SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The South Australian Symphony Orchestra was established as a full-time orchestra of 45 players on 3rd July, 1949. The formation of the Orchestra became possible through agreement which had been reached earlier between the South Australian Government, the Adelaide City Council, the South Australian Orchestral Association, and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The orchestral agreement covers a period of three years and during that time the four parties will contribute each year the following moneys:

South Australian Government............................... £5,000

Adelaide City Council……………………£2,500

South Australian Orchestral Assn……………. £6,000 Australian Broadcasting Commission………..£22,500

( Since the agreement was finalized, extra costs have been involved - by way of cost of living and salary increases to the orchestral players. These costs with some other items, havc brought the contribution by the A.B.C. in the current year to approximately £30,000).

In the first year of its existence from 1^st July, 1949, to 30th June, 1950, the South Australian Symphony Orchestra gave 83 concerts consisting of 24 subscription orchestral, 5 Popular Prices, 6 Youth Orchestral. 8 Free Sunday Matinees, 5 Free School Orchestral matinees in metropolitan areas, 10 Free School Orchestral matinees in country districts of South Australia. and 10 Symphony Orchestral concerts in the country.

The country concerts were given in Clare, Pt. Augusta. Pt. Pirie. Naracoorte. Mt. Gamhier, Murray Bridge, Pt. Pirie, Whyalla, Peterborough and Renmark. The approximate number of people who attended concerts during this period was 149,802.

The Orchestra gave its first broadcast performance on the 5th July, 1949, with Mr. Percy Code as temporary conductor. and the first series of subscription orchestral concerts was presented in the Town Hall on the 14th, 15th and 16th July. Mr. Henry Krips took up his duties as the resident conductor in November, and directed the first Free Sunday Open-air Concert in the Botanic Gardens in January, 1950. The attendance was estimated to be more than 35,000 people.

The following concerts were given in addition to those mentioned in the foregoing paragraph:

4 Choral Concerts with Adelaide Philharmonic

Choir.

6 Lunch-hour Concerts.

1 Concerto and Vocal Competition with soloists and Orchestra.

2 Symphony Concerts at Broken Hill.

2 Free Orchestral Concerts at Broken Hill.

.As a comment on the Free Schools Orchestral Concerts for children in the metropolitan area held in the Botanic Gardens. it is interesting to note that the Education Department estimated that 20,000 children attended. In relation to the Sunday Free Concerts, attendances totalled 60,000. The Orchestra also featured in the "Carols by Candlelight" festival when the attendance was 50,000.

The basic number of 45 musicians is used for all public concerts with the exception of the Subscription series, for which augmentation is arranged, when the average orchestral personnel would total 60 players. The actual number would vary to some extent for each concert according to the requirements of the orchestral score. It is encouraging to note that from an orchestral point of view South Australia is now able to stand on its own feet: no longer is it forced to call for a dozen or so players from other States to complete the orchestra for public concerts. There have been a few occasions when it is necessary to call on the services of one or two musicians from other States for special purposes, but such requests are now relatively few. On the other hand some assistance has been given to other states in this connection during the year. During the month of May, 1950, the orchestra was loaned to the Elder Conservatorium for an orchestral programme given as one of the concerts in the Australian Music Festival.

In the series of eight subscription concerts, each of which is repeated twice. the performances were given under the direction of the following conductors:

Otto Klemperer. Sir Bernard Heinze (2). Charles Groves, Percy Code and Henry Krips (3).

Other conductors engaged for concerts not included in the main subscription series were: Professor John Bishop, Rudolf Pekarek and Norman Chinner.

Soloists who appeared with the Orchestra" in the subscription series were:

Aleksandr Helmann, Rudolf Schock. Witold Malcuzynski, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Allison Nelson, Colin Horsley, Alfredo Campoli and Erna Berger.

In addition to the concert performances, the orchestra has given a substantial number of broadcasts from the studios. Many performances, both concert and studio, have been relayed to other States.

The number of subscribers for 1950 totalled 3.089, and there were 966 young people who subscribed to the series of Youth Concerts.