choral fest choirs australi

7/24/2019 Choral Fest Choirs Australi

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ADELAIDE CHAMBER SINGERS

Adelaide Chamber Singers has been an innovave and passionatecontributor to music making in Adelaide for thirty years. Formedin 1985 by its Arsc Director and Conductor Carl Crossin, the

ensemble comprises some of Adelaide’s best and most experiencedyoung ensemble singers, some of whom are also music teachers,soloists, emerging arsts and/or conductors in their own right.Adelaide Chamber Singers has built a substanal reputaonwherever it has performed and is widely respected as one ofAustralia’s nest chamber choirs. Adelaide Chamber Singers wasalso awarded the 2011 Ruby Award for “sustained excellence andcontribuon by an organisaon”. The Ruby Awards are SA’s premierArts awards and ACS is immensely proud of this recognion andhonour.

GUEST CHOIRS

EXAUDI YOUTH CHOIR

Exaudi Youth Choir is a group of experienced young choral singers,dedicated to performing a wide range of music at a high level. Exauditours regularly, has produced two CD recordings and performsfrequently in and around Melbourne. The young people involvedrepresent a variety of professions and many are terary students.They share a common love of singing and in many cases areaccomplished musicians. Exaudi takes its name from the Lan wordmeaning “listen to us” or “understand us”. Founded in 2007 by ClairePreston and Bob Stewart, Exaudi is now part of the Young Voicesof Melbourne organizaon and is conducted by Mark O’Leary. In2014 Exaudi undertook a successful Winter Tour of regional Victoriawith US composer and hammer dulcimer master Malcolm Dalglish,and is looking forward to a 2015 tour to Fesval of Voices in Hobart.

YOUNG VOICES OF MELBOURNE

Young Voices of Melbourne was founded by Mark O’Leary in 1990,and is now regarded as one of Australia’s nest young choirs. Choirmembers aged 6 to 28 years rehearse weekly in one of ve groups.The choir performs regularly in and around Melbourne, and toursannually. It has taken its music to all states and territories ofAustralia, as well as Europe (1996, 2004 & 2010), South Africa(1998), Canada/USA (2001 & 2013), Singapore – Thailand (2007)and Samoa (2011). Young Voices of Melbourne has released tenCD recordings and has collaborated with many great choirs andarsts both in Australia and on its travels abroad. Members of thechoir aend dierent schools around Melbourne and are united bytheir love of singing great music together. Young Voices of Melbourneis conducted by Mark O’Leary and accompanied by Julia Piggin.

GONDWANA VOICES

Established by Arsc Director Lyn Williams in 1997, GondwanaVoices is a truly naonal choir whose members come from rightacross Australia. They are the children of dairy farmers and teachers,wheat farmers and ying doctors, engineers, oce workers andmusicians. They perform music which is close to their hearts; newAustralian works which capture the mystery and grandeur of our

land, and tradional works which display the cultural diversity ofthe Australian people. The work of the choir is a powerful expressionof the determinaon of young Australians to work together increang an extraordinary musical ensemble.

FULL BIO INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITEWWW.CHORALFEST.ORG.AU



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AUSTRALIAN GIRLS CHOIRWe aim to challenge the tradional view of choirs, and are knownfor our ability to excite audiences with our impressive choreographedrounes, vibrant performance costumes and exquisite singing. Wehave a diverse and extensive repertoire including much loved Aussietunes, upbeat and inspiraonal items, Broadway show numbers,songs from other cultures and of course Christmas Carols! Eventorganisers oen comment on our girls’ professionalism, impeccablebehaviour and their wonderful ability to connect and interact withdierent audiences.

CHOIRS

BEL CANTO,FIRBANK GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Firbank Grammar School has a long tradion of excellence in musicand provides a dynamic and varied music program which includesregular church and concert performances. An appreciaon of musicin all its forms is encouraged at all levels of the School.

Bel Canto is the senior audioned choir within the school and overthe past three years have performed in concert at the MelbourneRecital Centre, featured in the Anglican Schools’ Conference Service,

and performed at the Kodaly Conference as a Guest Choir. During2014, they toured internaonally to Munich, Salzburg and Viennain 2014, and competed in the Summa Cum Laude InternaonalYouth Music Fesval where they placed 1st in the Treble ChoirSecon, with ‘Outstanding Success’. They are directed by PhilippaJones, and accompanied by Jerome Walles.

