From inception, the AWO has understood the importance of making a contribution to musical education in schools and youth orchestras, both across the country and internationally, through a raft of outreach, mentoring and masterclass opportunities that run alongside our annual artistic program.
As Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Alexander Briger AO says: “The musicians of the Australian World Orchestra recognise that the education they received in Australia was the springboard to their own success and they are keen to give back to the community through the Australian World Orchestra’s education program.”
In crafting its offering, the AWO aims to help aspiring young musicians with prior experience to hone their skills as well as informing, educating and inspiring children who have had little to no formal musical training. The former involves mentoring and masterclasses led by the AWO’s professional players, while Outreach Programs focus on the latter by providing world-class music education opportunities to disadvantaged children from cities and across regional Australia and touring countries (such as India). In addition, the AWO Academy is convened each concert season and provides a top tier program allowing pre-professional players to benefit from professional development opportunities.
A look at the Education Program for 2018, for example, reveals a typically busy and successful year. As well as providing access to rehearsals and masterclasses players engaged with 120 music students from six different high schools in Sydney, and opportunities arose in Sydney, regional NSW and Melbourne for AWO musicians to offer the benefit of their experience to young players from the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), NSW Regional Youth Orchestra (RYO), and Melbourne Youth Orchestra (MYO). The culmination of all these activities was the opportunity for many young players to perform on stage in a side-by-side performance with AWO players to a packed audience at the Sydney Opera House.
As active abroad as it is at home, AWO musicians have led transformative education programs on tours to India in 2015 and 2018 as well as Singapore in 2016. On every occasion, students and teachers have attested to the life-long impressions left by on them by the AWO experience.