Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

An ensemble based in Australia, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra comprises more than seventy musicians. It has earned recognition through its live concerts while also backing the State Opera of South Australia, the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, and the Adelaide Festival. The group originated in 1936 as a successor to the South Australia Orchestra, with initial support from the Australian Broadcasting Commission under the direction of William Cole. The ensemble underwent a name change in 1949 to become the South Australian Symphony Orchestra, only to revert to its earlier designation in 1975. Its roster of conductors has included Elyakum Shapirra, Piero Gamba, Albert Rosen, Nicholas Braithwaite, David Porcelijn, and Arvo Volmer. Critical acclaim followed the 1998 collaboration between Asher Fisch and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, presented for the State Opera of South Australia; this marked the orchestra's initial rendering of the tetralogy after 1913. Several compositions have been commissioned by the ASO with provided funding, among them Gerard Brophy's The Blue Thread, Natalie Williams' Our Don, and Iain Grandage's ANZAC Requiem, the latter honoring the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landings at Gallipoli during World War I.