchestration, Brahms’ Second Serenade showcases the rich sounds of the lower voices of the orchestra in an intimate setting.

Piano Man: Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel
Friday 14 & Saturday 15 November 7.30pm at Hamer Hall – Selling fast
Saturday 15 November 1.00pm at Hamer Hall – Selling fast

Under the baton of Leonard Weiss, the MSO will celebrate Billy Joel in Piano Man. Starring vocalists Phil Burton (Human Nature), Alinta Chidzey, Jess Hitchcock and Josh Piterman, Piano Man features orchestral arrangements by Nicholas Buc covering Joel’s greatest hits including Just the Way You Are, She’s Always a Woman, New York State of Mind, Only the Good Die Young, Vienna, and of course, Piano Man. This ‘five- star’ concert is ‘a must-see event for music lovers” (On Your Markus) and “a reminder of the enduring power of music and the magic that happens when a world-class orchestra meets timeless songwriting.

2025 Academy End Year Showcase
Sunday 16 November 11.00am at Iwaki Auditorium
The end of year showcase for the 2025 Academy cohort features an eclectic program flowing from the Romantic to Latin-inspired to contemporary works for brass. MSO Principal Trombone, José Milton Vieira curated the program to highlight the unique combination of artists and instruments of the Academy. Join brilliant young musicians Joolee Kim (flute), Joel Walmsley (trumpet), Michael Lo (trombone) and Joshua Jones (cello) as they celebrate the end of their Academy year, performing a stunning program of chamber music alongside friends from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).

Joyce DiDonato

Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala: Joyce DiDonato
Thursday 20 & Saturday 22 November 7.30pm at Hamer Hall
The Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala brings together the MSO under conductor Jaime Martín, and celebrated US Soprano Joyce DiDonato making her Australian debut. One of the finest singers of our time, DiDonato has achieved international prominence appearing on the world’s major opera stages. Her performances have entranced audiences across the globe, and she has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” by The New Yorker, with a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” according to The Times. The Multi-Grammy Award winner received the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 2018.

Di Donato joins the MSO for a special gala performance of Berlioz’s song cycle full of love, loss and longing. Two sonically spectacular tone poems by Respighi that portray vivid scenes of Rome – Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome, and Rossini’s crowd-pleasing William Tell Overture complete this captivating concert.

MSO Mornings: Respighi’s Rome
Friday 21 November 11.00am at Hamer Hall

Jaime Martín conducts the MSO for a morning of love, loss and longing. Respighi’s majestic symphonic poems vividly depict the landscapes and landmarks of Rome, from the Trevi Fountain – Fountains of Rome – to the pine tree-lined Appian Way – Pines of Rome. These evergreen works established Respighi as a leading Italian composer and remain some of the most popular works of the 20th century.

New Worlds: Jaime conducts Cheetham Fraillon and Dvořák
Thursday 27 November 7.30pm at Hamer Hall
Friday 28 November 7.30pm at Costa Hall, Geelong
Saturday 29 November 2.00pm at Hamer Hall

In a stunning cultural collaboration, Jaime Martín conducts New Worlds, featuring the Australian premiere of Treaty – a new commission by First Nations Creative Chair, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, featuring the extraordinary yidaki (didgeridoo) virtuoso William Barton. Martín pursues his love of Dvořák with a performance of the Czech composers’ Symphony No.9 From the New World, celebrated for its soulful melodies inspired by African American spirituals.

DECEMBER

Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas Live in Concert
Friday 05 & Saturday 06 December 7.30pm at Hamer Hall
Saturday 06 December 1.00pm at Hamer Hall

Discover the Magic of the Mean One this holiday season. The 2000 film Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey, is a celebration of the holiday spirit no holiday period should be without! Why is the Grinch such a grouch? No one seems to know, until little Cindy Lou Who takes matters into her own hands and turns both Whoville and the Grinch’s world upside down, inside out and funny side up in her search for the true meaning of Christmas. Join us this holiday season as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Weiss, performs James Horner’s beloved score, live to picture.

Classic Kids: A Symphonic Christmas
Saturday 13 December 10:30am at Hamer Hall – Selling fast
Saturday 13 December 12:30pm at Hamer Hall – Relaxed performance

Young music lovers are in for a magical Christmas treat with Classic Kids: A Symphonic Christmas featuring a family-friendly program of traditional carols, modern holiday favourites and classically Christmas selections. Multi-talented singer-songwriter Jess Hitchcock will host the concerts conducted by MSO Principal Conductor, Benjamin Northey.

Handel’s Messiah
Saturday 13 December 7.00pm at Hamer Hall
Sunday 14 December 5.00pm at Hamer Hall

From the exquisite ‘Comfort Ye’ to the majestic ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, Handel’s Messiah never fails to inspire. Whether it’s your first time experiencing this glorious choral celebration or a yearly tradition, this concert will spark joy and wonder as you enter the Christmas season. Swedish-born Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, Sofi Jeannin has established herself as one of the finest and most respected choral specialists around today. She makes her MSO debut, conducting the Orchestra with the MSO Chorus, directed by Warren Trevelyan-Jones, and guest vocalists Samantha Clarke (soprano), Ashlyn Tymms (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Goodwin (tenor) and Morgan Pearse (baritone).