The musicians and staff of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra were greatly saddened to learn of the death of Martin Foster on Monday 10 August 2026.
Martin served as Principal Contrabassoon of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for 35 years, from 1967 until 2002. But it is his work as the founder and President of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Association (SSOMA) that has had a lasting impact, affecting not only generations of musicians of the Sydney Symphony but also the livelihoods of musicians in the other state symphony orchestras around Australia.
Martin began performing with the Orchestra in the early 1960s on a contract basis, and following a successful audition he was appointed to the permanent role of Principal Contrabassoon. Almost immediately he advocated for improved employment conditions and salaries for his Orchestral colleagues.
In the 1960s the state symphony orchestras were all operated by the ABC, with salaries and conditions controlled by a centralised industrial relations system. Martin attended commission hearings to argue for improved travel allowances, increased minimum rates of pay and working hours that minimised muscular skeletal and noise related injuries to orchestral musicians.
Martin joined the musicians’ union and quickly became a leader, representing his peers on the National Review Committee, the Joint Steering Committee and the Structural Efficiency Principal (SEP) Negotiation Committee.
With the introduction of enterprise bargaining, Martin Foster led negotiations for the ABC orchestra musicians in creating the first national agreement with the ABC, covering the terms and conditions of orchestral musicians.
Martin also championed concerns about noise related injuries amongst musicians. In the 1980s he located early international research in this field and encouraged the ABC to review the working structure for musicians to minimise injury from hearing loss.
In the 1990s, together with Associate Concertmaster Goetz Richter, Martin represented orchestral musicians from each of the ABC orchestras through the process of divestment from the ABC and the establishment of each orchestra as its own corporation.
During this period Martin spearheaded the reform of the orchestral musicians’ professional and industrial association, which lead to the establishment of the Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association (SOMA), a national body representing orchestral musicians in Australia. At the same time Martin founded the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association paving the way for more transparent and effective communication between our management and musicians.
In 1996 Martin lead the negotiations for the first collective agreement for musicians working with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a new corporation. A masterful negotiator, Martin worked tirelessly to create a strong modern collective agreement for the musicians of the Sydney Symphony, establishing a more efficient orchestra able to work creatively and effectively in modern settings. The agreement brokered by Martin became the benchmark in modern collective agreements for many other Australian symphony orchestras around the country.
In 2000 Martin Foster was invited by Mary Valentine, then General Manager of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to undertake a research project. The project was a benchmarking exercise of international and national orchestras comparing industrial agreements, internal management practices, employee relations and working practices. This work was ground-breaking and provided a firm basis for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to establish best practice employment terms and conditions for orchestral musicians. These conditions have led to the creation of a superior work, health and safety environment ensuring not only career longevity for musicians but also significantly improving artistic standards.
Martin was a pathbreaking, visionary advocate for musicians' working lives and conditions in Australian symphony orchestras for decades. His determination, commitment and passionate work for orchestral musicians in Australia and particularly at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra resulted in an Orchestra defined by its artistic excellence. Martin made a contribution over and above what could have been expected as a musician. His significant volunteer advocacy work was to the benefit of not only his peers but future Australian orchestra musicians.
In 2001, Liddy Clark, then-Member for Clayfield, acknowledged Martin's contributions in a speech in the in the Queensland Parliament, highlighting that SOMA had achieved 98 per cent union membership across the state symphony orchestras, in large part due to Martin’s leadership and advocacy.
Martin received honorary life membership from the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) in acknowledgement of his contributions over many decades.
In addition to his orchestral career and union advocacy, Martin was also a renowned bassoon technician and repairer, watchmaker and journalist. He was described by Jeweller magazine as their ‘resident watch guru,’ and would travel the world reporting from the frontlines of horology.
He remained a close friend of many musicians in the Sydney Symphony. At the commencement of the rehearsal on Monday morning, musicians and staff took a moment to reflect and observe a minute’s silence in Martin’s memory.
Our thoughts are with Martin's wife Eileen, their daughter Adrienne and her husband Patrick, and their children.