While in Bellingen back then, the ACO ran a workshop for local string students and was so impressed by the teachers and students, they decided to offer financial support to start a Youth Orchestra in the shire.

In December that year Bellingen Youth Orchestra was founded and there has been an ongoing connection between the two orchestras ever since with the ACO Collective regularly including Bellingen on its Regional Concert Tour schedule and always including a workshop with string students.  

This year, the ACO Collective (formerly ACO2) will once again be in Bellingen, celebrating their 10^th anniversary alongside the BYO, which is also turning 10.

The milestone will be honoured at their Memorial Hall concert on Saturday, September 2 with a combined performance for one piece of music.

Bellingen is part of an eight-stop tour by the 17-piece string ensemble across regional New South Wales and Queensland from 29 August to 15 September.

The tour – titled Mozart & Brahms – will be directed by charismatic Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto in his second year as ACO Collective Artistic Director, and will feature Britain’s leading clarinettist, Matthew Hunt, as soloist.

Kuusisto, who is renowned the world over for his fiery and exuberant style of music-making, will lead the ensemble for performances of string music by Mozart and Bartók.

The concerts will also feature Brahms’ soulful Clarinet Quintet. Written from the heart, the mellow, haunting quality of the clarinet is the perfect vehicle for expressing Brahms’ autumnal temperament in his later years.

The ACO Collective will also offer a series of string workshops and education concerts for local school students throughout the tour. 

Tickets for the September 2 concert are on sale now at the Waterfall Way Visitors Centre in Bellingen or online at www.acobellingen.eventbrite.com.au