Simone Young

Chief Conductor

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Listen to This is an evening of musical discovery like no other, hosted by Conductor in Residence Benjamin Northey. 

Part performance, part guided tour, this unique event offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Elgar’s music works.

Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto is a powerful, poignant work, written in the aftermath of the First World War. It grabs you right from its famous opening chords, which seem to cry out in search of compassion, understanding – any shred of human kindness – before taking you on a journey of extraordinary emotion.

Conductor in Residence Benjamin Northey explores what it is that makes this work so memorable, and why it pulls at our heartstrings. Learn more about Elgar and music at the dawn of the 20th century, and examine the influence this work has had on the century of music that has followed it.

Held at the Sydney Opera House, with no interval and a dynamic, engaging format, Listen to This is designed for curious minds – whether you’re discovering classical music for the very first time, or finding out what makes your favourite pieces tick.

Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpretation is available for Deaf and hard of hearing patrons, provided by Auslan Stage Left. Please contact our Box Office on (02) 8215 4600 or email info@sydneysymphony.com for more information.

Program to include excerpts from:

ELGAR

Cello Concerto

Artists

Benjamin Northey

Conductor in Residence

Australian conductor Benjamin Northey is the Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Conductor in Residence of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2025 he was appointed Professor of Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Director of the Australian Conducting Academy. He has previously held the posts of Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2010-2019), Resident Guest Conductor of the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra (2002-2006) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (2007-2010).

Northey studied conducting at Finland's Sibelius Academy with Professors Leif Segerstam and Atso Almila after being accepted as the highest placed applicant in 2002. He completed his studies at the Stockholm Royal College of Music with Jorma Panula in 2006.

He previously studied conducting with John Hopkins OBE at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music from 2000-2002.

Northey appears regularly as a guest conductor with all major Australian symphony orchestras, Opera Australia (La bohème, Turandot, L'elisir d'amore, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Carmen), New Zealand Opera (Sweeney Todd), Victorian Opera (Candide, Into the Woods) and the State Opera South Australia (La sonnambula, L’elisir d’amore, Les contes d’Hoffmann).

His international appearances include concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Malaysian Philharmonic and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Northey has collaborated with a broad range of leading artists including Lang Lang, Pinchas Zukerman, Wynton Marsalis, Maxim Vengerov, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Julian Rachlin, Karen Gomyo, Piers Lane, Alban Gerhardt, Johannes Moser, William Barton, Lu Siquing, Amy Dickson, Slava Grigoryan, Marc-André Hamelin, James Morrison, Kurt Elling, Archie Roach, Ben Folds, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Paul Grabowsky, Tim Minchin, kd Lang, Patti Austin, Kate Miller-Heidke, Megan Washington, Barry Humphries, Meow Meow and Tori Amos.

Northey is highly active in the performance and recording of new Australian orchestral music, having premiered dozens of major new works by Australian composers.  He has previously been a board member of the Australian Music Centre.

An Aria Awards, Air Music Awards, and Art Music Awards winner, he was voted Limelight Magazine's Australian Artist of the Year in 2018. Northey's many recordings can be found on ABC Classics. In 2025, he conducts the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Tasmanian and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.