The Sydney Symphony’s new Assistant brings a bit of Aussie entrepreneurship to London.

Every musician understands the holy trinity of talent, dedication and luck when it comes to launching a professional career. Take one from the equation and you are in trouble. Toby Thatcher understands this and works hard on them all. He also believes you cannot let luck just happen, so places himself in positions where he can maximise every opportunity. At 26 years old he is a mini powerhouse and you cannot help but speculate where he will be in five years.

I meet Toby in central London for a coffee one December morning. He tells me he is in the UK to do some more work on developing up his new orchestra Ensemble Eroica. “It is a model I have used before working with recent graduate musicians trying to create an opportunity for them to play and be heard. This time there will be a slight difference in that players will have to audition. I just don’t want to have an orchestra of invited friends, and this way we can get it on a more professional footing”.

The...