Recently founded in 2021, SUCO is the first full-sized, student-run Chinese orchestra in the Southern Hemisphere. We bring together students from all faculties at the University, both domestic and international, to perform works from the incredibly long and continuous tradition of Chinese music. Led by our Artistic Director Yanshen Huang, SUCO has a vision to not only play famous 20th-Century Chinese orchestral pieces, but also traditional operas, court, and tea music, alongside minority musics and modern pieces and arrangements. We wish to explore the spaces of natural acoustic harmony and digital soundscapes through contemporary cross-cultural fusions and remixes. In order to do this, we have two ensembles, the Jacaranda Orchestra , in the style of Chinese orchestras that arose in the 20th-Century, and the Waratah Ensemble, to play "chamber"-sized pieces. 

Anyone is able to join our society, but in order to be a performing member of Jacaranda you must be able to play a Chinese instrument at a high-enough standard to perform the repertoire for the Artistic Season. We hold annual auditions in order to decide the principal players for Jacaranda, and to choose the ensemble members of Waratah. As we are a society of students, we cannot provide teaching and training to play in these ensembles, but if you would like to learn the Conservatorium runs the Chinese Music Ensemble unit, open to all students at the University. Please contact the Ensemble Director Dr Lulu Liu at lu.liu@sydney.edu.au for more information.