The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra founded in 1964 and based in Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We present four programs of classical music each year, usually at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre, in Ringwood.
New players are welcome, particularly orchestral percussion and string players. Players of other instruments are welcome to go on our waiting list. Please see the new players page for details.
Rehearsals are on Tuesday nights in Ringwood. Please see the Members page for details, including a complete 2026 rehearsal schedule.
This concert celebrates the Romantic and late-Romantic spirit, moving from Schubert’s
lyrical introspection to Tchaikovsky’s sparkling holiday magic and Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic
brilliance. Each work invites listeners into a world of emotion, imagination, and technical
mastery. Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony is a masterpiece of lyricism and delicate drama.
With only two completed movements, it nonetheless captivates with its haunting melodies,
tender harmonies, and subtle orchestral colours. Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite is a
kaleidoscope of festive dances which will transport you into a magical winter world. From
the lively “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” to the haunting “Arabia Dance” each movement
is a celebration of color, rhythm, and charming fantasy. Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano
Concerto is a tour de force of Romantic virtuosity. Known for its sweeping melodies and
technical challenges, the work allows the soloist to shine while weaving a deep, expressive
dialogue with the orchestra.
Soloist: Charlie Wu, Piano
Melbourne-born Charlie Wu is one of Australia’s brightest young musical talents.
A Year 7 scholarship student, and Concertmaster of the School Orchestra at Caulfield Grammar School, he studies piano with Glenn Riddle at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. In 2024, Charlie made his concerto debut performing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G minor with the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, conducted by Ivan Nikiforchin. Since then he has performed Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D with Les Solistes de Neuchâtel in Geneva, conducted by Sergey Ostrovsky, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 2 (with the Melbourne Sinfonia), Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (with the Cloud Concert Orchestra), Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No 1 (with the Preston and Whitehorse Symphony Orchestras), and most recently Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the Camerata Orchestra, where he was awarded 1st Prize in the Boroondara Open Concerto Competition.
Internationally Charlie was awarded 1 st Prize and Best Performance of a work by a Swiss composer in the Concours International Musicale de Genève in Switzerland and was a Diplomate in the Grand Piano International Piano Competition in Moscow. Locally, he has been awarded the Musical Society of Victoria’s Nehama Patkin and Eda Schurmann Awards, and numerous other first prizes in various competitions. In 2024 at the age of 11, Charlie was awarded his AMEB LMusA performance diploma with Distinction.
Charlie has presented solo recitals for the St Paul’s Lunchtime Concert Series, Scots Church
Music Matinees Concert Series, the Austral Salon, and the Diamond Creek Concert Series. In
2026 he has been invited to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the Maroondah
Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 414 with the Mozart Festival Chamber Players and to give solo recitals for Camberwell Music Society’s Subscription Concert Series and St George’s Church Concert Series. He also enjoys performing at aged care homes.
Charlie is a keen chamber musician, and enjoys playing tennis, swimming and chess.
Experience the enduring power of Handel’s Messiah, a masterpiece that has captivated
audiences for nearly three centuries. From its lyrical arias to the triumphant “Hallelujah”
chorus, Messiah traces a sweeping musical journey through prophecy, passion, and
redemption. This performance brings together 4 soloists, large chorus and orchestra to
illuminate Handel’s dramatic storytelling and famous melodies. Whether you are
rediscovering a beloved tradition or hearing it for the first time, Messiah offers an afternoon of
inspiration, beauty, and transcendent musical craft.
Join us for a celebration of one of the most iconic works in the choral-orchestral
repertoire—an uplifting testament to hope, humanity, and the enduring power of music.
Raymond Khong is a versatile Australian performer with nearly 30 years’ experience across television, radio and stage. Since beginning in 1993 with Victoria State Opera and The Australian Opera, he has worked with numerous companies including Co-Opera, Eastern Metropolitan Opera, Melbourne City Opera and Chamber Made Opera.
His roles include Rodolfo in La Bohème, Don José in Carmen, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Belmonte in The Seraglio and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. A career highlight was his Green Room Award-nominated performance as Tian Qing in Chamber Made Opera’s The Possessed.
Raymond has toured nationally for over 15 years, notably as one of Australia’s Three Chinese Tenors, and has performed with major concert groups including The Australian Army Band, The Viennese Musical Society, The Victorian Concert Orchestra and Macquarie Philharmonia. He continues to produce touring “popera” shows with a comedic flavour.
He has recorded three albums, received a Fellowship Diploma in Music in 2019, and earned acclaim for his role as The Doctor in the Australian premiere of A Handmaid’s Tale opera. During COVID-19, he continued performing in theatre and television, including Gang of Five, Toyota USA, Department of Defence and Love Me.
Lisette Bolton
Green Room Award nominated soprano and director Lisette Bolton is a Master of Music (Opera Performance) graduate from the University of Melbourne and an alumna of Opera Australia’s Regional Student Scholarship, the Young Songmakers Development Program, Opera Scholars Australia and the Australian Shakespeare Company’s Graduate Players. She was a 2025 sponsorship recipient of the Cope-Williams Arts Foundation and was a semi-finalist in the 2024 Australian Singing Competition and 2023 Herald Sun Aria. She made her directorial debut in 2025 with a production of Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief at the Atheneum II with IOpera Company.
Her performance credits include Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck), Parrwang (Parrwang Lifts the Sky, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon), Laetitia and Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief, Menotti), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte, Mozart), Second Wood Nymph (Rusalka, Dvořák), First Soprano (Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt, Missy Mazzoli), Kala/Elle (Pieces of Margery, May Lyon), Bird (The Grumpiest Boy in the World, Joseph Twist), Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas, Purcell), Olive (Fly, Barry Conyngham) and Girl (Emperor of Atlantis, Viktor Ullmann). She has also understudied Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites, Poulenc) and Contessa (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart)
Glenda Smith
Glenda Smith has enjoyed a rich and varied musical life spanning opera, oratorio, choral singing and performance. After singing extensively throughout her school years, including Gilbert and Sullivan and oratorio, she continued her musical journey at university with Town and Gown music societies, performing roles such as Maurya in Riders to the Sea and Olga in Eugene Onegin. She was also a member of the Elizabethan Madrigal Singers.
Glenda went on to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before joining the Scottish Chorus, performing professionally in theatre and concert productions across Europe. Highlights of this period include Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Jerusalem and Schoenberg’s Die Gluckliche Hand at La Scala.
Alongside her professional work, she has continued to perform in a wide range of settings, from choirs and oratorio to jazz, pop backing vocals, television and film. Among her more unusual musical adventures are performing for tea dances at the Ritz and busking in Covent Garden with a plastic lobster. She now sings with Melbourne’s Women’s Choir, the Yarra Valley Singers and the Yarra Valley Chamber Singers.
Melbourne-born Charlie Wu is one of Australia’s brightest young musical talents.
