News Summary:
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's legal defense against a workplace discrimination case topped $1 million, as the organization reported a second consecutive deficit in its 2025 annual report, released on April 30, 2026. The country’s second-largest symphony orchestra recorded an operating loss of $978,162 and an overall loss of $1,674,068 last year. Previously, on March 28, the orchestra announced "The Music of Elton," a new concert event to revisit its landmark 1986 performances with Sir Elton John, celebrating 40 years since the original collaboration. Featuring Chong Lim, Jason Dean, Brett Garsed, and Lindsay Field, the event brings the MSO x Elton John 1986 Tour to life. Earlier in March, on the 22nd, the MSO performed a program centered on themes of death, opening with Ravel’s Pavane pour infante défunte and premiering Joe Chindamo’s Are There Any Questions? (A Requiem for the Vanishing Self). This followed the March 19 announcement that Joe Chindamo became the MSO's 2026 Composer in Residence, a role he described as a career zenith. Separately, a March 9 report highlighted that works by women constituted 14.6 percent of Australian orchestral programming in 2025, an increase from 11.9 percent in 2024.
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