The Australian Chamber Orchestra
is 17 musicians who live and breathe music. Led by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the ACO makes waves around the world for explosive performances, adventurous cross-artform collaborations and dynamic programs that embrace celebrated classics alongside new music and commissions.

Founded by cellist John Painter in November 1975, the ACO has travelled a remarkable road to become one of Australia’s most dynamic performing arts organisations.

Since taking up the leadership of the ACO in 1990, Artistic Director Richard Tognetti has transformed the Orchestra into a major cultural export, performing over 100 times per year in concert halls around Australia and the world. Whether performing in Manhattan, New York, or Wollongong, NSW, the ACO’s commitment to creating transformative musical experiences is unwavering.

In 2007, ACO Principal Violin Helena Rathbone opened a new ACO chapter with the creation of ACO Collective, then known as ACO2. Made up of ACO musicians mentoring some of Australia’s best young string players, ACO Collective was founded to increase access to world class music for Australians living outside metro hubs, while supporting the development of the next generation of string musicians.

Both the ACO and ACO Collective regularly collaborate with international guests and artists who share their ideology, and maintain an intense schedule of rehearsal, touring and performance throughout the year.

In addition to this busy schedule, the ACO regularly record and release music across CD, vinyl and digital formats. Recent releases include Water | Night Music, the first Australian-produced classical vinyl for two decades, Heroines, recorded with Australian soprano Nicole Car, and the soundtrack to the Orchestra’s acclaimed cinematic collaboration Mountain.

Richard Tognetti
is Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.

After studying in Australia with William Primrose and Alice Waten, and overseas at the Bern Conservatory with Igor Ozim, Richard was appointed the ACO’s Artistic Director and Lead Violin in 1990. He performs on period, modern and electric instruments and has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras as director or soloist. In 2016 Richard was appointed the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court and he was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015.

Richard’s arrangements, compositions and transcriptions have expanded the chamber orchestra repertoire and been performed throughout the world. He curated and co-composed the scores for the ACO’s documentary films Musica Surfica, The Glide, The Reef, and The Crowd & I, and co-composed the scores for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Tom Carroll’s film Storm Surfers. Richard collaborated with director Jennifer Peedom and Stranger Than Fiction to create the award-winning films Mountain and River, the former of which went on to become the highest-grossing homegrown documentary in Australian cinemas and the latter which won Best Soundtrack at the ARIA, AACTA and APRA awards.

Richard is the recipient of six ARIA awards, including three consecutive wins for his recordings of Bach’s violin works. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010, holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. In 2017 was awarded the JC Williamson Award for longstanding service to the live performance industry.