An independent report has found that the Orchestra’s training programme addresses an unmet need in Australia.

An independent report has heaped praise on the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Fellowship programme. The report claims that the Fellowship programme is addressing an unmet need in the Australian orchestral sector and that 86% of alumni since the programme started in 2001 are working in symphony orchestras in Australia and around the world.

“The high employment rate of SSO Fellows in Australian orchestras indicates that the programme is contributing significantly to the orchestral music sector’s succession pool,” stated the report by BYP Group, the Sydney-based specialist impact evaluation consultants who were commissioned by the SSO. “Without the SSO Fellowship programme, it is questionable whether there would be the same number of high quality musicians available to work in Australia’s symphony orchestras. This is because there are no other programmes in Australia that so specifically and comprehensively meet the needs of orchestral playing.”

^{The Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2016 Fellows, photo © Robert Catto}

“I was really pleased to hear the results,” Fellowship Artistic Director and SSO Principal Viola Roger Benedict told Limelight. “It validates what we think we’re...