MEDIA RELEASE: Orchestra Victoria announces 2026 Season, One Season, Many Stories (EMBARGOED UNTIL Thursday 6 November 2025)

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MEDIA RELEASE

EMBARGOED UNTIL Thursday, 6 November 2025

Orchestra Victoria announces 2026 Season, One Season, Many Stories

A group of people sitting and singing AI-generated content may be incorrect.

A vibrant year of symphonic masterworks, bold collaborations, and community connection across Victoria

Orchestra Victoria today unveiled its 2026 season, One Season, Many Stories, a celebration of music’s power to connect and transform. The season brings together symphonic masterworks, bold collaborations, and community experiences that reflect the many ways music shapes our shared stories. 

Anchored by the acclaimed Southbank Series at Hanson Dyer Hall, the season expands Orchestra Victoria’s popular Meet @ the Market concerts in North Melbourne, embarks on a new era of regional touring, and features special collaborations with leading artists across music, theatre, and contemporary culture.

CEO Jacinta Ewers said the season reflects Orchestra Victoria’s commitment to creativity, connection, and storytelling through music.

What sets Orchestra Victoria apart is the impact of our musicians, their ability to bring powerful stories across artforms to life through music. Whether your passion is ballet, opera, a Friday night concert, or the magic of video game music, Season 2026 offers something that will speak to everyone.

Artistic Advisor Jessica Gethin said the new season captures the spirit of exploration and collaboration that defines Orchestra Victoria’s work.

Season 2026 is about who we are as artists, collaborators, and a community. Each program offers something daring, unique, and unforgettable.

At the heart of the season are programs that trace musical and emotional journeys, celebrating legacy, imagination, and renewal.

Season Highlights

The Southbank Series
Presented at Hanson Dyer Hall at the University of Melbourne, this flagship series showcases the breadth of Orchestra Victoria’s artistry across three concerts that trace powerful musical journeys. Celestial Threads explores legacy and imagination through Holst’s The Planets and new discoveries by Imogen Holst and John Psathas. In Full Flight brings together voices across centuries in music by Stravinsky, Nielsen, Stanhope, and Beethoven. Worlds Within closes the series with reflection and renewal in works by Strauss, Mazzoli, and Mendelssohn, capturing the emotional depth and expressive range of Orchestra Victoria’s musicians.

  • Celestial Threads – Saturday 11 April 2026, 7:30pm
    Alice Farnham conducts Imogen Holst’s Suite for Strings, John Psathas’ Djinn: Marimba Concerto featuring Orchestra Victoria’s Section Principal Percussionist Mathew Levy, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets in George Morton’s sensitively crafted chamber-orchestra arrangement, which preserves the work’s breadth and vivid colour while revealing its contrapuntal brilliance and harmonic daring with striking intimacy.

  • In Full Flight – Saturday 5 September 2026, 7:30pm
    Umberto Clerici leads Stravinsky’s Dances Concertantes, Paul Stanhope’s Apollo, Beethoven’s First Symphony, and Nielsen’s Flute Concerto with Orchestra Victoria’s Section Principal Flute Lisa-Maree Amos.

  • Worlds Within – Saturday 5 December 2026, 7:30pm
    Eivind Aadland conducts a profound program of introspection and transformation that places Orchestra Victoria’s renowned string section at the heart of the performance. The program features Strauss’s moving Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings, Missy Mazzoli’s These Worlds in Us, and Mendelssohn’s vivacious Scottish Symphony, highlighting the ensemble’s warmth, unity, and expressive power.


Beyond the concert hall, Season 2026 also invites audiences to connect more closely with the music and musicians who create it.


Meet @ the Market
The night before each Southbank concert, Orchestra Victoria transforms North Melbourne’s Meat Market into a lively hub where music, conversation, and community come together. These one-hour deep dives are hosted by ABC Classic’s Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe and offer audiences a relaxed and intimate way to explore the season’s programs. Enjoy a drink, hear curated excerpts from the Southbank Series, and meet the musicians who bring each work to life.

  • Session 1: Friday 10 April – Alice Farnham with Mathew Levy

  • Session 2: Friday 4 September – Umberto Clerici with Lisa-Maree Amos

  • Session 3: Friday 4 December – Eivind Aadland 


Regional Touring and Outreach
Continuing its vibrant tradition of regional touring, Orchestra Victoria begins a new chapter in April with Celestial Threads at Warrnambool’s Lighthouse Theatre on Friday, 17 April 2026 at 7.30 pm. Led by Alice Farnham, this luminous program invites audiences on a journey through legacy, imagination, and discovery, complemented by dedicated community engagement events that extend the experience beyond the stage.

Alongside the main concert, Orchestra Victoria will deliver a suite of programs that connect people of all ages with the joy of live music, including Musical Storytime sessions introducing children to the magic of live music, and Orchestra Victoria Connect performances in aged-care communities, bringing music to audiences who are often unable to attend concerts in person.

Special Collaborations

Collaboration lies at the heart of Orchestra Victoria’s identity, and 2026 features a series of creative partnerships that bring together artists from across music, theatre, and spoken word. Each reflects the shared creativity at the heart of Orchestra Victoria’s work and the joy of connection through performance.


Highlights include:

  • Across Silence (Saturday August 8). Across Silence unites The Newmarket Collective and poet Walter Kadiki in a moving fusion of music and spoken word composed by Melbourne’s own Andrea Keller, that explores expression and connection through sound and language.

  • Caroline O’Connor: Music & Memories (Monday 20 July 2026, 11:00am, Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne). Orchestra Victoria partners with one of Australia’s most beloved stage and screen stars for a sparkling Morning Melodies program of music and stories from her extraordinary career.

Booking Information

Tickets and subscription packages for Season 2026 will be available from Wednesday, 6 November.

For full program details and to book: visit www.orchestravictoria.com.au or call (03) 9694 3600.

Be the first to secure the best seats. Subscribe early to enjoy priority access, savings, and flexibility.

About Orchestra Victoria

Orchestra Victoria is a transformative ensemble committed to bringing stories to life across ballet, opera, concert repertoire, musical theatre, film and video games. Built on a foundation of artistic collaboration since 1969, Orchestra Victoria is a dedicated partner of The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera.

This deep-rooted spirit of shared knowledge and talent ensures our musicians are finely attuned to the drama inherent in every score and the ever-changing energy of a performance. Whether responding to a dancer’s elevation or a singer’s subtle shift in tone, our musicians move and play as one sound. This heightened awareness and openness to moment-by-moment inspiration make our concerts truly special.

MEDIA RESOURCES

Talent Available for Interview

  • Jessica Gethin – Artistic Advisor, Orchestra Victoria (Artistic leader of the 2026 season)

  • Mathew Levy – Section Principal Percussion (Soloist: Psathas Djinn Marimba Concerto)

  • Lisa-Maree Amos – Section Principal Flute (Soloist: Nielsen Flute Concerto)
    Sulki Yu – Concertmaster, Orchestra Victoria

  • Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe – Host, Meet @ the Market series

Further spokespeople are available, and Orchestra Victoria is happy to workshop tailored angles for specific outlets

Season Trailer

Review the season trailer for tone, look, and messaging focus:

https://vimeo.com/artscentremelb/review/1125727957/22c34a2ce8

Password: ov26

LINK TO SOLOIST, CONDUCTOR AND SEASON 2026 HERO IMAGES HERE.

Media Contact: Samuel Cairnduff
RESONATE Communications
samuel.j.cairnduff@gmail.com | +61 (0) 401 396 755

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