Cart icon
  • Melbourne
  • Yackandandah
  • Mornington

MCO + SOPHIE ROWELL

MCO Artistic Director and violinist Sophie Rowell leads a luminous fusion of music and poetry that culminates in The Four Seasons — voiced with Vivaldi’s original sonnets by acclaimed actress and narrator, Helen Morse.

The concert opens with the ebullience of Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, followed by Libby Croad’s Portraits for string orchestra, each movement paired with evocative poetry by Eleanor Percy.

Janáček’s tender On an Overgrown Path invites a quiet turn inward, rounding out a program of lyricism, storytelling, and emotional resonance.

07 - 10 May 2026

WHERE + WHEN

  • MELBOURNE THU 07-05-2026 7:30PM Melbourne Recital Centre

    BOOK NOW

  • YACKANDANDAH FRI 08-05-2026 7:00PM Yackandandah Public Hall

    BOOK NOW

  • MORNINGTON SAT 09-05-2026 3:30PM Peninsula Community Theatre

    BOOK NOW

  • MELBOURNE SUN 10-05-2026 2:30PM Melbourne Recital Centre

    BOOK NOW

  • CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE Melbourne Recital Centre

    BOOK NOW

THE PLAYERS

SOPHIE ROWELL VIOLIN SOLO + ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
HELEN MORSE SPEAKER
MELBOURNE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

THE MUSIC

  • HUGO WOLF Italian Serenade

  • LEOŠ JANÁČEK Selections from On an Overgrown Path (arr string orchestra Daniel Rumler)

  • LIBBY CROAD Selections from Portraits for string orchestra

  • ANTONIO VIVALDI The Four Seasons

THE ORCHESTRA

  • VIOLIN SOLO + ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Sophie Rowell

  • SPEAKER Helen Morse

  • VIOLIN I Sophie Rowell
    Erica Kennedy*
    Kathryn Taylor^
    James Armstrong
    Lachlan MacLaren%±

  • VIOLIN II Jenny Khafagi^
    Meg Cohen
    Madeleine Jevons
    Lynette Rayner

  • VIOLA Merewyn Bramble#
    Matthew Laing
    Ceridwen Davies

  • CELLO Blair Harris
    Svetlana Bogosavljevic+

  • DOUBLE BASS Emma Sullivan

  • HARPSICHORD Peter de Jager

Appears courtesy of:

  • * Orchestra Victoria
    ^ Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
    % Australian National Academy of Music
    + Ensemble Liaison

  • #Plays an AE Smith viola on loan courtesy of PODtriangle.com.au

  • ± Early Chair performers are supported by the Arnold Foundation & Julian Zahara Memorial Fund

EXPLORE + DISCOVER

Concert Notes: Overgrown Paths

Read now →

In Conversation: Sophie Rowell on the interplay of artforms

Read now →

Meet the MCO: Violinist, James Armstrong

Read now →
JOIN MAILING LIST