australian major performing arts group - ampag.com.au · fresh life and vitality into baroque and...
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AUSTRALIAN MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS GROUP www.ampag.com.au
Australian Major Performing Arts Group
AMPAG MEMBERS’ COMPANY PROFILES
www.ampag.com.au
May 2017
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AUSTRALIAN MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS GROUP www.ampag.com.au
NATIONAL
AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Paul
Dyer, celebrates the music of the sixteenth, seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries with excellence, flair and joy. Comprising
leading specialists from all over Australia, the Brandenburg performs
using original edition scores and instruments of the period, breathing
fresh life and vitality into baroque and classical masterpieces.
Since it began in 1989 the Brandenburg has presented scores of sold
out concerts to enthusiastic audiences all over Australia, undertaken
international tours, made 20 recordings (including 5 ARIA Award
winners for Best Classical Album in Australia), achieved consistently
excellent reviews, received the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Group
Award in 2015 and the Helpmann Award for Best Chamber Concert
in 2016.
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
At the ACO’s core is a string orchestra of leading musicians of
Australia, supported by a cohort of outstanding international guests
and a growing company of artists at the start of their careers. The
ACO’s versatility and adaptability enable it to perform repertoire from
six centuries, playing instruments from the baroque period through to
electronics, and to collaborate with an extraordinary range of artists
from many disciplines.
The ACO is Australia’s only national orchestra, presenting a
subscription series in eight major cities around the country and
reaching regional audiences in every state and territory. It
consistently receives rave reviews internationally and frequent return
invitations to perform on all of the great stages of the musical world
including Vienna’s Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw,
London’s Southbank Centre and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE
Bangarra is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and
one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, widely
acclaimed nationally and around the world for its powerful dancing,
distinctive theatrical voice and unique soundscapes, music and
design.
Led by Artistic Director Stephen Page, it is now in its 28th year (having
begun in 1989), but its dance technique is forged from over 40,000
years of culture, embodied with contemporary movement. The
company’s dancers are professionally trained, dynamic artists who
represent the pinnacle of Australian dance. Each has a proud
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, from various
locations across the country.
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Image by Justin Ridler.
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Image by Justin Ridler.
Bangarra Dance Ensemble - Nyapanyapa, OUR land
people stories – Image by Vishal Pandey
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AUSTRALIAN MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS GROUP www.ampag.com.au
BELL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY
Bell Shakespeare is Australia’s national theatre company specialising
in Shakespeare and the classics. Founded in 1990 by John Bell, one of
Australia’s most acclaimed theatre creators and directors, Bell
Shakespeare has grown to become a national company of
significance with a history rich with legends of the stage.
IIt established a creative development arm, Mind’s Eye, which ensures
artistic vibrancy, complementing its theatre, education and
community programs characterised by unrivalled national reach and
impact. Underscoring its achievements is a loyal and passionate
audience that has transformed the company which began in a circus
tent into a national icon.
Led by Artistic Director, Peter Evans, Bell Shakespeare uses universal
insights of Shakespeare and other classic writers to bring inspiration
and truth to people living in an uncertain world, enabling us to
imagine and to transform, to picture a different world, to know that it
can be one of our own making and to connect beauty and art with
imagination at all ages.
CIRCUS OZ
Circus Oz is a legendary, world-famous, globe-roving icon. Formed in
1978, the company is Australia's anarchic pioneer of contemporary
circus. From 42nd Street, New York to remote Aboriginal communities
in Arnhem Land, the company has taken its critically acclaimed self-
crafted performances to 27 countries across five continents.
With new Artistic Director Rob Tannion taking the helm in 2016, the
company sidesaults into exciting new creative territory with his visually
dynamic directorial style and choreographic eye entwined within
theme-based, narratively driven shows. The multi-talented ensemble
shares the limelight in an exuberant celebration that swings
precariously between the sublime and the ridiculous.
MUSICA VIVA
Musica Viva is the largest presenter of chamber music in the world, a
truly national company with offices in every Australian state and
territory, directly reaching approximately 360,000 people every year.
Musica Viva’s story began in 1945 as a chamber music organisation
focused on just one ensemble. Over the years it has evolved to
embrace ensemble music of all styles and genres, presenting leading
Australian and international artists to concert audiences and school
students across the country.
