About Us
Our Orchestra is renowned for it’s dynamic programming, entertaining Victorians of all ages, with various tastes, for nearly 100 years.
The VSCO is the longest existing orchestra in Australia and the only orchestra conceived by a State Government (Mr. John Meagher), in all of Australia, which makes us very unique in our origins as well as in our original purpose, entertaining at Government functions and our ongoing purpose, that is providing a free service to the people of Victoria, especially to those in rural and regional areas that suffer from natural disasters and need a bit of high quality, light entertainment that’s accessible and affordable as well as enjoyable.
Photography by Agatha Yim, Polyphonic Pictures
Loretta Frances Meagher
President of the Victorian State Concert Orchestra & Concertmaster
Concertmaster and soloist since 2010, performing at numerous sold out concerts around Victoria every year.
“Loretta has not only led the orchestra with great skill and aplomb but has played as a highly accredited soloist, performing celebrated violin concert pieces to the great enjoyment of the many sold out audiences around Victoria. I have been continuously impressed with her organizational ability and her professional attitude at the many concerts we have worked on together.”
– Gerald Keuneman, Conductor, Victorian Concert Orchestra
Loretta has been passionate and dedicated about the violin since she began her studies at age 7, playing in many local orchestras and string ensembles, including the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, Geminiani, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Pops Orchestra and participated in many National Music Camps and Eisteddfods.
At the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, Loretta formed a successful violin/cello duo performing weekly, for 2 years at the Spaghetti Theatre Restaurant, the Spaghetti Tree and Clifton Hill Hotel, the highlight being a performance at the dinner given in honour of Wan Li, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China at Government House, Melbourne. This was followed by extensive work with string quartets, winning in 1987 the Musical Society of Victoria's 'Herbert N. Davis Chamber Music Award' which was presented by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. During this time, Loretta was also working as a violin teacher at Avila College and Bialik College. In 1990 Loretta was awarded her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University.
Moving to Adelaide, Loretta then studied with the highly regarded Australian violin pedagogue, Ms Lyndall Hendrickson where she also studied Educational and Psychological Learning Theories at the University of Adelaide and was awarded her Graduate Diploma in Education, majoring in Classroom Music and Instrumental Methodology. Loretta also assisted Ms Hendrickson for 6 years, teaching beginner violin to students in the String Methodology component of the Bachelor of Music Degree, at the University of Adelaide. She was awarded a scholarship and in 1995, implemented a beginner violin teaching program at Gloriamus, Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1996, Loretta furthered her violin performance studies with the internationally recognized Miss Beryl Kimber O.B.E., F.R.A.M. at the University of Adelaide, receiving a Graduate Diploma in Music Performance. She was also awarded the ‘Alexander Clark Memorial Scholarship’ and her L.Mus.A.. During this time Loretta taught at many private schools, Mercedes College, St. Ignatius College, Prince Alfred College, St. Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School. Continuing violin studies for a short time with Dr. Semyon Kobets, she also studied Clinical Pilates, working with physiotherapists as well as studying physiology and reading extensive literature on posture.
Returning to Melbourne, Loretta worked as a teacher at Carey Baptist Grammar School and freelance violinist performing with many orchestras such as La Fraternità di Solisti, Melbourne City Opera, Pro Musica, Nicholas Chamber Orchestra, Star Chorale, etc. and numerous musical theatre production orchestras.
Recently, Loretta recorded a solo violin composition by the Melbourne based and highly esteemed composer, Barry McKimm, which will be released in the next few months. It forms part of a larger work called ‘Colombine’.
Currently Loretta is also very honoured to have received a dedication by Barry McKimm, for his new Second Violin Concerto
Photography by Agatha Yim, Polyphonic Pictures
Gerald Keuneman OAM
Conductor
As a professional cellist Gerald spent 26 years playing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra including stints as principal cellist with the Victorian and Melbourne Opera companies. He has over a hundred film credits to his name including performing on the soundtracks of iconic Australian movies such as The Man From Snowy River, Crocodile Dundee, and Oscar winners Babe and Shine. Leaving orchestral playing behind he was inspired by the many great conductors he performed under and having spent time studying in New York, London and with Yehudi Menuhin in Gstaad Switzerland, he turned his life towards directing conducting and education. He has conducted the Victorian Concert Orchestra since 2008 performing through rural Victoria and for over two decades has been the musical director of the legendary Harrietville Alpine Music Camp held annually in Northern Victoria.
Gerald is also musical director and conductor of Whitehorse Orchestra which he organised to perform in China in 2015 and has been and still is Guest Conductor of many Melbourne orchestras.
