Zelman Symphony capacity audiences of Mahler's epic Eighth Symphony - the "Symphony of a Thousand" - at the Melbourne Town Hall. In what was believed to be "a first" for an Australian Community Orchestra, the performances involved over 580 performers including an augmented Zelman Symphony of some 125 players led by Guest Concertmaster, Wilma Smith, Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), and featuring many guest principal players from the MSO and other top orchestras and music institutions. David Macfarlane played the magnificent organ, a 370 voice choir was formed from nine community choirs, and an 80 voice children's choir involved students
A Symphony of Three Orchestras praised by musicians and critics alike. The cellist Fred Sherry (who performed the first recording of Carter's Cello Concerto) described "A Symphony of Three Orchestras" as one of three Carter pieces he would "recommend to every music lover," including his Concerto for Orchestra and "". The music critic Tim Page of "The Washington Post" wrote, "It makes its strongest impression in concert, where one may listen to each ensemble playing its own allotted music, then combining with the other ensembles to create a cumulative whole." A Symphony of Three Orchestras A Symphony of Three Orchestras is an orchestra composition by