{"id":292042,"date":"2025-11-18T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T07:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/292042\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T07:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T07:00:26","slug":"the-australian-music-groups-celebrating-major-milestone-anniversaries-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/292042\/","title":{"rendered":"The Australian music groups celebrating major milestone anniversaries in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 is a big year for the Australian music world. Several music groups and organisations are celebrating major milestone anniversaries.<\/p>\n

These groups have provided opportunities for hundreds of musicians and countless hours of enjoyment for music lovers.<\/p>\n

Live concerts on ABC Classic<\/a><\/p>\n

Take your front row seat for amazing concerts from Australia and around the world, every day on ABC Classic. From symphony orchestras to intimate recitals, choirs to opera, enjoy concerts to suit any mood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musica Viva, an organisation which promotes chamber music in concert halls and schools, is turning 80 in 2025, while Ensemble Offspring, a group which champions new music, is celebrating its 30th year.<\/p>\n

“To see these ensembles and organisations reach these milestones is a great reminder that Australia doesn’t just host world-class music, we create it,” says Alice Keath, presenter of ABC Classic’s What’s On<\/a>, a guide to Australia’s best classical concerts and live performances.<\/p>\n

“Our musical and cultural life is enriched by the creativity, commitment and excellence of these groups.”<\/p>\n

Keath is an alumna of Adelaide Chamber Singers, which is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n

“It’s an experience which has shaped me both personally and musically,” Keath says.<\/p>\n

Musica Viva: 80 years\"Musica<\/p>\n

Musica Viva founder Richard Goldner (second from the right) performing in a concert in 1945. (Supplied: Musica Viva)<\/p>\n

In 1945, European violinist Richard Goldner recruited a group of refugees from the Second World War to perform a concert at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.<\/p>\n

When the power blacked out, the doors to the hall were opened and the concert was illuminated by car headlights, an Army generator and hurricane lamps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The success of the concert inspired Goldner to form Musica Viva.<\/p>\n

Even if you’re not a regular concert-goer, chances are you’ve interacted with Musica Viva at some point in your life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Wyniss<\/p>\n

Musica Viva’s program brings chamber music groups to perform in schools all over Australia. (Supplied: Musica Viva)<\/p>\n

It has an incredible program taking music into schools, so if you or your kids have had a music group perform in their school, it may well have been from Musica Viva.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organisation also hosts a range of concerts by amazing chamber musicians from Australia and around the world.<\/p>\n

Sydney Chamber Choir: 50 years\"A<\/p>\n

Sydney Chamber Choir focuses on performing music from history as well as new pieces by living composers. (Supplied: Sydney Chamber Choir)<\/p>\n

1975 was the year a small group of students at the University of Sydney formed an a cappella group led by their teacher, Nicholas Routley.<\/p>\n

The group initially focused on performing renaissance choral music, but soon specialised in music by Australian composers including Ross Edwards, Martin Wesley-Smith and Clare Maclean.<\/p>\n

You might remember the choir taking part in the performance of Ross Edwards’s Dawn Mantras as the sun rose over the sails of the Sydney Opera House on the new year of 2000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The music was telecast live to an estimated audience of two billion people.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Sydney Chamber Choir celebrated its 50th year by commissioning new music by Australian composers. (Sydney Chamber Choir: Robert Catto)<\/p>\n

In its 50th year, the choir still regularly commissions new Australian music, alongside performing music by historical choral composers including Gabriel Faur\u00e9, Josquin Des Pres and J.S. Bach.<\/p>\n

Australian Chamber Orchestra: 50 years\"A<\/p>\n

In history, a chamber orchestra, like the ACO, would play in people’s living rooms. (Supplied: Australian Chamber Orchestra)<\/p>\n

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by the late cellist John Painter AM.<\/p>\n

The ensemble made its sold out debut performance at the newly-opened Sydney Opera House Concert Hall in 1975.<\/p>\n

ACO’s current artistic director, violinist Richard Tognetti, is one of Painter’s students.<\/p>\n

Renowned for its world-class musicianship, the ACO regularly plays on classical music’s most beautiful stages in the UK, Europe and the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The orchestra also leads the way in cross-genre collaborations, including with pop composers like Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, The National’s Bryce Dessner and singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The ACO is renowned for its fine musicianship and bold cross-genre collaborations. (Australian Chamber Orchestra: Nic Walker)<\/p>\n

The ACO has been frequently nominated for GRAMMY and ARIA awards for its recordings.<\/p>\n

Australian Music Centre: 50 years\"A<\/p>\n

The Australian Music Centre holds a special place in the hearts of many musicians. (Supplied: Australian Music Centre)<\/p>\n