CONCORDIS CHAMBER CHOIR

Formed in 1998 by current Arsc Director Andrew Hunter,

Concordis Chamber Choir has rmly established itself as one ofAustralia’s nest choral ensembles. Since the rst meeng of schoolleavers, Concordis has grown into a group of some 40 young menand women audioned from across Melbourne. The choir’s repertoireis eclecc and personal; deliberately diverse to demonstrate thatchoirs need not limit themselves to performing in only one style ofmusic. The music of Australian composers is an important emphasisfor Concordis; they regularly commission and première new worksby Australian composers and are proud of the reputaon they havegained for performing new and contemporary choral music.

Highlights from more than 10 years or performing include their winin the state nal and second place in the naonal nal of the ABCChoir of the Year compeon, appearances on ABC TV’s Spicks &Specks and Sunday Arts, numerous broadcasts on ABC Classic and3MBS FM and the release of their two compact disc recordings.




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HUNTER SINGERS

The highly acclaimed regional choir Hunter Singers was establishedin 1989 by Kim Sutherland OAM. Now in its 25th year, there arecurrently 43 singers aged 12-18 in Hunter Singers, represenng 7government high schools in the Hunter region of NSW.

There have been many highlights for Hunter Singers, with someoutstanding and memorable commissions and internaonal toursto China, USA, Austria, England, Wales, New Zealand, Italy, Canada,Belgium, France and Germany. The group has also performed manyconcerts in Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle.

Hunter Singers was awarded a Gold Diploma at the 2012 WorldChoir Games in Cincinna USA. In 2009 the group won secondprize at the Summa Cum Laude Fesval in Vienna – a compeveevent with choirs, orchestras and bands from all over the world.The group also won two major prizes at the Verona ChoralCompeon in Italy, 2003.

Formed by Debra Shearer-Dirié in 2009, Fusion has become knownfor its performances of diverse repertoire with exceponal beauty.The group brings together some of Brisbane’s best and mostexperienced ensemble singers, most of whom sing regularly withother choirs in and around the city and have extensive performingand touring experience both around Australia and internaonally.Intended from the outset as a seasonal ensemble, Fusion allowssingers to remain dedicated members of their own choirs throughoutthe year but to extend themselves by singing for short and intensiveperiods with highly experienced musicians from other groups. Byusing this model, Fusion seeks to build and foster community ratherthan compeon in the Brisbane choral scene. Singers range acrossan assortment of careers including educators, public servants, healthprofessionals, lawyers and students. Several members are alsochoral conductors themselves and are able to apply the skills andknowledge acquired from Fusion to their own ensembles.

MARRYATVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

The choir is one of the many co-curricular ensembles at MarryatvilleHigh School’s internaonally acclaimed Special Interest MusicCentre. The choir is recognised as one of the best school choirs inAdelaide. In the past decade it has won compeons in Adelaide(Adelaide Choral Eisteddfods), Sydney (Sydney Performing ArtsChallenge, ABC Classic FM Choir of the Year State Champion 2006),and internaonally (Tallinn Internaonal Choral Fesval 2007). Thechoir recently toured Central Europe including concerts at theKodaly School in Kecskemet. The choir performs a wide variety ofrepertoire in a range of styles, and where possible in originallanguages




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MELBOURNE CHORUS

Melbourne Chorus has been performing and compeng acrossVictoria, Australia and the world stage for over 30 years. A memberof Sweet Adelines Internaonal, they perform a cappella in thebarbershop style with a repertoire covering early folk to modernday pop. With members aged from 16 – 80 years, we cometogether with a shared love of singing, educaon and engagement.

Melbourne Chorus is Australia’s 2014 Champion Mid Size Chorus(SAI) and was the Melbourne Eisteddfod’s inaugural champion in2013.

POLYPHONIC VOICES

Polyphonic Voices is a new Melbourne based chamber choir whichaims to create vibrant and engaging concerts of the nest choralrepertoire, performed to the highest standard. Led by MichaelFulcher, this small group of exceponal ensemble singers tailorevocave programs to pair with excing venues and themes.

The 20 singers in Polyphonic Voices are all acve members of theMelbourne choral scene with many recent graduates of theoutstanding choirs of the University of Melbourne, namely thoseof Trinity, Queen’s, Newman and Ormond College. The experienceand experse shared amongst the singers gives Polyphonic Voicesan undeniable edge in the Melbourne choral scene.

