When the Sydney Youth Orchestra launches into Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 at White Bay Power Station on 6 December, it won’t just be performing one of the most challenging works in the orchestral repertoire – it will be making a statement about the future of Australian music.

Conducted by Stanley Dodds, the 7th – also known as Lied der Nacht (Song of the Night) – marks the culmination of SYO’s 2025 season and, Dodds tells Limelight, the symphony’s vast emotional and technical range makes it a fitting finale.

“It’s an exploration of night and day, of shadow and light, of the human experience in all its complexity,” Dodds says. “For young musicians, it’s a test and an awakening. You come out the other side changed.”

Stanley Dodds. Portrait supplied

Composed between 1904 and 1905, Mahler’s Seventh remains one of his least performed symphonies. Its five movements chart a journey from twilight to blinding day – a nocturnal odyssey that begins in darkness and ends in radiant triumph.

Dodds explains: “Mahler admitted that the work mirrors the structure of...