The Australian World Orchestra was established in 2011 by Australian conductor
Alexander Briger and his sister, film maker
Gabrielle Thompson. The inaugural patron of the orchestra was Sir
Charles Mackerras, Briger and Thompson's uncle. The first concert in 2011, which was conducted by Briger, performed sold out in concerts in
Sydney and
Melbourne. The AWO also sold out in 2013 and 2015. Maestro
Zubin Mehta conducted the orchestra in 2013, and returned to conduct again in 2015 when the AWO performed in three cities in
India, with soprano
Greta Bradman as guest soloist. Mehta is to return in 2022 to conduct the AWO in a performance of Strauss' works in Sydney and Melbourne. In 2015 the AWO brought Sir
Simon Rattle to Australia to conduct the orchestra in concerts in Sydney and Melbourne with special guest mezzo-soprano
Magdalena Kožená. Rattle has described the AWO as an "international treasure". In 2016 Briger premiered the AWO's 5th anniversary commission by Australian composer
Elena Kats-Chernin The Witching Hour, A Concerto for Eight Double Basses at the Sydney Opera House and the
Esplanade in
Singapore. In 2017
Simone Young conducted the AWO in a side-by-side performance of
Messiaen's
Turangalîla-Symphonie with the
Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) at Arts Centre Melbourne and the AWO Chamber 8 completed their first Australian tour performing at
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC),
City Recital Hall Sydney,
Melbourne Recital Centre and,
Perth Concert Hall. In 2018
Riccardo Muti conducted the AWO for performances at the
Sydney Opera House and
Arts Centre Melbourne, and invited the orchestra to tour his home country of Italy. Later in 2018 the AWO toured India, performing in
Chennai as the opening act of the Australian Government's 6 month festival of Australian Culture "OzFest" and additional concerts in
Kochi (Kerala) and
Mumbai under the baton of Briger and with guest soloists French mezzo-soprano Caroline Meng and the Australian born and educated Daniel Dodds, Artistic Director of the
Lucerne Festival Strings. In 2019
Alexander Briger conducted the AWO for performances at Arts Centre Melbourne and for the orchestra's first performance in
Canberra at
Llewellyn Hall. The AWO Chamber Six performed at
City Recital Hall, Sydney. The AWO commissioned Australian composer and clarinetist
Paul Dean to compose his Symphony No.1
Black Summer to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2021. Briger premiered the piece in 2021 in concerts at the Llewellyn Hall in Canberra, and City Recital Hall, Sydney. The performances garnered positive reviews, and the Australian Arts Review expressed that "Briger has created an orchestral Rolls Royce . . ." The AWO travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) in August 2022, as part of Edinburgh's 75th anniversary celebrations, and the UKAU cultural exchange, performing at the Edinburgh International Festival and the
BBC Proms, conducted by Zubin Mehta, accompanied by Australian soprano
Siobhan Stagg. Mehta conducted the AWO in 2022 in Sydney and Melbourne in performances of Richard Strauss's tone poems (Limelight, 2022). After the conclusion of the AWO's performance at the Sydney Opera House, General
David Hurley,
Governor-General of Australia, awarded Mehta with an Honorary Companion of the
Order of Australia (Limelight, 2022). Alexander Briger is returning in November 2023 to conduct at Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House as the AWO will perform Mahler's 9th Symphony. ==Discography==