This year will be a memorable one for Australian Haydn Ensemble, not least for the success of its inaugural tour of the United States in October.

AHE’s Skye McIntosh at the Australian Embassy opening. Photo © Oliver Miller

Beginning on the West Coast with a concert in San Diego, the 18-strong ensemble under founding violinist Skye McIntosh introduced American audiences to Historically Informed Performance Aussie-style, presenting a program of music by JC Bach, Haydn and Mozart in prestigious venues such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, NYC’s Murdoch Center and the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center in Columbia, Maryland.

AHE was also invited to play at the gala opening of the new Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. during which it showcased works by Australian composers Ella Macens and Ross Edwards for an audience including Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd.

“I think there are a lot of similarities in the ‘new world’ aspects of Australia and America,” McIntosh tells Limelight. “They both start from a place of ‘freedom’ – freedom from preconceived ideas that could restrict flexible thinking about the way the music ‘should’ or...