Barrister Richard Cobden’s biggest case at the moment is representing Australia’s record companies in a fight over music royalty rates with TV stations, but he’s also found a way to help composers in his spare time.

The veteran senior counsel, who has stood up for everybody from Rupert Murdoch to pop-star-turned-billionaire Holly Valance across a five-decade career, has begun paying for pieces to be written for Omega Ensemble, a Sydney-based chamber music group.