In 2014 Polyphonic Voices launched their inaugural season withthe hugely successful Songs of Farewell on 16 May 2014, an eventto commemorate the centenary of the start of the Great War. Theevocave program and raw musicality of the singers combined intoa spine-chilling experience for listeners.

SOUTHERN VOICES

Southern Voices is a community choir for children, teenagers andyoung adults. We provide a comprehensive music educaon throughsinging, and specialise in development of transional voices.Southern Voices has 2 training levels, a treble voiced developmentchoir and the main performing choir, the Chorale. The Chorale hasperformed throughout Melbourne, represented Australia overseasand has competed successfully in eisteddfods, winning 3 seconsof the Royal South Street eisteddfod in 2013 and compeng in theAustralian Naonal Eisteddfod in Canberra, and winning theContemporary Secon and coming second in the Sacred Secon.in 2014.

STRATHCONA MELLOR HOUSE SINGERS

Strathcona Mellor House Singers are the audioned upper primarychoir at a small Bapst Girls’ Grammar School in Canterbury. Theyprepare sacred and secular repertoire for school services andconcerts and perform in compeons and public concerts. MellorHouse Singers perform a diverse repertoire of genres, periods andlanguages. They have recently sung in Russian, Lan, French andaboriginal and islander languages. The choir oen performs with

choreography. The choir has been directed by Marianne for the last2 1/2 years. Under Marianne, Mellor House Singers have sung atthe last 3 Boroondara Eisteddfodau (Primary General), achievingHighly Commended, First and Second successively.




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RUYTON GIRLS SCHOOL MINI MADS

Mini Mads is an audioned choir in the Junior School. The girls havewon many prizes at various eisteddfods over a number of years.Most recently they were placed rst at the Melbourne Eisteddfodfor the second year in row. The girls perform in a variety of concertsthroughout the year including Grandparents’ and Special Friends’

Day, Contemporary Music Concert, Presentaon Night, Light UpYour Winter Fesval as well as local rerement villages, andworkshops with vising clinicians.

THE VOCAL CONSORT

The Vocal Consort is the adult performing group of the AustralianBoys Choral Instute and was formed in 1984 to complement thework of the Australian Boys Choir, with most members of the grouphaving gained their early musical training through the Boys Choir.

The Consort currently consists of fourteen tenors and basses, mostlyaged in their early to mid twenes. Ranging from plainchant andsixteenth century polyphony to comic pieces, jazz and pop, thegroup’s repertoire is wide and varied. Audiences may ride on a journey of emoons from hysterical laughter through to inmatereecon and everywhere between.

In addion to touring in Australia and overseas, the Consort presentsmany performances in its own right and frequently contributes toconcerts with the Australian Boys Choir. The group has performedin lm and on radio and has released three recordings, the mostrecent in 2012.

VOYCES

Voyces is a West Australian based vocal ensemble that focuses onthe performance of contemporary choral work. With an unwaveringdedicaon to the producon of beauful and powerful musicalexperiences, Voyces has gained a reputaon of excellence since itsincepon in 2012. Renowned musical director, Dr Robert Braham,guides the members of Voyces through a truly diverse repertoire,including pieces by acclaimed Australian composers such IainGrandage, Dan Walker and Stephen Leek and internaonalcomposers Francis Poulenc, Eric Whitacre, John Tavener and OlaGjeilo. As a strong supporter of emerging young composers, Voyceshas showcased works by local composers including Perry Joyce,Calum Braham and Stefan Pugliese. In 2011, Voyces performed atthe Australian Naonal Choral Associaon re-launch and later thatyear premiered a work at, and commissioned for, the NaonalCouncil of Or Schulwerk 17th Biennial Conference. In 2012,Voyces was a nalist in the ABC Classic FM ‘Vocal Romp!’compeon and in August Voyces formed a proud partnership withthe City of Perth 2012 Winter Arts Fesval, a partnership thatconnued into 2013. More recently, Voyces is building on itscommunity profile by introducing an annual compositioncompeon- Voyces: Aspire. The 2013 winner of the compeonwas Stefan Pugliese’s work Three Bays.

In 2014, Voyces was invited to take part in the Internaonal ChoirProgram at the Festival of Voices as the West Australianrepresentave.


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