Today, its activities embrace digital technologies to reach an even
wider audience, and are at the forefront of artist development—
inspiring musicians and audiences alike in a shared passion for
ensemble music of quality, diversity, challenge and joy.
Bell Shakespeare - Othello
Circus Oz – Model Citizens.
Musica Viva
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OPERA AUSTRALIA
As the largest performing arts company in Australia, Opera Australia is
a leader in developing and presenting new and existing operatic and
musical works. It fosters a vibrant and sustainable cultural sector,
commissioning new work at the forefront of artistic practice
independently and in collaboration with other cultural innovators.
Opera Australia encourages the development of young and
emerging artists; fosters meaningful connections through community
engagement programs with culturally and linguistically diverse
communities; pioneers disability access programs; recognises the
value and significance of Australia's Indigenous culture; and strives for
equitable access to high calibre arts experiences for all Australians
regardless of where they may live, in our capital cities, regional
centres and remote communities nationally. Each year, Opera
Australia reaches more than half a million people, including students
across New South Wales and Victoria. It is also committed to
increasing the means for people to experience opera, through
recordings and broadcast, online, on-screen and in real-time (live
simulcast).
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
The Australian Ballet exists to inspire, delight and challenge audiences
through the power of its performances. It is one of the world’s premier
ballet companies and has delivered extraordinary performances for
over 50 years. A commitment to artistic excellence, a spirited style
and a willingness to take risks have defined the company from its
earliest days.
The company regularly represents Australia on the world stage and
has performed to critical acclaim in 87 cities worldwide including New
York, Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Paris.
The Australian Ballet presents more than 250 shows and 1,700
education and audience engagement events each year. In addition
to 80 exceptional dancers, The Australian Ballet employs master
craftspeople and leaders in injury prevention, dance education,
marketing and philanthropy as well as an orchestra of 62 musicians
(Orchestra Victoria). Moving effortlessly between the great classical
ballets and new commissions, the company has a uniquely Australian
style, powered by artistry and athleticism.
NEW SOUTH WALES
BELVOIR In 1984 more than 600 ardent theatre-lovers together with arts,
entertainment and media professionals formed a syndicate to buy the
former Nimrod Theatre building which was to become 'the city's most
exciting and beloved theatre' (Sydney Morning Herald), known today
as Belvoir. Thirty years later, under the artistic leadership of Eamon
Flack, Belvoir engages Australia's most prominent and promising
playwrights, directors, actors and designers to realise an annual
season of work that is dynamic, challenging and visionary. As well as
performing at home, Belvoir regularly takes to the road, touring both
nationally and internationally. Recent accolades include the 2015
Helpmann Award for Best Play for The Glass Menagerie and Sydney
Theatre Awards for Best Mainstage Production for Ivanov.
Opera Australia La Traviata
Belvoir Building landscape by Helen Corteze
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SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY
Sydney Dance Company is a legendary force in contemporary
dance, touring globally under the artistic direction of Helpmann
Award-winning Rafael Bonachela. It has led the way in creating a
new era in Australian contemporary dance, commissioning some of
the world’s most in- demand choreographers.
The company also runs one of the largest dance schools in Australia
with 70,000 students developing their skills with Sydney Dance
Company each year.
It also reaches over 7000 students and teachers through their nation-
wide education program that offers a strategic curriculum targeting
primary and secondary students through to career-focused study for
pre-professional dancers and university graduates.
SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra has evolved into one of the world’s finest
orchestras. Resident at the Sydney Opera House, the SSO also tours
NSW and internationally, and is one of the premier orchestras of the
Asia Pacific region. The SSO’s performances encompass masterpieces
from the classical repertoire, music by some of the finest living
composers, festival events, and collaborations with artists and
ensembles from all genres, reflecting the orchestra’s versatility and
diverse appeal.
The SSO’s first Chief Conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in
1947. He was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon,
Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdenek
Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti.
Vladimir Ashkenazy was appointed Principal Conductor in 2009, and
David Robertson took up the post of Chief Conductor in 2014.
