Free programs
Since 2007 the Sydney Symphony has been offering free program books to audiences at all our subscription* concerts. We’re proud to have been the first major concert presenter in Sydney to offer free programs and delighted to see other presenters in town do the same.
Read all about it
Much more than a souvenir of the concert, Sydney Symphony programs set out to give you a deeper appreciation and understanding of the music we play and the artistic thinking behind the programs we present.
Here’s what you’ll find inside:
- program notes by some of Australia’s leading writers on music
- Keynotes: the essentials for each piece in a speed readartist biographies
- guides to broadcasts and further listening
- glossary of specialist terms
- occasional incidental articles and feature-profiles on musicians
Please share with your companion
We want to be environmentally responsible, so if you’re attending the concert in a couple or group, we ask you to share your program, one between two.
Of course, if there are spare programs remaining at the end of the evening you’re welcome to take another copy then. But sharing with your companion during the performance will ensure that no one misses out.
Most of our audience take the program home after the concert – to read again or keep as a souvenir – and that’s what we love to see.
But if you normally don’t keep your program after the concert, feel free to return it to one of the boxes in the foyer as you leave. In the Master, Kaleidoscope and Meet the Music series we can reuse the programs for the repeat performances; otherwise we arrange for them to be recycled.
Program books online
All of our free program books for subscription concerts are posted on our website on the concert’s event detail page as well as in the program library so you can read up on the music in the week of the concert. (We regret that the large-format souvenir programs sold at selected special and pops concert events are not available for download.)
Coming soon…
Beginning in 2010 you’ll also be able to sign up for a program book notification email, which you’ll receive in your inbox whenever we post a new program book online. You can choose to receive a notification for every program or, if you purchase your tickets through the Sydney Symphony, for just those concerts you’re attending.
* Please note that for most pops concerts and selected special events outside our subscription series we continue to sell large-format souvenir programs. These programs are not free and are not available for download. Check your concert’s event detail page for more information.