Australian Children's Choir
Encyclopedia
The Australian Children’s Choir (ACC), founded in 1976, is a mixed-voice children's choir based in Melbourne
, Australia
, and consisting of some 200 boys and girls aged 7–18 in six different training ensembles. The choir has developed a strong reputation for its refined performances, varied repertoire and the production of fine young musicians, many of whom have gone on to pursue successful musical careers.
, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
, the Academy of Melbourne, the Central Band of the RAAF, the Australian Classical Players, Royal Australian Naval Band, and the Victorian Police Showband.
Highlights in recent years have included Mahler's 8th Symphony with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
under conductor Markus Stenz
, a featured appearance at the nationally televised AFI Awards Ceremony, numerous televised performances on Rove Live
, and concerts with the legendary rock band Kiss
and the Melbourne Symphony at the Telstra Dome
. The ACC appeared at the 2004 AFL Grand Final
. It participated in a series of filmed international television commercials for the Korean Motor Company Kia
, filmed on various locations around Victoria
, and gave a live televised performance to an estimated one billion people for China Television to mark the 30th anniversary of Australian-Chinese relations.
Leading artists the choir has recently appeared with include Julie Anthony
, Marina Prior
, Rhonda Burchmore
, Marcia Hines
, Delta Goodrem
, Rove McManus
, David Hobson and Peter Brockelhurst. Past recordings include John Farnham
's Whispering Jack
Album, and the smash hit You're the Voice
, as well as numerous recordings ranging from folk music and commercials to movie soundtracks.
The choir has produced two CDs; "Leave No Song Unsung" (which was nominated for a Sounds Australian Award in 2004 for best Choral Recording), and more recently, "Christmas Lullaby", featuring music for the Festive Season. Both have been featured on ABC Classic FM and 3MBS FM. The ACC wil be releasing another CD in the near future.
2006 included performances of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Melbourne Bach Choir, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and Orff's Carmina Burana (with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic) as well as the "Irish Songs of Praise" concerts and appearances at the Melbourne International Fashion festival at BMW Edge and at the Stringybark Folk Festival. The choir also performed in concerts with the Salvation Army
, a series of concerts with the Victoria Police Showband at the Police Academy, a series of concerts at The Australia Club, the RACV Club, several corporate performances at various venues around the city, a featured appearance at Banyule’s Carols by Candlelight, and ‘Carols in the Cathedral’ (also with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic) in St Paul’s Cathedral. In 2007, the choir received a contract to perform in The Australian Ballet Season of The Nutcracker
, at the State Theatre, Victoria. These were in addition to the numerous charity and local community performances the choir performs throughout the year.
In 2009 the choir started the year by performing (along with many other choirs) in the Day of Mourning for those lost during the Black Saturday bushfires. They also performed Gordon Kerry's Requiem Tropes, a work based on the Mozart Requiem. Throughout the year the choir also participated in several recording, including pieces such as "World Keeps Turning" by Jetty Road and "Advance Australia Fair
" with Judith Durham
. The choir ended their year with several Christmas performances, notably Carols in the Cathedral (in Melbourne's St Pauls Cathedral) with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
and several guest soloists including Roy Best
.
is the current Musical Director of the choir, and conducts the Senior Choristers.
Principal Accompanist: Amir Farid
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and consisting of some 200 boys and girls aged 7–18 in six different training ensembles. The choir has developed a strong reputation for its refined performances, varied repertoire and the production of fine young musicians, many of whom have gone on to pursue successful musical careers.
Members
There are approximately 200 singers in the choir, ranging in age from 7 to 18, and composed of six groups: Probationary, Melody, Harmony, Intermediate, Reserve, and Senior Choristers. The young singers who comprise the senior performing ensemble of the Australian Children's Choir meet twice a week to rehearse outside school hours, and must demonstrate a high degree of musical ability, personal organization and concentration to become proud wearers of the ACC's distinctive green uniforms. In return, they receive many wonderful musical and social opportunities that they would not otherwise experience, and take on the role of fine young ambassadors for both the ACC and their country.Touring
The choir regularly tours throughout Australia and has made regular international tours, to countries including England, Hong Kong, Wales, and New Zealand. In 2004 the ACC undertook a major concert tour of Europe and the United Kingdom, performing in cities such as Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Edinburgh, Cambridge and London. In 2005 the choir toured New Zealand for the second time, and in January 2007 the ACC undertook its first concert tour of mainland China, performing in cities such as Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Tianjin and Huangyan.Engagements
The ACC regularly appears in concert with many of Melbourne's leading musical ensembles, including groups such as the Melbourne Symphony OrchestraMelbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is a 120-voice choir and orchestra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1853, and is reportedly Australia's oldest surviving cultural organisation....
, the Academy of Melbourne, the Central Band of the RAAF, the Australian Classical Players, Royal Australian Naval Band, and the Victorian Police Showband.
