2023 • WELCOME

We open with Splendour & Mystery which combines the works of Gabrieli and Schütz written for the enormous acoustics of European cathedrals and works by Clare Maclean and Brooke Shelley that reflect on this choral heritage. This program is also a rare chance to hear the Mass for Double Choir by Swiss composer Frank Martin. I have been entranced by the mystery and the yearning in this piece since I first heard it as a student and am looking forward to delving into its magic with the choir.

As the days grow shorter and colder in June, we return to The Neilson at Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay to present an intimate experience – just twenty-four singers will treat you to an evening wrapped up in music for the night. I’m delighted to be joined by singer and arranger Naomi Crellin to co-direct this performance, Winter Nights, which has music by Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel and Whitacre as well as songs from the greats: Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf.

Commissioning and performing new music is Sydney Chamber Choir’s bread and butter. In 2021 we premiered Joe Twist’s An Australian Song Cycle, which charts a journey through our landscape with the help of some of our nation’s greatest poets. Joe’s piece received such a strong reception that it only seems right that we hear it again. Our third concert, The Human Spirit, pairs this cycle with music of profound beauty from the Baltic tradition and, continuing the spirit of new music, a premiere of a commissioned work by Elizabeth Younan.

Music offers us a way to give voice to our innermost thoughts and feelings. We enjoy sharing this experience with you and invite you to join us for a year of beauty in sound.