The Australian Chamber Orchestra will celebrate music's ability to prevail, with their 2021 season opening at the Wollongong Town Hall on Monday February 8.

Tabula Rasa was the first concert of the ACO's 2020 program to be cancelled due to COVID-19 but will be the first to resurrect their live performances.

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In response to the pandemic, live shows will be interspersed with 50-minute digital concert films to premier on a new streaming platform, ACO StudioCasts.

"We're proud to announce one of our most groundbreaking seasons yet, particularly given it has emerged out of one of the most challenging years we've faced," artist director Richard Tognetti said.

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Meantime, the Illawarra-based Steel City Strings is also excited for public performances with their rescheduled "The Composer Is In The Room" concert on March 6, also at the Town Hall.

The program will feature the world premiere of 'Cinque Forme d'Amore' (meaning Five Kinds of Love) by Elena Kats-Chernin - a piece commissioned by philanthropist Sue Kirby in memory of her late husband, Jack Goldring.

The concert will also feature "Nothing is Forever" by Matthew Hindson, Ann Carr-Boyd's lively "Fandango", and Moya Henderson's spiritual First Nations themes in "The Dreaming: Utterly Sacred: In Honour of 40,000 Years".

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For more details visit: www.aco.com.au and www.SteelCityStrings.com.au