A cellist, Maureen O’Carroll, had bravely informed the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s management that there was one item on the programme that she was not prepared to play. It read: “You have been recommended for the position of cellist in the New Zealand National Orchestra by the conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Mr Eugene Goossens. After New Zealand, O’Carroll travelled to the United States, where she performed in New York with artists such as Frank Sinatra. In 1957 she was accepted into the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, where she married the principal cellist. In 1974 she returned to Australia, where she joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing with outstanding musicians such as Aaron Copeland, Glenn Gould, Paul Tortelier and Danny Kaye in a wide range of music, but not Rule, Britannia!

Source: The Irish Times August 11, 2020 05:05 UTC