Page 3283 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Community Services, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Women and Minister for Gaming and Racing) (10.03): In Canberra we are indeed fortunate to have a great number of top-quality institutions, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra is certainly one of them. Established in the 1950s, the CSO is indeed an organisation of which all Canberrans can be proud.
In the last five years, the orchestra has particularly enjoyed a period of extraordinary artistic and audience growth and has established itself as one of the most successful orchestras in the nation. It now attracts tens of thousands of audience members each year. In addition to a rich program of exciting performances, the orchestra also engages deeper into the broader community through its outreach and education programs—the noteworthy program, for example. Since 2007, the CSO has reached over 35,000 young people in Canberra through its noteworthy program. The noteworthy program is supported with government funding of $210,000 over three years and a sponsorship from the Macquarie Group Foundation which will total $63,000 in 2012.
The program delivers concerts developed by the CSO to engage with the imagination and curiosity of children in preschools, primary schools and secondary schools across the territory. These concerts involved over 10,000 students from 57 schools in the ACT last year and were held at the Llewellyn Hall at no cost, ensuring that our orchestra reaches into our schools.
In 2013, the CSO will be vitally engaged in celebrating the identity of Canberra as it reaches its 100th birthday. As the pinnacle of the centenary program, we will hear the world premiere of a new centenary symphony which is a new, commissioned work by the Australian composer Andrew Schultz, who promises a stirring choral and orchestral tribute performed by the CSO and the local centenary choir. It is fitting that the CSO be featured in this high-profile event, and its players will be the focus of national attention as we come together as a city proud of our artistic achievements.
CSO will be part of broader programs as part of the centenary celebrations, including a noteworthy centenary symphony concert. This concert will provide a unique opportunity for aspiring young instrumentalists who, following a week of rehearsals under the expert guidance of noteworthy conductor, Warwick Potter, will be joined by members of the CSO to present a full concert, including a movement from Andrew Schultz’s centenary symphony.
The ACT government recognises the important contribution of the orchestra to the ACT and fully supports the orchestra in its endeavours and aspirations. This is why the ACT government provides considerable funding to the CSO.
The ACT government provides the CSO with $297,000 per year from the ACT arts fund for its core costs, $100,000 per year from the ACT government’s ANU community outreach program for the cost of hiring Llewellyn Hall and $66,000 per year for the noteworthy program. This is complemented by $31,000 per year from ActewAGL. The ACT government also provides $1.4 million per year to the ANU to
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