Melbourne Chamber Orchestra’s Principal Double Bass and Education Manager, Dr Emma Sullivan, is usually seated at the back of the ensemble (or to the very right-hand side) when performing onstage, but there is nothing about this highly experienced musician to put her in the back of anyone’s mind.
With appearances in orchestras across New Zealand, Australia and the US, Emma has been a professional performer of note for almost two decades. Whether playing in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s special guest appearance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Arts Festival, or touring Europe with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2014, Emma has pursued a life in music that has taken her all around the world.
Emma’s first encounter with the MCO came after arriving in Melbourne for a second-round audition at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). It was during this period that she first crossed paths with William Hennessy, the ensemble’s previous Artistic Director who held the position from 2006 until 2021.
After Emma’s successful ANAM audition, she was contacted by Hennessy and asked to perform with the MCO after she enrolled the following year, in 2009. She has played with MCO ever since.
“The orchestra fills a really special place in the musical ecosystem in Melbourne,” Emma says. “It brings together musicians from different chamber and orchestral ensembles, many of whom are also passionate educators, and who play a vital role in the musical life of the city.”
The MCO places at the centre of its activities an advocacy for education and learning, often deliberately performing at regional locations to maximise the reach of classical music beyond its usual inner-city platforms.
The chamber orchestra’s smaller size means it can perform without a conductor, so the musicians must rely on each other to seamlessly blend their sound in a more intimate way than if being conducted. Emma highlights this facet as of significant artistic value for performers and audiences alike.
“Personally, I think watching a smaller, unconducted orchestra is such an exciting way to experience live music,” she says. “You get the opportunity to not only hear the collective sound, but to also get to know each individual musical personality. It is the perfect blend of chamber music and larger ensemble playing.”
She credits the MCO for its diverse and thoughtfully curated programming. As well as some of the best-loved works of the Western classical music canon, there is always an array of new discoveries.
“In each of our concerts,” Emma says, “we endeavour to showcase a broad spectrum of repertoire, so there are works that will appeal to all listeners. People coming to our concerts will have the opportunity to hear something with which they are potentially familiar – but then will hopefully also have their eyes (and ears!) opened to something completely new.”
Emma Sullivan will be featuring as a soloist in MCO’s next concert series, Nightingale, at Melbourne Recital Centre on 20 and 23 November, and touring to Pakenham on 19 November and Geelong on 21 November. She’ll be performing Henry Eccles’s Contrabass Sonata in G minor as part of Guest Director and harpsichordist Donald Nicolson’s program.
By Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier