But this was not the only point of contention inside the Melbourne arts institution. The June 27 meeting in turn followed an earlier unsuccessful attempt by Ms Galaise and deputy chair Dianne Jameson to oust Mr Li over alleged and disputed connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
Then the Gaza story broke. While introducing a new piece by Australian composer Connor D’Netto on August 11, Gillham told the audience at Melbourne’s Iwaki Auditorium that the composition Witness was about Palestinian journalists killed during the war in Gaza.
“In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word ‘witness’ in Arabic is ‘shaheed’, which also means martyr,” Gillham said, according to the management.
The political statement caused a public scandal. The MSO first apologised to patrons and then cancelled a later performance by Gillham. The MSO later rescheduled the concert following a public outcry over its cancellation, shortly after its musicians voted on a motion of no confidence in Ms Galaise. Attempts to contact Ms Galaise on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
It seems there will be no shortage of material for Mr Garrett to sift through.
Mr Jeffes was engaged by Ms Galaise as a consultant to the orchestra in November 2021 to build international relationships. Mr Li believed this engagement, worth $284,000 before it concluded in June this year, went beyond the delegated authority of the managing director to award.
Orchestral sources say Mr Li began informally querying some of the MSO’s spending earlier this year, after having been asked to make a $350,000 donation to keep the orchestra in the black the previous December.
Around the same time, the orchestra and Mr Li were contacted by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, which began asking questions about his past, seemingly aimed to establish whether he had ongoing connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
A very short meeting
Shortly after, Ms Galaise and Ms Jameson convened an extraordinary general meeting of the board with the aim of removing Mr Li over these perceived links.
“It was a very short meeting,” said an MSO source. “It was resolved that the Al Jazeera thing was egregious and erroneous, and there was confidence in David.”
Mr Li later approached the board and management with his concerns about the contract under which Mr Jeffes was engaged. He cited potential irregularities in the documentation explaining the work done by Mr Jeffes, the high cost of the engagement, as well as the fact that Mr Jeffes was engaged through his wife’s company, Firefly Productions.
Firefly is owned by Jane Jeffes, who is a documentary producer who has produced for several broadcasters, including Al Jazeera.
Mr Jeffes confirmed his MSO contract centred on leveraging his contacts for MSO touring opportunities, in particular for a European tour which he was now unsure would still go ahead.
“I’m happy for any auditor to ring me and I’ll take them through exactly what I did,” he said. He added that his wife’s last production for Al Jazeera was 12 years ago and that she had had nothing to do with the network since.
This week, Al Jazeera aired a documentary which aired concerns about Chinese Communist Party infiltration of the MSO. This program highlighted Mr Li’s youth in the People’s Liberation Army, and questioned his business dealings, the orchestra’s outreach to China, and the use of Chinese soloists with links to the Communist Party.
“Mr David Li, AM, is a prominent Australian and accomplished musician who has contributed greatly to the arts, medical research and education. We are aware of a recent overseas media report that contains many imputations that are baseless,” a spokesman for Mr Li said in a statement.
The MSO said through a spokesperson on Wednesday: “The board acknowledges a number of complex issues that remain a focus for the MSO. We are making good progress in finalising the terms of the external review and will provide an update as appropriate.”
The MSO is one of the nation’s heftiest artistic boards and seats several extremely senior Australian directors including former Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson, COVID-era Victorian health minister Martin Foley, Wingate founder Farrel Meltzer and Myer family scion and funds manager Edgar Myer. Ms Jameson, who as deputy chair organised the meeting to try to oust Mr Li, is a financial adviser and major philanthropist.
Immigrated with ‘$50 in his pocket’
Mr Li was appointed chairman of the MSO in 2021, having been on the board since 2013. A migrant who grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution, he immigrated to Australia on an academic scholarship – “with $50 in his pocket”, according to an MSO source – and made his fortune in the importing of construction supplies.
He has been a major philanthropist to several Melbourne institutions, and was in 2019 made a member of the Order of Australia for his “significant service to the community through support for the performing arts”. Most of the MSO’s board is said to support Mr Li.
“David is an exceptional, capable and generous person,” said one director. “The MSO and Australia are very fortunate to have him.”
