Thanks to CSO's partners, donors, subscribers and long-time supporters, and our board, musicians and staff, last Friday's annual Fundraising Gala was a great success! Your support and generosity mean the CSO can deliver more concert programs, community initiatives, and pathways for this region's young musicians. We're thrilled to announce that, with your help, we have raised $40,000.

The CSO Fundraising Gala 2023 showed the impact our work and your donations can have. The Kingsland Strings, who are part of our Kingsland Pathways Program for Canberra's emerging artists and represent the future of classical music, performed for our guests. Artworks created through the Tingey Painting with Parkinson's program, where CSO players regularly provide music, featured in our live and silent auctions.

We were excited to try something new at this year's Fundraising Gala. There were two rounds of bidding on a Musical Jukebox in the live auction, with each winner choosing two pieces from a list of eight for the ensemble to perform immediately following the auction. CSO Concertmaster Kirsten Williams, Pip Thomspon, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan and CSO Principal Cellist Patrick Suthers showcased the agility and dynamism of the CSO and took live music in real time to a new level, playing arrangements of well-loved pieces by CSO musician and administrator David Flynn containing various musical surprises - each work was a mash-up of classical and pop tunes!

The event concluded with the raffle draw for the 'Golden Ticket' to a full CSO season, valued at $3,560: two tickets to every concert on the program, with A-Reserve seats in Llewellyn Hall, and the ability to meet Jessica Cottis, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, and mingle with CSO VIP guests at a private, pre-concert function! The winner is Robert Scroczynski.