Richard Tognetti

Artistic Director & Lead Violin

Chair sponsored by Gaby Kennard, Peter McMullin AM & Ruth McMullin, Louise & Martyn Myer AO and Andrew & Andrea Roberts.

Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.

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After studying in Australia with William Primrose and Alice Waten, and overseas at the Bern Conservatory with Igor Ozim, Richard was appointed the ACO’s Artistic Director and Lead Violin in 1990. He performs on period, modern and electric instruments and has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras as director or soloist. In 2016 Richard was appointed the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court and he was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015.

"It’s our job to bring the listener in through our portal. A numinous moment when, hopefully, we can make time stand still."

- Richard Tognetti

Richard’s arrangements, compositions and transcriptions have expanded the chamber orchestra repertoire and been performed throughout the world. He curated and co-composed the scores for the ACO’s documentary films Musica Surfica, The Glide, The Reef, and The Crowd & I, and co-composed the scores for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Tom Carroll’s film Storm Surfers. Richard collaborated with director Jennifer Peedom and Stranger Than Fiction to create the award-winning films Mountain and River, the former of which went on to become the highest-grossing homegrown documentary in Australian cinemas and the latter which won Best Soundtrack at the ARIA, AACTA and APRA awards.

Photo of ACO Artistic Director & Lead Violin Richard Tognetti

Richard is the recipient of six ARIA awards, including three consecutive wins for his recordings of Bach’s violin works. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010, holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. In 2017 was awarded the JC Williamson Award for longstanding service to the live performance industry.