TSO ends free show
THE Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s cherished free outdoor concert Symphony Under the Stars will not be performed in Hobart next year due to prohibitive costs and new priorities. But the show will go ahead in Launceston.
TSO chief executive Caroline Sharpen blamed the increasing complexity of staging large outdoor shows for the decision.
THE Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s cherished free outdoor concert Symphony Under the Stars will not be performed in Hobart next year due to prohibitive costs and new priorities.
The show will go ahead in Launceston, but not on the North-West Coast where the TSO had hoped to one day stage it.
“We know there will be a lot of disappointed people, particularly the loyal audiences that have supported it for 26 years,” said the TSO’s chief executive Caroline Sharpen.
The free concerts, held every year in Hobart and Launceston for 26 years, are hugely popular, with audiences of more than 5000 at each event.
The news follows public upset earlier this year when the TSO introduced a new ticketing system for the free concerts, which meant some people missed out on entry to the February events.
Ms Sharpen said cost and the increasing complexity of staging large outdoor shows were factors in the decision to put the Hobart show “on hold for the time being”.
“Coming onto greenfield sites has become increasingly complex, with added security, traffic management and the fact we really have to bring in everything from the stage and sound system to the last toilet roll and garbage bag,” Ms Sharpen said.
The decision to stage the event only in Launceston had a historical genesis, she said.
“It goes all the way back to 1948 … at that point two separate orchestras became the TSO and so retaining the concert in Launceston was about being true to our mission to be Tasmania’s orchestra as part of honouring our commitment to the North,” Ms Sharpen said.
“We are less present in the North in general so maintaining our outdoor concert there was really important as part of that mission.”
Ms Sharpen said the money saved would go towards grassroots, residency-style programs in Burnie, Ulverstone, Devonport, Latrobe and around North-West Coast schools next year.
“We will be using the resources to respond to some longstanding demand in the North-West,” she said.
“There will be concerts, family concerts, mini-TSO for toddlers, workshops and masterclasses with community music ensembles and choirs and in schools.”
The TSO’s 2020 program for Hobart includes more than 35 TSO concerts and $7 tickets to family and children’s concerts at the new Hedberg performing arts centre next to the Theatre Royal.