Highlights in recent years have included Mahler's 8th Symphony with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
under conductor Markus Stenz
Markus Stenz
Markus Stenz is a German conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa....
, a featured appearance at the nationally televised AFI Awards Ceremony, numerous televised performances on Rove Live
Rove Live
Rove, formerly Rove Live, was an Australian television talk show which premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, before moving to Network Ten which aired the program from 2000 until November, 2009. The show was hosted by comedian Rove McManus, and featured an ensemble cast, who presented...
, and concerts with the legendary rock band Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and the Melbourne Symphony at the Telstra Dome
Telstra Dome
Docklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. The ACC appeared at the 2004 AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
. It participated in a series of filmed international television commercials for the Korean Motor Company Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, filmed on various locations around Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and gave a live televised performance to an estimated one billion people for China Television to mark the 30th anniversary of Australian-Chinese relations.
Leading artists the choir has recently appeared with include Julie Anthony
Julie Anthony (Australian singer)
Julie Moncrief Lush OBE AM , better known as Julie Anthony, is an Australian entertainer. She sang the Australian National Anthem at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Human Nature....
, Marina Prior
Marina Prior
Marina Prior is an Australian singer and actress.- Early life :When she was a young child her parents returned to Australia and she grew up in Melbourne, attending Syndal South Primary School and Korowa Anglican Girls' School...
, Rhonda Burchmore
Rhonda Burchmore
Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore is an Australian entertainer.Born in Sydney, Rhonda has been performing since the age of two, trained in singing, acting and dancing and was awarded a scholarship to the University of New England where she majored in Theatre Arts.She became internationally known for her...
, Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
, Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
, Rove McManus
Rove McManus
John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the self-titled variety show Rove, and is the owner of the production company Roving Enterprises...
, David Hobson and Peter Brockelhurst. Past recordings include John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
's Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
Album, and the smash hit You're the Voice
You're the Voice
As a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...
, as well as numerous recordings ranging from folk music and commercials to movie soundtracks.
The choir has produced two CDs; "Leave No Song Unsung" (which was nominated for a Sounds Australian Award in 2004 for best Choral Recording), and more recently, "Christmas Lullaby", featuring music for the Festive Season. Both have been featured on ABC Classic FM and 3MBS FM. The ACC wil be releasing another CD in the near future.
2006 included performances of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Melbourne Bach Choir, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and Orff's Carmina Burana (with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic) as well as the "Irish Songs of Praise" concerts and appearances at the Melbourne International Fashion festival at BMW Edge and at the Stringybark Folk Festival. The choir also performed in concerts with the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, a series of concerts with the Victoria Police Showband at the Police Academy, a series of concerts at The Australia Club, the RACV Club, several corporate performances at various venues around the city, a featured appearance at Banyule’s Carols by Candlelight, and ‘Carols in the Cathedral’ (also with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic) in St Paul’s Cathedral. In 2007, the choir received a contract to perform in The Australian Ballet Season of The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, at the State Theatre, Victoria. These were in addition to the numerous charity and local community performances the choir performs throughout the year.
In 2009 the choir started the year by performing (along with many other choirs) in the Day of Mourning for those lost during the Black Saturday bushfires. They also performed Gordon Kerry's Requiem Tropes, a work based on the Mozart Requiem. Throughout the year the choir also participated in several recording, including pieces such as "World Keeps Turning" by Jetty Road and "Advance Australia Fair
Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
" with Judith Durham
Judith Durham
Judith Durham, OAM is an Australian jazz singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group The Seekers in 1963. She left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career...
. The choir ended their year with several Christmas performances, notably Carols in the Cathedral (in Melbourne's St Pauls Cathedral) with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is a 120-voice choir and orchestra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1853, and is reportedly Australia's oldest surviving cultural organisation....
and several guest soloists including Roy Best
Roy Best
Roy Best was an American illustrator and painter of pin-up art.He was born in Waverly, Ohio and attended the Art Institute of Cincinnati, working on a railroad construction crew to support himself. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois, and enrolled in the Art Institute there.Later, Best was...
.
Musical Directors
Andrew WailesAndrew Wailes
Andrew K. Wailes is an Australian conductor and Music Director. Winner of the Australasian International Choral Conducting Competition in Brisbane in 1999, he is the current Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Artistic Director of The...
is the current Musical Director of the choir, and conducts the Senior Choristers.
Patrons
- The Hon. John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, former Prime Minister of Australia - The Hon. Lindsay ThompsonLindsay ThompsonLindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG , Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 40th Premier of Victoria from June 1981 to April 1982...
AO, CMG - Ronald Walker AC, CBE
- John FarnhamJohn FarnhamJohn Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
AO - Jean Ashworth BartleJean Ashworth BartleJean Ashworth Bartle, CM, O.Ont Choral conductor, