Australian World Orchestra

Audacious, exhilarating and with limitless vision, the Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is Australia’s true national orchestra, and is firmly established as an Australian global representative for classical music.

The AWO brings together Australia’s fine classical musicians, from the world’s great orchestras and ensembles, to create a uniquely electrifying musical experience. Founded in 2010 by Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Alexander Briger AO, each year the Orchestra presents dazzling performances, led by world-renowned conductors such as Maestro Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle and Riccardo Muti.

Comprising 250 players drawn from over 50 of the world’s finest orchestras and ensembles, the AWO’s leading musicians hail from prestigious ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, and, Australia’s great orchestras.

The plush, award-winning sound of the Orchestra has cemented the AWO’s reputation as charismatic, inspiring, and uniquely different, winning awards and stunning audiences as the AWO has toured Australia, India, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Committed to producing new and exciting classical music, the AWO commissioned Australian composers Brett Dean, Elena Kats-Chernin AO and Paul Dean to create exceptional pieces of music in 2015, 2016 and 2021, respectively. This led to the orchestration of Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées written for Magdalena Kožená, The Witching Hour; the first concerto for eight double-basses, and Black Summer.

Alongside fine music making, the AWO also believes in nurturing classical music excellence through the next generation and education programs. The Orchestra’s world-class players engage with and foster the talents of young Australian classical musicians to help them realise their ambition to one day be a part of the AWO.