India maestro Zubin Mehta to lead AWO tour

Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling on Monday welcomed the Australian Government's support for a tour to India by the Australian World Orchestra, led by one of India's most famous sons, Maestro Zubin Mehta.

The AWO will receive USD 250,000 in assistance from the Australian Government for its tour to Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi in October 2015. The AWO was invited to perform in India by Maestro Mehta.

Suckling said the concert tour would be a rare opportunity for Indian audiences to experience the finest talents in Western classical music from both India and Australia.

"This is a wonderful example of the growing cultural engagement between Australia and India, which is a critical foundation of the relationship between our two countries," Suckling said.

"It will be a privilege for our world-class musicians to work with an internationally-renowned Maestro such as Zubin Mehta for a series of high-profile concerts. They will also deliver an education program to young Indian musicians and work with underprivileged children," he said.

As part of the tour, the AWO will perform Haydn's Toy Symphony in a series of concerts for underprivileged children, with the involvement of a number of high-profile Australian and Indian cricketers.

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) was founded by Australian conductor Alexander Briger in 2010 to bring together Australia's finest orchestral musicians from around the world to form one unique orchestra.

It consists of more than 100 musicians drawn from orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Cultural engagement has been a key priority for both the Australian and India Governments and during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia in November 2014, he and his Australian counterpart Prime Minister Tony Abbott witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Arts and Culture.

Prime Minister Modi also announced a Festival of Indian Culture in Australia in 2015/16 to showcase the dynamism and diversity of contemporary Indian culture.