Origins
The Orchestra Project Inc. was established by conductor Fabian Russell in 2002 as a training ensemble for the development of Australia's best young orchestral musicians. Alongside Russell himself, former MSO Chief Conductors Markus Stenz and Oleg Caetani conducted major concerts throughout 2002- 2006 and regular performers included former ANAM Artistic Directors John Harding and Brett Dean.
Patron
Dr Richard Mills AO
Artistic Advisor
Nick Deutsch
Executive
Peter Tregear OAM (Chair)
Fabian Russell (Artistic Director)
Frank Celata (Artistic Advisor)
Frere Byrne (Philanthropic Advisor)
Meg Collis (Orchestra & Operations Manager)
Principal Sponsor
The Cybec Foundation
Board
Trent Blackett
Megan Burslem
Frere Byrne
Frank Celata
Clinton Daley
Fabian Russell
Peter Tregear
Daniel Ward
Performance Partners
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Victoria
The Consort of Melbourne
The Australian National Academy of Music
Victorian College of the Arts
The Musician Project (NSW)
The Robert Salzer Foundation
History
The first project was a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 6 under Markus Stenz in 2003. Subsequent projects have included performances of major orchestral works by Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, and Sergei Prokofiev, and a world premiere of a new completion of W. A. Mozart's 'Great' Mass in C Minor. The most recent projects have been held in Sydney at Verbruggen Hall, courtesy of our performance partners The Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Hear us.
Archival recordings of some of our performances can be found on our 'Media' page or by clicking here
Support Us
The work of the Orchestra Project is only possible through the generous donation of time, expertise and money from our supporters. Donations to support our work can be made on-line via GiveNow here.
Next Projects
On Sunday 5 April 2026 at 2:30 pm The Orchestra Project returns to Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music to perform music by Wagner, Strauss (soloist Alexander Gavrylyuk), and John Adams).
**Tickets can be purchased via this link!**

And on Sunday 12 April 2026 at 4:00 pm The Orchestra Project will be collaborating with Corpus Medicorum to mount a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") as part of a service of music and readings at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. Entrance is free (there will be a retiring collection)
The Orchestra Project Inc. (VIC) A0057279S