He has toured with many international stars served as President of the State Music Camp Association and been vitally involved in the development of orchestral music in many Melbourne schools. His work was recognised with an OAM in the Australia Day Honours List of 2016.
Warwick Stengårds
Deputy Conductor
Following a four-year engagement as Assistent Generalmusikdirektor at the Volksoper Wien and a seven-year tenure as Erster Kapellmeister at the Luzerner Theater, Warwick Stengårds is an Australian/Swedish freelance conductor based in Vienna.
In addition to an extensive symphonic canon, Stengårds has a music-theatre repertoire of over 100 works performing with companies such as Vienna State Opera, Volksoper Wien, Folkoperan Stockholm, Opera Australia, Victoria State Opera, Chamber Made Opera and West Australian Opera where, in 1991, he was appointed Music Director.
Operatic highlights include the world premieres of Naske’s Die Rote Zora, Das Städtchen Drumherum, Enakos, Koehne's Love Burns, Tahourdin's Heloise and Abelard, Ingham's Transfigured Night, Koukias' Mikrovian and Australian premieres of Reimann’s Die Gespenstersonate, Turnage's Greek, Williamson's Our Man in Havana, Swiss premieres of Greek, Kraus’ Soliman II and Joplin’s Treemonisha
Stengårds also has wide experience with choral groups. In addition to a four-year term as Director of Queen's College Chapel Choir, he was Music Director of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir for four years followed by a three-year appointment with the University of Western Australia Choral Society. He has conducted the West Australian and Tasmanian Symphony Choruses, the undergraduate choirs at the Universities of Melbourne, Monash, Macquarie and Western Australia, the Ashton Smith Singers, the Newcastle University Choir, the Willoughby Symphony Choir and Harmonia Sacra.
In Europe, aside from the internationally acclaimed Johann Strauss Capelle and Schönbrunner Schlossorchester where he was appointed Chefdirigent in 2004, Stengårds has conducted the Ulster Orchestra in a series of concerts and recordings for the British Broadcasting Corporation, the SL Orkester, the Uppsala Kammarorkester, Klangforum Wien, MUSIKFABRIK (Koeln), the Wroclaw Philharmonic, the Rundfunk Sinfonie-Orchester Saarbrücken (featuring soloist Andreas Scholl), DalaSinfoniettan, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the European Doctors Orchestra and the Nürnberger Symphoniker.
Recent projects included:
Tyranny of Distance with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Einstein Cantata with SonicFiction and concerts with the Luxemburg Philharmonie, Purcell’s Fairy Queen in South Africa for Cape Festival, Naske’s Das Städtchen Drumherum at the Vienna State Opera, Die Csardasfürstin in Leipzig, Die Fledermaus in Lüneburg, Madama Butterfly, Reimann’s Die Gespenstersonate for Opera Australia, Alcina for Gertrude Opera, the world premiere of Naske’s Enakos at the Vienna State Opera, Lost Operas of Oz for SOSA and concerts with the Australian Youth Orchestra and VCASS.
Rembrandt’s Wife for Opera Australia, and concerts with Klangforum Wien, MUSIKFABRIK, the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the Malta Philharmonic are among future projects.
Photography by Agatha Yim, Polyphonic Pictures
Soprano
Veronica Iredale
Veronica is a lyric soprano and completed a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Loris Synan OAM and Vivien Hamilton. She has enjoyed success in vocal competitions and eisteddfods and performs regularly as a soloist with the Victorian Concert Orchestra as part of its regional touring program. She greatly enjoys performing in community theatre productions in genres ranging from opera to operetta and music theatre.
Tenor
Nicholas Matters
Nicholas is a tenor and actor based in Melbourne, Victoria. In 2016 he obtained a Diploma of Music Theatre from Box Hill Institute and in 2018 obtained a Bachelor of Music (Music Theatre) from the Australian Institute of Music in Melbourne.
This year he is completing his Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with the hope of pursuing further study overseas in 2025.
He is in his third year of being a member of the Opera Scholars Australia young artist program, and credits it with helping his skills improve in the area of classical singing.
Nicholas has also created various cabaret projects, most recently Tony Abbott in: My Story My Way (MD Matthew Nutley) which premiered at the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. As an actor Nicholas most recently starred as the lead in Rain Falling on the Abattoir at Cracked Actors Theatre Company.
Nicholas is thankful for the opportunity to be back for another year as the resident tenor of the VCO.
Nicholas is represented by JR Management and is a proud member of MEAA.