F.Y.I.

Principals collaborates with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra on 2026 season creative

Branding agency Principals has teamed up with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra for next year’s creative.

The announcement:

Branding agency Principals has partnered with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) to deliver creative for its 2026 season.

Tiny, yet mighty, MCO is Melbourne’s pre-eminent chamber music organisation. Led by artistic director Sophie Rowell, the orchestra delivers more than 80 performances each season. With the 2026 season launching this month, the MCO called on Principals to design a suite of supporting marketing materials, including the hero brochure.

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra executive director Adele Schonhardt said: “Building on the success of our 2025 season, we’re focused on reaching new audiences and deepening our connection with existing ones. With a track record of creating brands that captivate and connect, Principals was the perfect partner to help bring this vision to life.”

Developed through the Principals Good Idea Foundation, which supports purpose-led brands, the project builds on Rowell’s vision for the 2026 season: The World Around Us. The theme invites the exploration of music as a universal and personal experience – a mirror to culture, identity and history.

To express this, Principals created a suite of visuals that invite audiences to see – and hear – the world differently. Developed in creative collaboration with photographer Albert Comper, the visuals combine studio photography of the artists with AI-generated surreal landscapes. Flexible Sky is awash with the blue of Sun Orchids; Overgrown Paths bursts with Acacia Wattle and Silver Dollar Gum; and Under the Canopy is slick with fern and Oyster Mushrooms.

Principals creative director Rachel Terkelsen said: “It’s such a pleasure to collaborate with creatives from other disciplines. Sophie’s clear vision for the 2026 season evoked an immediate visual response that was perfectly suited to AI creation. And Albert’s expertise helped make these landscapes immersive, setting the scene for the performance.”

Schonhardt added: “Our purpose is to enrich people’s lives through human connection built on shared moments of musical inspiration. To do this, the first step is to capture our audience’s imagination. The Principals’ work does that beautifully.”

Source: Principals

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

"*" indicates required fields

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.