In 1975, the Australian Music Centre formally opened its doors. The organisation represents, advocates for, promotes and supports Australian composers.<\/p>\n

The Australian Music Centre is also a co-presenter of several music industry awards in Australia, namely the Art Music Awards and Screen Music Awards.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

50 years on, the Australian Music Centre still supports musicians to deepen their craft.\u00a0 (Supplied: Australian Music Centre)<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for music by Australian composers, the organisation has a repository of scores, recordings, research papers and educational resources by Australian artists, many of which have been digitised over the years.<\/p>\n

Adelaide Chamber Singers: 40 years\"A<\/p>\n

The Adelaide Chamber Singers is renowned for its crystal-clear sound and virtuosic ability. (Supplied: Adelaide Chamber Singers)<\/p>\n

The Adelaide Chamber Singers, renowned for its crystal-clear sound and virtuosic ability, first got together 40 years ago in 1985.<\/p>\n

The choir has collaborated with a wide range of artists including the Hilltop Hoods, The Rolling Stones, VOCES8 and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2025 the choir received recognition at the Art Music Awards for sustained contribution to commissioning and artistic excellence, with their commission of Anne Cawrse’s ‘All Flesh Is Fire’ named as the winner of the work of the year in choral music.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Adelaide Chamber Singers regularly performs in the city’s world-famous festival. (Supplied: Adelaide Chamber Singers)<\/p>\n

The choir frequently appears at the world-famous Adelaide festivals and you can usually catch them performing in some of the beautiful churches Adelaide is known for.<\/p>\n

Australian String Quartet: 40 years\"The<\/p>\n

The original members of the Australian String Quartet on tour in Alice Springs in the 1980s. (Supplied: Australian String Quartet)<\/p>\n

Another Adelaide-based group which started in 1985 is The Australian String Quartet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over 40 years, the quartet has grown to become one of the longest-running and most well-known string quartets in Australia.<\/p>\n

The group frequently goes on national and international tours, appearing in venues as far-reaching as the Margaret River in Western Australia and the Netherland’s String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, championing new music by Australian composers alongside well-loved music from history.<\/p>\n

In 2025, it won several prestigious awards for its collaborations with notable Australian musicians including Dr Lou Bennett AM, Paul Stanhope and Sydney Chamber Opera.<\/p>\n

Members across the years have included some favourite Australian musicians like violist Stephen King and cellist Sharon Grigoryan.<\/p>\n

\"Today's<\/p>\n

Current members of the Australian String Quartet play a matched set of Guadagnini string instruments. (Australian String Quartet: Laura Manariti)<\/p>\n

The current line-up features Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew on violin, Chris Cartlidge on viola and Michael Dahlenburg on cello.<\/p>\n

They play a matched set of string instruments by famed Italian luthier Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.<\/p>\n

Worth millions of dollars combined, the instruments are loaned for the quartet’s use by the UKARIA Cultural Centre, an organisation based in the Adelaide Hills.<\/p>\n

Ensemble Offspring: 30 years\"Ensemble<\/p>\n

Ensemble Offspring has a distinct sound and repertoire which makes it unique in the Australian music landscape. (Supplied: Ensemble Offspring)<\/p>\n

Formed in 1995, Ensemble Offspring is particularly respected for its commitment to presenting music by living composers, gaining a reputation as Australia’s leading contemporary music ensemble.<\/p>\n

Members of the ensemble comprise a core group of instrumentalists, some of whom have been playing with the group for 30 years.<\/p>\n

The group has an extensive history of commissioning new music and artist development programs, regularly premiering music by women, First Nations composers, and emerging composers.<\/p>\n

\"Ensemble<\/p>\n

Ensemble Offspring works with women, First Nations and emerging composers, recording their music and performing them live. (Ensemble Offspring: Oliver Miller)<\/p>\n

You might recognise the ensemble’s distinctive sound from the Women Of Note album series, the Ngarra-Burria First Peoples composers program and through its numerous live performances in Sydney and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Get the latest classical music stories direct to your inbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 is a big year for the Australian music world. Several music groups and organisations are celebrating major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[167981,167984,22955,64,63,167982,20994,167988,167987,6210,9472,167979,4946,167980,167986,134,167983,93238,167985],"class_list":["post-292042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-aco","tag-adelaide-chamber-singers","tag-anniversary","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-chamber-orchestra","tag-australian-music","tag-australian-music-centre","tag-australian-string-quartet","tag-choir","tag-classicreads","tag-composers","tag-concert","tag-ensemble","tag-ensemble-offspring","tag-entertainment","tag-musica-viva","tag-orchestra","tag-sydney-chamber-choir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}