Remaking the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as a chamber ensemble would pay dividends

A nimbler, smaller Tasmanian Chamber Orchestra which is less bound to its aging and fading domestic audience, and which could play more often overseas and record with a variety of affordable music labels such as Naxos, would do Tasmanians a greater cultural service than a lumbering beast which will continue to rely on the government teat to sustain itself.

Former Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon, a slick marketer of the product that was his state, anointed the TSO an "icon" of the state. He meant it to be an export vehicle - playing in places such as China and Europe as part of his strategy to have Tasmania recognized as a cultural haven of the southern hemisphere.

This pipe dream was just that - larger orchestras, even ones with 45 or 50 musicians like the TSO, travel rarely from Australia because the cost of these trips is prohibitive. But it's a different story if a group of 25 musicians from Hobart head to North America. It costs less and because they are a chamber orchestra they can play in a more diverse group of venues - those other than 500 seat concert halls.

It is no coincidence that two of the most talked about new orchestral ensembles in the world today are both chamber orchestras. Violinist Gidon Kremer's Kremerata Baltica and the Brooklyn based Knights. They are lithe groups of young musicians who are breaking down cultural and performance style barriers and they are making a name for themselves as a result.

A Tasmanian Chamber Orchestra with a similarly young feel could be just what the Island state needs if it is to sell itself to the world as a place that is not only physically beautiful but capable of being innovative and diverse too.