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The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) has today announced its return to the Sydney concert hall for the first time in six months to present ‘ACO Transfigured’, a limited week-long season performed in front of a live audience. The socially distanced concerts will be performed at City Recital Hall, Sydney from 5^th to 11th September 2020.

The Orchestra will work closely with City Recital Hall to adhere to strict COVID-Safe guidelines and ensure the safety of patrons, musicians and staff. The socially-distanced season will see 400 seats available out of a venue capacity of 1,238, with additional health and safety measures in place.

Following the restrictions on mass gatherings and venue closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the ACO continued to bring their music and musicians into the homes of audiences across Australia and abroad with their first digital season ACO HomeCasts. Artistic Director Richard Tognetti retooled and found himself increasingly behind the camera, working to present an innovative and engaging digital season for audiences around the world.

For their highly anticipated return to the concert hall, Richard Tognetti will direct the ACO in a heroic and hopeful program featuring Mendelssohn’s beloved String Quartet in D major Op.44 No.1 arranged for strings, and Schoenberg’s masterpiece, Verklärte Nacht (‘Transfigured Night’), which will bring the one hour concert with no interval to an exquisite close.

In partnership with ABC Classic, the concert is slated for broadcast as a dedication to the ACO family in Victoria and an opportunity for the national orchestra to share their music with audiences around the country.

Tognetti advises “we have been waiting for this moment since March and are thrilled to be able to share our music with a live audience once again. The COVID-19 pandemic compelled us and orchestras around the world to find new ways to bring music to a world in lockdown. ACO is a national orchestra and although we are grateful that current restrictions allow us to reunite with our audience in Sydney, we will continue to develop and expand our digital offering to reach our audiences across the country and overseas, until we can begin touring again.”

ACO Managing Director, Richard Evans added “we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from our loyal subscribers during this time with close to half of our ticket holders donating the price of their tickets back to the Orchestra. This support has helped us continue making music during this difficult time, with over 44 digital performances, reaching over 2.1 million people worldwide. Now, more than ever, we are reminded how important music is in bringing people together. We hope these concerts are the beginning of an uninterrupted and long- awaited come back”

Further information can be found on the ACO and City Recital Hall websites: https://www.aco.com.au/whats-on/2020/aco-transfigured#nav-covid19-guidelines

Image credit: Prudence Upton

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