Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) has unveiled a 2026 program that melds symphonic tradition with an embrace of new voices, regional audiences and contemporary cultural touchstones.

Bearing the tagline Feel Every Note, the season ranges from Mahler and Tchaikovsky to movie and video-game scores, alongside Australian commissions and tours to towns across the state.

Emily Granger. Photo © David Kelly

The season opens with QSO Favourites in February, a program shaped by audience votes including Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. The 2026 Maestro Series opens with Mahler’s Fifth on March 21 and 22, the first of 10 QSO concerts in in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Concert Hall. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, a work that moves from a stark funeral march to the rapturous Adagietto, is famously dedicated to his wife Alma. Clerici has programmed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, played by international guest Sergej Krylov, as its partner piece.

Closing the Maestro Series on 27, 28 November, the orchestra will take on Tchaikovsky’s vast and turbulent Manfred symphony under Clerici’s baton, Richard...