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The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has announced that Geoffrey Rush, internationally-renowned, multi-award winner and one of Australia’s greatest actors, has accepted a new role in 2008 as ‘MSO Ambassador’.

As a long-time Melbourne resident and classical music lover, Geoffrey Rush regularly attends Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performances. In 2006, he hosted the MSO’s centenary celebrations, proclaiming to the delight of Orchestra and audience alike that “the drug of orchestral music has given me a habit I cannot deny. The MSO is my local supplier.”

Managing Director Trevor Green said “We’re honoured that a man of Geoffrey’s calibre shares our passion for orchestral music and as such, has accepted a role as an ‘MSO Ambassador’. We’re delighted to welcome him as a member of the MSO family.”

"Orchestral composition and performance is over half a millennium old (who says it won't last!?)…it continues to thrive and explore new directions - for the concert hall, the recording studio, film scores and beyond. The MSO is a great orchestra - dynamic and bold and daring in all areas of the repertoire. I am thrilled to be its ambassador”, said  Geoffrey Rush.

Geoffrey Rush is highly acclaimed for the breadth and depth of his acting roles; from his outstanding depiction of David Helfcott in Shine to his title role portrayal in The Life and Death of Peter Sellars, scheming Sir Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth to the villainous Captain Barbossa in The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

Nominated for numerous awards, he has won two Golden Globes, two BAFTAs and Emmy and an Oscar to name just a few of his accolades.

His extensive stage career in Australia includes appearances with the Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne and South Australian theatre companies and Belvoir St Theatre. Last year, he starred as King Berenger in a production of Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King for Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne and Company B in Sydney, directed by Neil Armfield.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural Ambassador program aims to bring together classical music lovers to act as advocates for the MSO to wider audiences, both here in Australia and overseas.

In the future, the MSO will expand its program to encompass esteemed individuals from various backgrounds including business, sporting and other fields. In sharing their passion for classical music, these individuals will help raise the profile of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as it continues to deliver a broad program of wonderful music - from classical concerts to education and outreach projects - into the community.

Further information: www.mso.com.au