The ACO Artistic Director honoured by the Helpmann Awards for longstanding service to the live performing industry.

Violinist and Australian Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director Richard Tognetti has been announced as the recipient of the 2017 JC Williamson Award. The announcement was made at an orchestra rehearsal at the ACO’s headquarters on Circular Quay. The Award will be presented to Tognetti at the 2017 Helpmann Awards Ceremony on July 24 at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre.

“The JC Williamson Award is presented in recognition of a longstanding contribution to the live performance industry and is bestowed on an individual who has made a truly outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia’s live performance culture and shaped the future of the industry for the better,” President of Live Performance Australia Andrew Kay said in a statement. “As the esteemed Artistic Director of Australian Chamber Orchestra for the past 27 years and an award-winning violinist, Richard exemplifies the spirit of this Award.”

^{Richard Tognetti, JC Williamson Helpmann Award Winner. Photo © Chris Pavlich}

The prestigious JC Williamson Award – named for entrepreneurial actor and theatre manager James Cassius Williamson – was...