With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a stop to live performances, Canberra Symphony Orchestra has announced it will commission 14 new works by Australian composers as part of a new Australian Miniseries. The short works will be performed by CSO musicians in performances that will premiere online.

Conductor  Jessica Cottis is co-curator of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s Australian Miniseries. Photo © Kaupo Kikkas

The Australian Miniseries – which is being curated by conductor Jessica Cottis and composer Matthew Hindson – is one of several digital initiatives announced by the CSO, including a Virtual Orchestra ‘community special’, which will see CSO and the ANU School of Music invite community members to record and submit parts for a digital performance, and a joint Side by Side, Byte Size, which will involve a short, virtual performance featuring both CSO musicians and ANU students and staff.

The new Australian Miniseries is set to launch late May or early June, and the CSO has revealed that Liza Lim and Cyrus Meurant will be among the composers commissioned.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a difficult environment for both composers and performers. “In many ways, the act of composing is exquisitely well-suited to...