Celebrating its 50th year in 2023, Sydney Youth Orchestras (SYO) has announced the appointment of Stanley Dodds as its new Chief Conductor.

Known for his commitment to nurturing young musicians, Dodds’ CV is formidable. Currently the Principal Conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, he was also a violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic for nearly three decades – the orchestra’s first musician of Chinese heritage. He was also involved in various orchestra committees, served as its media director, was a founding member of the Breuninger Quartet and played with Philharmonic Stradivari Soloists until 2015.

Stanley Dodds. Photo © Peter Rigaud.

As a conductor Dodds trained with Jorma Panula. Making principal conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra in 2014, he has also conducted several youth and amateur orchestras and regularly conducts the Karajan Akademie and other ensembles with Berlin Philharmonic members.

When the Berlin Philharmonic cancelled live performances during the global COVID pandemic, Dodds created and produced The Berlin Phil Series, an 11-episode series of weekly online concerts for the Digital Concert Hall, where members of the orchestra played and presented thematically conceived programs, complemented with selections from the Digital...