People

Our Music Director

John Gould is the conductor, creator and mentor of the MCO. John began his career as a violinist in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1958. Since then he has played principal viola with many of Australia's major orchestras and ensembles including contemporary groups. He has worked and toured with several leading European orchestras including four years with the London Symphony Orchestra and was a founding member of the Carl Pini String Quartet.

John has also been extensively recorded by the ABC, has been a concerto soloist with the London and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and has given master classes in Europe and America. His former students can be found in orchestras around the globe, including the illustrious Vienna Philharmonic.

An ardent "music camper" himself and a member of the first Australian Youth Orchestra, John tutored at National Music Camp for 13 years. He recently led the expansion of classical music teaching and performance in Orange as music director of the Orange Regional Music Centre for nine years. Students from Orange now feature in the Australian Youth Orchestra and swell the ranks at National Music Camp; several have moved into the profession and more are studying at various Australian tertiary music institutions.

John believes in providing a wonderful repertoire of "proper" music (not simplified arrangements) from all the great ages of classical music, by all the famous composers - including Mozart, Beethoven, Handle, Sibelius, Schubert, Dvorak, Vivaldi and many more.

Now living in Canberra, John is sharing his skills and experience with musicians of all ages and experience through the MCO.

Our players

Our Viola Section and Music Director

While we all share a love of music and meeting the great masters of music, we also share the verve of community spirit and friendship.

MCO has attracted a great many like-minded people who are both passionate about music and friendly with it. For many it is a very different experience from other ensembles and orchestras they have played in; also for many it is the only orchestral experience they have had. But all of us agree that it is a wonderful thing we do.

We are an eclectic lot, ranging in age from 12 to 80; from little musical experience to professional musician.

The MCO is a "true" community orchestra - fully inclusive, and is very much representative of the community - many levels of skills and abilities working in harmony together. The more skilled within the orchestra help the less skilled - that is what good communities do. We work together for a common goal and we forgive those who play out of tune or miss cues. We learn from our mistakes, we encourage each other and we play the notes we can play; we strive and stretch and try hard to reach and understand the music that was written. Not simplified versions... but the real music.

Here is what one of our members, Lucy wrote:

"...The innovative environment of the MCO is like no other I have ever experienced either in Canberra or elsewhere. The positive, encouraging and inclusive atmosphere under which it is organised and masterfully directed has allowed me and a great many others achieve seemingly impossible musical feats. As a musician, the joy and satisfaction I get out of preparing and performing in this environment strengthens and reinforces my development as a musician in a most positive sense.

The inclusive ideals of the orchestra touch not only those that are in the orchestra, but all those who come in contact with the MCO through its many and various appointments in the community. The constructive way in which the MCO functions sets an extremely positive example for the broader community. The MCO reaches a broad range of people in the community through performances at multicultural festivals and museums, to nursing homes and community centres.

I am not aware of any other orchestras in the Canberra area that function under such positive core values as the MCO, however, I would very much like the MCO to be used as a template for future orchestras. This is because I have seen the wonderful effect that an orchestra of this kind can have on broadening both audiences and players' perception of what a 'classical orchestra' is and the benefit it is capable of achieving in the community..."