Speeches
Saturday, 23 May 2026
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra 90th Anniversary Gala Dinner
Rod and I are delighted to join you this evening at the Adelaide Town Hall, to celebrate this significant milestone in the very place where the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra gave its first public concert 90 years ago.
As Governor, I have had the privilege of engaging with the ASO many times and in many ways.
These include last September at Government House welcoming Mark Wigglesworth to Adelaide as Chief Conductor, attending performances at the Adelaide Town Hall, and sharing in the unique intimacy of the ASO at UKARIA.
It is also a pleasure to be joint patron, with Rod, of the Friends of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, an organisation whose loyalty and generosity have been a defining aspect of the ASO's life.
My connection to this orchestra runs deep: my mother served on the ASO board, and I was taken to concerts as a child, which means I have had a relationship with this orchestra for more than half of its life.
As Governor, I am also pleased to carry on a vice-regal tradition of support for classical music in South Australia which dates back to the early years of settlement.
The first piano in the state is said to have been floated ashore on a raft at Holdfast Bay and carted up to Government House where it was played by Governor Hindmarsh’s wife, Susanna.[1]
In the 1800s, early forms of the orchestra enjoyed vice-regal patronage at various concerts.
And in 1936 the Governor of the day, Major-General Sir Winston Dugan, and Lady Dugan, enjoyed the Centenary Concert, one of the ASO’s very first performances.[2]
Friends,
The ASO has many attributes: it is out-standing in its artistic and technical quality; it is inventive in its programming; it is inclusive in its outreach; but one I want to highlight tonight above all is that it is beloved.
You can hear it in the warmth of the applause at every concert, a sound that speaks to something personal between this orchestra and the people of South Australia. There is sentiment in the room at every ASO event I have been to.
I have watched, over the years, as young musicians have moved through the Elder Conservatorium along pathways that have brought them to this stage, a pipeline of talent which remains vital given ASO's important contribution to our state.
I know, too, how proud people are to sponsor chairs, to contribute to the funding of new instruments, and to play a personal role in sustaining an institution that is both part of, and that gives so much back, to the community.
The ASO's 90th anniversary season, with more than 100 performances planned across South Australia, reflects an orchestra of profound vitality.
The orchestra has grown from 15 musicians broadcasting on ABC radio in 1936 to a full symphony orchestra performing on stages from this Town Hall to regional communities across the state.
The orchestra’s reputation already draws some of the world's leading artists to Adelaide, something that is both exemplified by, and will be amplified by Mark Wigglesworth's appointment as Chief Conductor, but rests fundamentally on the excellence of the musicians who give this orchestra its voice.
I note with particular pleasure the presence tonight of Concertmaster Kate Suthers and the ASO musicians whose artistry we have had the privilege of hearing this evening.
I thank the board, led by Andrew Daniels, the CEO Colin Cornish, and every member of staff, past and present, for their dedication to this orchestra.
I thank the donors and sponsors for their generosity, which makes so much possible; and I thank the Friends of the ASO for their unwavering support across many decades.
As we look towards the coming years, I trust that support for the orchestra will continue to grow.
I hope that future audiences enjoy the precision and the passion that musicians have brought to every ASO performance I have attended.
And, as I said in the 2023 Don Dunstan lecture, I hope that future Governors and indeed all here this evening - will be able to cast their minds back to the 2020s and remark on the completion of a long-awaited concert hall.
Congratulations to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on reaching 90 years.
May this city always have an orchestra worthy of the love South Australians have shown it.
[1] An Insider’s History of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Paul Blackman, p.2.
[2] Ibid p.38