The Centennial International Exhibition held in Melbourne in 1888 showcased the city's exceptional wealth and cultural aspirations. As part of the exhibition, the visiting English conductor Frederic Hymen Cowen presented 263 orchestral concerts, cultivating a taste for classical music that would sustain a further orchestra, conducted by the English composer G.W.L. Marshall-Hall, that presented several concerts per year from 1892 to 1912. Immigration both before and during that period was a key factor in the urbanization and modernization of Melbourne as well as the success and achievements of Marshall-Hall's orchestra. Yet little is known about individual members and the trajectories of their careers. By examining the lists of members appearing in 19 years’ worth of programmes of the orchestra, this study contributes to the practice of ‘urban musicology’ by providing compelling evidence of the role of immigration in laying the foundation of music performance and performance training in a settler colonial city, and highlights three major steps in the evolution of the profession: the increasing presence in the orchestra of talented and in some cases exceptionally talented Australian-born musicians who were to succeed the older European-born and -trained musicians; the growing participation of women in the orchestra as well as the profession more broadly; and the strengthening of the Musicians’ Union's stranglehold on professional accreditation at the expense of women, amateurs and foreigners.

1888 年在墨尔本举办的百年国际博览会展示了这座城市非凡的财富和文化抱负。作为展览的一部分，来访的英国指挥家弗雷德里克·海门·考恩 (Frederic Hymen Cowen) 举办了 263 场管弦乐音乐会，培养了人们对古典音乐的品味，这将进一步维持由英国作曲家 GWL 马歇尔-霍尔 (GWL Marshall-Hall) 指挥的管弦乐队，该管弦乐队从 1892 年到 1892 年每年举办几场音乐会。 1912年。这一时期之前和期间的移民是墨尔本城市化和现代化以及马歇尔-霍尔管弦乐团成功和成就的关键因素。然而，人们对个别成员及其职业轨迹知之甚少。通过审查乐团 19 年节目中出现的成员名单，本研究提供了令人信服的证据，证明了移民在奠定音乐表演和表演培训基础方面的作用，从而为“城市音乐学”的实践做出了贡献。定居者殖民城市，并强调了该职业发展的三个主要步骤：管弦乐队中越来越多才华横溢的澳大利亚出生的音乐家，在某些情况下是非常有才华的，他们将接替年长的欧洲出生和受过训练的音乐家；女性越来越多地参与管弦乐团以及更广泛的职业；音乐家联盟以牺牲女性、业余爱好者和外国人为代价加强对专业认证的控制。