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY
Sydney Theatre Company is Australia's largest theatre company and
the state theatre company of NSW. Recognised as one of the world’s
most exciting and original theatre companies, STC presents an annual
season of 16 productions seen by over 300,000 people across its
harbourside venues, The Wharf and Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh
Bay, and Sydney Opera House, as its resident theatre company.
STC strives to create theatre experiences that reflect Sydney’s
distinctive personality, and has a proud heritage as a creative hub
and incubator for Australian theatre and theatre-makers, developing
and producing eclectic Australian works, interpretations of classics
and great international writing. The theatre careers of many of Australia's internationally renowned
artists have been launched and fostered at STC, including Benedict
Andrews, Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Toni Collette, Judy Davis, Mel
Gibson, Richard Roxburgh, Geoffrey Rush and Hugo Weaving.
Sydney Dance Company image by Peter Grieg
Sydney Theatre Company Macbeth Photo Brett Boardman
Sydney Symphony Orchestra image by Keith Saunders
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QUEENSLAND
OPERA QUEENSLAND
Opera Queensland’s vision is of a boundless landscape of opera
experiences that explore the richness, expanse and diversity of both
the operatic art form and Queensland itself. Its mission is to reflect,
celebrate and enrich life in our communities. OperaQ serves
metropolitan Brisbane and regional/remote Queensland through the
development and presentation of opera projects that embody its
core values of excellence, community and adventure.
Three intersecting spheres of engagement are central to achieving
our goals:
• In a range of theatres and venues across metropolitan Brisbane we
present grand opera of excellence and bold creative adventures.
• We tour extensively throughout regional Queensland, creating unique
and innovative opportunities for regional artists and audiences to
experience opera.
• OperaQ’s Open Stage program creates first-rate education and
community engagement programs for all ages.
QUEENSLAND BALLET
Queensland Ballet is a vibrant, creative company connecting people
and dance. It offers a program of world-class productions of the best
classical ballets and inspired contemporary dance works. The
company engages renowned choreographers and designers from
around the world and nurtures emerging local talent by presenting
exciting new works.
With a culture of creativity and collaboration, complemented by an
active program of engagement with our communities, Queensland
Ballet has become the central hub for dance in the state. Its dancers
are acclaimed for their technical excellence and versatility, and the
company’s annual program offers diversity in style, audience focus
and geographic reach, with up to 100 performances in Brisbane and
tours.
QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
As an arts leader and great Australian orchestra, Queensland
Symphony Orchestra is renowned for its high quality performances of
both classical and modern compositions that engage audiences of
diverse musical tastes, interests and ages.
The largest performing arts company in Queensland and the state’s
only professional symphony orchestra, QSO plays a vital role in
Queensland’s cultural community, educating, mentoring aspiring
performers, touring regional centres, broadcasting, and performing
with state, national and international ballet and opera companies.
Each year QSO attracts the world’s best conductors and soloists as
part of its acclaimed concert season, in addition to presenting unique
blockbuster events. QSO is passionate about commissioning
innovative new programs and Australian works and continues to
invest in collaborations, recordings and digital initiatives.
Opera Queensland Barber of Seville 2016
Image by Stephen Henrysmalld
Queensland Ballet Credit – Dancer Laura Hidalgo,
Photo by Harold David
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QUEENSLAND THEATRE
Queensland Theatre is Australia’s third largest theatre company.
Formed in 1970 it has been creating collective experiences that
change lives. It presents an annual season of classics and
contemporary international and Australian work.
It is a Queensland leader in the presentation of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander theatre, education and youth programs, regional
engagement, touring and the development of new artists and new
stories.
VICTORIA
MALTHOUSE THEATRE
Malthouse Theatre collaborates with local and international artists to
create inventive performances that cut to the core of the human
experience.
Theatre has the power to interrogate, disrupt and to be an agent of
change—and always should. The work Malthouse Theatre produces
explores the world personally, socially and politically.
Based in a dedicated venue, The Coopers Malthouse in Melbourne,
Malthouse is a home for live experiences that entertain and provoke a
dialogue with and within audiences.
MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was established in 1906 and is
Australia’s oldest orchestra. It currently performs live to more than
250,000 people annually, in concerts ranging from subscription
performances at its home, Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, to its
annual free concerts at Melbourne’s largest outdoor venue, the
Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The orchestra also delivers innovative and
engaging education and outreach programs to audiences of all
ages.
