The agreement will support the launch of the renowned ACO Foundations program in Victoria, set to begin at a (to be determined) Melbourne primary school in the near future.

Launching in 2025, which also happens to be the ACO's 50th anniversary, the renewed partnership will combine the world-class musical expertise of the ACO with the University’s educational excellence and wide-reaching influence.

The ACO Foundations program is a unique, intensive music education initiative, which has been shown to enhance cognitive, emotional, and behavioural development in primary school children, and will provide free music and instrumental lessons to students in low socio-economic schools.

Based on research highlighting the beneficial changes to brain function through playing an instrument, the five-year pilot program will be delivered by the ACO and modelled on its successful roll-out in New South Wales.

ACO managing director Richard Evans said learning a musical instrument from a young age has been proven to have deep and far-reaching benefits.

“… we are thrilled that the university has made such an important commitment in changing the lives of young Victorians – particularly those who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to receive a quality music education,” he said.

Professor Richard Kurth, music director of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and the Melbourne Conservatorium said the launch of the ACO Foundations program will bring the joy and focus of music making to a new generation of Victorian children.

“[It will] also pave the way for developing wider access to music in primary schools by facilitating new teacher training and education research collaborations by music education experts in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and the Faculty of Education.”

He also said that Conservatorium students will grow from strength-to-strength through exceptional opportunities that foster their career pathways by learning from and performing alongside the national orchestra’s musicians.

The renewed partnership builds on and extends the existing five-year collaboration (2020-2024) by enhancing professional training opportunities for students at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music within the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.

It also expands the partnership’s reach to benefit the broader University community.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell, said the ACO partnership renewal, generously supported by the Sidney Myer University Trust, ensures continued investment in the life-changing potential of music education.

“My own life trajectory was transformed by music education from an early age,” Maskell said.

“I learned several woodwind instruments, then went on to play in orchestras and bands ranging from classical to rock.

“These experiences led to enriching, formative opportunities that would otherwise have been out of reach.”

Evans said the partnership renewal builds on the successful collaborations of the past five years and paves the way for significant advancements in music education through improved training, research, and program development.

“The ACO is delighted to renew its extraordinarily successful partnership with the University of Melbourne,” Evans said.

“Over the past five years the ACO has been honoured to contribute to the musical education and training of the string students enrolled in the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, as well as work alongside the University’s world-class music and education researchers.

“We very much look forward to continuing to play a role in developing the next generation of Australia’s professional string players through this partnership.”

Throughout the seven-year renewed partnership, students at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music – from bachelor to doctoral levels – will benefit from two annual intensive ensemble training sessions and side-by-side experiences with elite ACO musicians.

They will also have access to masterclasses and professional development workshops. ACO musicians will perform in concerts at the Conservatorium’s Hanson Dyer Recital Hall, with additional opportunities for collaborations and research projects anticipated.