Under the direction of Artistic Director Skye McIntosh, the Australian Haydn Ensemble are one of Australia’s leading historically informed orchestras and chamber music groups. The ensemble brings together world-class musicians who excel in both modern and period instrument performance and who are committed to both historical research and performance.
The ensemble’s name pays tribute to the great Joseph Haydn, known as ‘Papa Haydn’, who was a central figure of the late 18th century.
The Australian Haydn Ensemble plays on period instruments, meaning instruments that are from the time the music was composed by Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart. Or it can also mean an instrument that is made by a master instrument maker of more modern times, based on older instruments (perhaps now unplayable) as well as scholarship and research.
Formed in 2012, the group burst onto the Australian music scene with passion, ideas and energy and in 2022 they reached the significant milestone of their ten year anniversary. They bring that same unflagging spirit to everything they undertake as they step forward into their second decade in 2023.