The Melbourne Chamber Choir
The Melbourne Chamber Choir is in its 29th year of performing choral music of excellence in Melbourne and beyond.
During the years it has presented its own concert series in addition to performing with a variety of orchestras and choirs.
The choir has many times performed with the Melbourne Symphony, and once with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; and with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Strings of Melbourne, the percussion ensemble Synergy, Orchestra Victoria and the Stonnnington Symphony Orchestra. It has given a concert with the Corinthian Singers of Adelaide both in Adelaide and Melbourne, has shared a concert with the choir of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament of Christchurch, New Zealand, and has been in concert with many Victorian choirs. It has been a guest choir at Victorian and interstate music festivals; and it took the lead in the massed choir for the Classical Spectacular, with the Melbourne Symphony, in Melbourne Park (Rod Laver Arena) in the year 2000. In 2008 the choir provided choral music used in the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
The Melbourne Chamber Choir has produced records, tapes and CDs. It is on Virgin CD with the Melbourne Symphony in Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin and provided the Australian music backing for the CD-ROM Lights of Our Past — The History of Stained Glass in Australia. It has had media exposure on radio, television and film.
A charter commitment of the choir is to present Australian and new music, and regularly a programme has focussed on this choral music. In 2002 it was Marvellous Melbourne Musicians, in which composers born in the city of Melbourne, or who had given much of their creative music to the city, were celebrated. In 2004 The Wag with a Swag presented an array of colourful and humorous music, premiering 10 pieces, in the presence of three of the composers. In 2006 the Melbourne Chamber Choir sang a concert in celebration of the life and composition of Wendy Morrissey, and premiered Myths of Cloud. In 2008 it sang A Homage to Percy Grainger concert at Choral@Montsalvat and in its From East to West concert the choir sang music of Chinese-born Melbourne composer Julian Yu. It will premiered The Journey by Elliot Gyger in its Come, Come Ye Saints concert in 2009. Pied Chorale by May Andrewartha in 2010 and The Fly by James Wade and People Come and Praise by Meena Shamaly in 2011.
In 2004 the Melbourne Chamber Choir and the Melbourne Women's Choir together hosted a choral-in-the-round festival Choral@Montsalvat, sharing the day-long event with fourteen choirs. In 2011 the choir hosted its eighth festival on 1st May, and continued its tradition of encouraging the presentation of Australian music as choirs premiered nine new choral works.
You can make concert bookings from the left menu item Contact us, Bookings and orders.
