Although Symphony No. 3 is not a programmatic work as such, the music traces a journey that may be interpreted in many ways. The opening is veiled and brooding, and somewhat enigmatic. The texture graudally lightens until it reaches a section of childlike innocence. This passage is interrupted at its climax by a rhythmically-based movement introduced by a solo for Maracas. The climax of this section cuts away, once again, to an extended slow movement characterised by a series of solos spread throughout the orchestra.

At the end of a long, melismatic Clarinet Solo, rapid running gestures move inevitably towards the Presto Finale. At the height of the Finale, the rhythmic momentum grinds to a halt and a slow-moving Coda closes the work with a final burst of power.

Symphony No. 3 was the John Bishop Commission for 1990, administered by the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide. It was commissioned with financial assistance from the Performing Arts Unit of the Australia Council, and first performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Stuart Challender at the Adelaide Festival Theatre on March 5th, 1990.