Sir Andrew Davis gave his inaugural concerts as the MSO’s Chief
Conductor in 2013, having made his debut with the orchestra in 2009.
Highlights of his tenure have included collaborations with artists such
as Bryn Terfel, Emanuel Ax, Truls Mork and Renee Fleming, and the
orchestra’s European Tour in 2014 which included appearances at the
Edinburgh Festival, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Copenhagen’s Tivoli Concert
Hall.
Further current and future highlights with Sir Andrew Davis include a
complete cycle of the Mahler symphonies.
The MSO also works with Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey and
the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, as well as with such
eminent recent guest conductors as Thomas Ades, John Adams, Tan
Dun, Charles Dutoit, Jakub Hrůša, Mark Wigglesworth, Markus Stenz
and Simone Young.
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MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY
Melbourne Theatre Company is one of Australia’s flagship performing
arts companies and has been enriching lives through the storytelling
power of the finest theatre imaginable for over 60 years.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Brett Sheehy AO and
Executive Director Virginia Lovett, MTC produces classic and
contemporary Australian and international theatre with style, passion
and excellence to entertain, challenge and engage audiences.
ORCHESTRA VICTORIA
Orchestra Victoria inspires Victorians through great orchestral music. It
is the proud performance partner of Australia’s premier
performing arts companies—The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia,
Victorian Opera and The Production Company.
The orchestra was established in 1969 and now, in its fifth decade, it
continues to deliver performances of artistic excellence. On 1 July
2014 Orchestra Victoria became a wholly owned subsidiary of The
Australian Ballet.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
ADELAIDE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Established in 1936 the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is South
Australia’s largest performing arts organisation with a reputation which
continues to soar. Across its 80 year history, the ASO has played a
major role in Adelaide’s cultural and economic vibrancy.
Delivering diverse and colourful programming with leading
international and Australian musicians, the ASO presents more than
100 world-class performances to more than 100,000 concertgoers
each season. This extends beyond the concert halls through the
Learning program, directly reaching more than 14,000 children, the
Out of the CBD series, regular broadcasts on ABC Classic FM plus
numerous international tours and Festival performances.
STATE OPERA OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
State Opera of South Australia is renowned for its rich artistic
experiences, its staging of specialist music theatre art in Australia and
its development of highly skilled home-grown artists. Each year, the
State Opera presents at least three major operatic productions at
various venues across Adelaide as well as many smaller productions in
The Opera Studio and regionally.
The company’s vision is to be renowned nationally and internationally
as the performing arts company that keeps opera relevant and
exciting through a mix of traditional and non-traditional specialist
repertoire, including events that attract cultural tourism to South
Australia.
It presents, produces and conducts diverse operatic performances,
including many Australian premieres, which promote theatrical arts
and excite interest in the art form.
Melbourne Theatre Company Born Yesterday
State Opera of South Australia - Verdi –
Image by Darren Williams
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STATE THEATRE COMPANY SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The State Theatre Company South Australia is the state's flagship
theatre company performing an annual season of classic and
contemporary Australian and international theatre works to
audiences of about 50,000 per year at its main performance home—
the Dunstan Playhouse in the Adelaide Festival Centre.
The company is a major community and cultural resource for all South
Australians and is vital to the artistic life of the state. With a busy slate
of commissions, STCSA is committed to developing new Australian
works. It also plays an important role in the national theatre scene,
touring productions and providing employment and career
development opportunities for South Australian artists and other
theatre-workers.
TASMANIA
TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra has been at the forefront of
concert life in Tasmania for more than six decades. Established in 1948
and declared a Tasmanian Icon in 1998, the TSO gives nearly 80
concerts annually including seasons in Hobart and Launceston, and
appearances in Tasmanian regional centres. The TSO also
collaborates with other Tasmanian arts organisations, including highly
successful projects with the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).
Resident in Hobart’s purpose-built Federation Concert Hall, the TSO
has a full complement of 47 musicians. Marko Letonja is the
orchestra’s Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. For works that
require choral forces, the TSO is joined by the TSO Chorus. With
approximately 80 CDs in its catalogue, including 21 titles in the
Australian Composer Series on ABC Classics and 14 in the Romantic
Piano Concerto Series on the British label Hyperion, the TSO is known
and heard nationally and internationally.
