After 29 years playing with the MSO, Assistant Principal Second Violin Monica Curro is stepping into a new role.
When Monica Curro walks into a room, she brings a charge of warm energy. Engaging and irrepressibly optimistic, the same electric force that has been animating the MSO’s string section for many years is now being channelled into the role of Creative Director of the new initiative, MSO+.
Audiences will still see Monica Curro performing on stage with the Orchestra. She continues in her role as Assistant Principal Second Violin (a position supported by Dr Mary-Jane H. Gething AO) alongside her new MSO+ responsibilities. Monica Curro has a gift for distilling big ideas into a single sentence. Ask her what MSO+ is, and she doesn’t hesitate: “It’s taking music to the people, rather than expecting the people to come to us.”
MSO+ is an idea that has been evolving organically for more than a decade. Monica Curro explains that player-led projects, community partnerships and collaborations have always existed slightly outside the traditional concert model. What’s new is the structure, the dedicated creative leadership.
Crucially, MSO+ is player-led – and Monica Curro is emphatic about why that matters.
"This is the first time in my 29 years at the Orchestra that the players have been formally asked to submit their wish lists of passion projects – how they think the beauty and power of the MSO can be harnessed for purpose, impact, reach and connection with the Victorian people we serve," she said.
"Richard [Wigley, MSO CEO] is a change agent, a visionary, and his philosophical stance is firmly bound in engagement with all types of communities. It's a very interesting experiment so far – just watch this space."
While not an MSO+ project, the recent Find Your Voice Collective performance offers a powerful glimpse of the kind of work MSO+ aims to develop. This groundbreaking and deeply moving choir project brought together singers of all abilities from southwest Victoria to perform with the full Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The songs were written by choir members themselves, and the Bowl was filled to the brim, with more than 16,000 people watching at the venue and online.
"It was an idea born seven years previously finally coming to fruition," Monica Curro said.
"It was a joyous celebration of humanity. That’s my template for engagement – collaboration, celebration, accessibility. That’s flagship.”
Monica Curro’s journey with the MSO has tracked a deeply personal evolution, from young musician finding her place, to seasoned artist evolving into a board member, project creator and collaborator. She served nine years on the Australian Youth Orchestra board; founded PLEXUS, a trailblazing commissioning ensemble in 2014 with her partner pianist Stefan Cassomenos and MSO Associate Principal Clarinet Philip Arkinstall; curates a 10-concert music series at McClelland Sculpture Park & Gallery (now in its fifth year); and has spent the better part of a decade quietly germinating the ideas that now form the heart of MSO+.
“It’s partly genetic,” she said of her drive to create and push boundaries, referencing the commissioning prowess of her father, John Curro, founder of the Queensland Youth Orchestra.
At 59, Monica Curro describes this part of her career as "the everybody phase", where she has the capacity, and the connections, to change broader systems.
“There was the ‘me phase’, and then there’s the ‘parenting phase’, but the beauty of this stage of life is that I know a lot of people and I try to think strategically. I also never shut myself down or think of anything as impossible. I’m excited to make big systemic changes across the sector.”
The MSO currently reaches only a portion of Melbourne's population – something Monica Curro and the MSO see as an invitation. There are untapped audiences out there, in suburbs, regional communities and online, who deserve access to music. MSO+ is a part of how the MSO plans to reach them.
"Everybody consumes arts and culture like oxygen for the soul," she observed. "We need to really acknowledge the power we have. If we don't redefine our purpose and our place – not just the MSO, but every arts organisation – we're missing something enormous."
As the MSO marks 120 years, the company is thinking about the next 120 with the same optimism and creativity. There are bold plans for digital reach, finding ways for the MSO’s performances to travel as far as possible. There is an unwavering commitment to collaboration with multiple art forms and demographics, First Nations artists, artists with disability and communities across the state.
"It's not only for our survival – basically it's a party and everyone's invited," she laughed. "We're an amazing show. But with the right collaborators, the sky's the limit."
She has an unshakeable belief that the MSO is not just entertainment, but an essential form of human nourishment and inspiration.
"So many people fall through the cracks of our society," she said. "And that's what art is for – to seal the cracks. To say: come in. You are safe. You are welcome. You'll remind yourself about all those esoteric, spiritual, mindful aspects of what it is to be human."
As the MSO shapes its new era, one defined by bold vision, deep collaboration and a living legacy 120 years in the making, there is no better person to help build that future than the woman who has spent nearly three decades at its heart.
About MSO+
MSO+ is the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's initiative to take music beyond the concert hall and into the heart of the community. Player led and purpose-driven, MSO+ supports projects that create new connections between the Orchestra and audiences across Melbourne, Victoria and beyond.
To help bring these projects to life, contact philanthropy@mso.com.au.