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Sydney · Venue

ACO Pier 2/3

A flexible 275-seat concert room in Sydney’s restored Walsh Bay wharf precinct, run by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Upcoming shows
41
Address
13A Hickson Road, 2000 Dawes Point
Phone
1800 444 444
Next show
Sun, 4 Oct 2026
Official siteDirections
ACO Pier 2/3 in Sydney

About ACO Pier 2/3

ACO Pier 2/3 is the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 275-seat harbour-end room in Sydney’s Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Its calling card is The Neilson: a concert hall inside a heritage timber wharf, with seating that shifts from raked rows to a flat floor. That scale makes the room especially suited to close-range chamber performances, amplified sets, talks and recorded sessions, while the upper levels frame harbour and bridge views.

From working wharf to opening-night gala

Pier 2/3 began as a timber wharf constructed in the 1920s, then gained heritage status in 1999. In 2016, the NSW Government appointed Tonkin Zulaikha Greer to create facilities for the ACO, Bell Shakespeare and Australian Theatre for Young People. The two-year redevelopment remade an empty wool store; construction finished in December 2021, retaining the heritage structure while adding performance infrastructure. The ACO marked its arrival with an Opening Festival running April 29–May 1, 2022. Its April 29 gala put Richard Tognetti and the orchestra on The Neilson stage with Jimmy Barnes, William Barton, Tamara-Anna Cislowska, Slava Grigoryan and Genevieve Lacey, plus Sydney Theatre Company actors delivering commissioned monologues. The festival also combined concerts, talks, family events, collaborations and live streams.

How the room works now

ACO-led presentations and external hires share the program, with events developed around the venue’s artistic and event strategy. Classical music is the centre of gravity, and the schedule also accommodates jazz, electronic and folk artists. The Neilson’s retractable seating can sit in raked or flat-floor mode, giving a 275-cap room a flexible concert feel. Arrive early for the Level 1 foyer’s Pier 2/3 Theatre Bar; that same level contains the box office and accessible facilities.

Sources

  1. Your Visit — Australian Chamber Orchestra
  2. ACO On The Pier — Australian Chamber Orchestra
  3. About Walsh Bay Arts Precinct — Infrastructure NSW
  4. Pier 2/3 Opening Festival — Australian Chamber Orchestra
  5. Hire Our Spaces — Australian Chamber Orchestra

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