In December 2016 and January 2017, the TSO gave a highly
successful tour of China, performing nine concerts in seven cities,
including Shanghai and Nanjing.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY
Black Swan State Theatre Company is Western Australia’s state
theatre company, committed to creating exceptional theatre that
nurtures Western Australian audiences and artists and promotes WA
artists within the state, nationally and internationally.
Since it began in 1991, Black Swan has earned both critical and
popular acclaim for its world premiere productions and highly
distinctive reinterpretations of international theatre classics—all of
which are infused with the unique culture of Western Australia.
Its strength lies in artist development, encouraging access and
engaging with the community. The company has seen enormous
growth in building audiences, building capacity and establishing a
benchmark for quality productions of scale in Western Australia. Future
areas of core strategic focus include artist development, education
and regional engagement.
State Theatre Company of South Australia -The Ham
Funeral Image by Shane Reid
Black Swan State Theatre Company Nathaniel Dean, Sigrid
Thornton. A Streetcar Named Desire.
Image by Gary Marsh
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WEST AUSTRALIAN BALLET
West Australian Ballet was formed in 1952 by Madame Kira Bousloff,
formerly a Prima Ballerina with the Ballets Russes. The company is
proud of its heritage as Australia’s longest running ballet company.
Artistic Director Aurélien Scannella’s energy and commitment
provides the driving-force for the company’s innovative work and
artistic acclaim. Based in the heritage-listed West Australian Ballet
Centre, the company offers an extensive program of dance
throughout the year including four major seasons in Perth,
international touring, regional touring throughout Western Australia,
choreographic workshops, a state-wide education program and
other community activities. Classical ballet forms the foundation of
the company’s vocabulary, combined with a distinct contemporary
outlook. WAB stages everything from full-length classical ballets and
narrative ballets to contemporary works that encompass a variety of
choreographic styles.
WEST AUSTRALIAN OPERA
The West Australia Opera is committed to the development,
presentation and promotion of opera as an essential part of Australian
cultural life. Established in 1967, the company presents operas drawn
from the mainstream operatic repertoire and increasingly is involved
in commissioning and developing new repertoire, forming new
national and international partnerships. The company offers an
annual subscription season of main stage productions as well as
programs in regional Western Australia and a strong education
program and ancillary activities, including concerts and community
events in Western Australia. It presents three operas in His Majesty’s
Theatre each year as well as an Opera in the Park to about 15 000
people in Supreme Court Gardens. In 2017 West Australian Opera
celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
WEST AUSTRALIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
West Australian Symphony Orchestra is Western Australia’s largest and
busiest performing arts organisation. With a reputation for excellence,
engagement and innovation, WASO’s resident company of full-time,
professional musicians plays a central role in creating a culturally
vibrant Western Australia. WASO’s mission is to touch souls and enrich
lives through music. Each year the orchestra entertains and inspires
the people of Western Australia through its concert performances,
regional tours, innovative education and community programs, and
its artistic partnerships with West Australian Opera and West Australian
Ballet.
The orchestra is led by Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser Asher
Fisch. The Israeli-born conductor is widely acclaimed for his command
of the Romantic German repertoire and is a frequent guest at the
world’s great opera houses. Each year the orchestra performs over
175 concerts with some of the world’s most talented conductors and
soloists to an audience or more than 190,000.
West Australian Ballet Quarry Image by Robert Johnson
Principal Conductor Asher Fisch and West Australian
Symphony Orchestra
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AUSTRALIAN MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS GROUP www.ampag.com.au
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Victoria
Australian Brandenburg
Orchestra
Queensland Ballet
Australian Chamber
Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Bangarra Dance Theatre Queensland Theatre
Bell Shakespeare State Opera South Australia
Belvoir State Theatre Company South
Australia
Black Swan State Theatre
Company
Sydney Dance Company
Circus Oz Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Malthouse Theatre Sydney Theatre Company
Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra
The Australian Ballet
Melbourne Theatre
Company
Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra
Musica Viva Australia
Western Australian Ballet
Opera Australia
Opera
Queensland
West Australian Opera
West Australian Symphony
Orchestra