Frankston Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is one of ten community orchestras in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is from the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of Frankston on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

. The orchestra forms a part of the Frankston Music Society, which also includes the Mornington Peninsula Chorale.

History

Frankston Music Society was founded in 1967 by the world-renowned

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Vera Bradford Vera Florence Bradford (5 September 19046 January 2004) was an Australian classical pianist and teacher, with a very long career. Her playing was admired for its depth and beauty of tone, classical unity and tremendous power. Vera Bradford was ...

and fellow residents from the area.Morgan, Ivor. 2006. "A memoir of Vera Bradford, master pianist". ''History Australia 3'' (2): pp 53.1–53.7.
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. Accessed: 24 October 2010.About Us
Frankston Music Society. Accessed: 24 October 2010. The Orchestra was formed first in 1968, with the

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the t ...

following in 1979. Bradford raised the profile of the orchestra dramatically during its early years. She performed with the orchestra; she also organized notable soloists to perform with it, including Ron Farren-Price and

Geoffrey Tozer Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November 195421 August 2009) was an Australian classical pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he composed an opera at the age of eight and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship award at 13 ...

. The orchestra had a number of notable past conductors, including Eric Austin-Phillips,

George Logie-Smith George Logie-Smith OBE (2 December 191419 April 2007) was an Australian orchestra and choral conductor, music examiner, and music educator. Biography George Logie Smith was born in Ascot Vale a suburb of Melbourne, to parents David Edgar "Edgar ...

OBE, Yoshinao Osawa, Joannes Roose, and Mark Shiell.

Today

The orchestra performs regularly at the Frankston Arts Centre and also tours regional

.What's On
. Frankston Arts Centre.

City of Frankston The City of Frankston (officially known as ''Frankston City Council)'' is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 130 square kilometres, and in June 2018, the City of Franksto ...

. Accessed: 24 October 2010. Apart from traditional concerts, the orchestra also performs concerts of

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

, film and television scores, and contemporary pieces.

References

{{Authority control Australian orchestras Symphony orchestras Performing arts in Melbourne Frankston, Victoria