The announcement that experienced arts administrator Amanda Jolly is the new executive director of Queensland Youth Orchestras is good news for this dynamic organisation.

Queensland Youth Orchestras, based at The Old Museum in Bowen Hills, is a powerhouse of developing musical talent and very important for the ecology of the arts in Queensland.

Jolly is a highly respected cultural leader with a longstanding commitment to building opportunities for young people to participate in the arts.

QYO president Ian Walker, an inspirational former arts minister in the Newman Government, says Jolly’s deep appreciation of music, her broad experience across a range of cultural organisations in Australia and internationally, and her expertise in philanthropic, arts and strategic management, will be immensely valuable to QYO.

Jolly was most recently the executive director of Queensland Theatre, where she worked for 15 years setting up the company’s philanthropy department and also serving for a time as deputy executive director.

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During her tenure at Queensland Theatre she doubled the education and youth programs, expanding significantly into the regions, and led the successful planning and delivery of the new Bille Browne Theatre, a transformational project for QT.

Jolly as worked in the arts sector in the US, Canada and Chile, where she served for nine years in the Office of International Relations for the National Department of Cultures. She also has experience at the State Library of Queensland and the Victoria State Opera.

Jolly says she is “thrilled by the opportunity to work for this extraordinary organisation, which means so much to so many people and has launched the careers of some of Australia’s most exciting musicians”. “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to contribute to this proud history,” she says.

QYO music director Simon Hewett warmly welcomes Jolly to the role: “Amanda’s appointment marks a new chapter for our organisation as we look to the next decade for QYO, and the opportunities inherent in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane in 2032.”

QYO president Ian Walker paid tribute to outgoing general manager Geoff Rosbrook, who led the organisation for more than 27 years, alongside founding music director John Curro and his successor Hewett.

“His dedication and skill have left Queensland Youth Orchestras in a strong position as one of the leading youth orchestras in Australia,” says Walker.

Jolly joins QYO at an exciting time for the organisation, fresh from the success of an international tour to Singapore, Austria and Germany, where a performance review in Hamburg Abendblatt (Hamburg’s premier newspaper) began with the headline “This must be Australia’s best youth orchestra”. Well, they got that right.

Future plans for QYO include increased regional touring and musical outreach programs to underserved communities.

The QYO Finale, QPAC Concert Hall, October 26, 7pm. All eight QYO orchestras and ensembles will perform highlights from their 2024 repertoire.

qpac.com.au