Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Antonioli conductor
Emma Muir-Smith director
Alex Turley young composer in residence
Jess Hitchcock soloist and presenter
Nadine Dimitrievitch performer
Christian Bagin performer
Mikayla Hotton puppet maker
Les Meduses jellyfish puppets from Black Hole Theatre, designed by Joe Blanck
Program
Camille Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals
About this performance
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents Carnival of the Animals, a must-hear work for all students, to delight and capture the imaginations of both young and old. The humorous depiction of animals in Saint-Saëns’ Zoological Fantasy are brought to life through music and puppetry live on the Hamer Hall stage; this concert will be quite the menagerie!
This MSO performance includes some unexpected visitors – the addition of extra wildlife commissioned especially for the event, composed by MSO Young Composer in Residence, Alex Turley.
Teaching Resources
The teaching resources for Carnival of the Animals are available for download here
Watch MSO Online Incursion below
MSO Online Incursions give students the opportunity to meet MSO musicians and their instruments, up close and online! To enhance your students’ live concert experience, incursions in 2022 will focus on Carnival of the Animals. Students will be introduced to musical concepts referred to during the concert and delve deeper into hands-on involvement.

Featured artists

MSO Schools Concerts are supported by Crown Resorts Foundation and Packer Family Foundation.

Carlo Antonioli’s position as Cybec Assistant Conductor and Alex Turley’s Cybec Young Composer in Residence fellowship are supported by The Cybec Foundation.
COVIDSafe Information
The MSO and the venues in which we perform will operate under government health and safety guidelines in place at the time of the event. We recommend ticket holders follow the Victorian Government’s “How to stay safe & well” advice:
- Stay home if you have any COVID-19 symptoms
- Wash your hands
- Keep your distance – stay 1.5 metres away from people you don’t live with where possible
- Wear a face mask
Learn more about Arts Centre Melbourne's COVIDSafe and Wellbeing plan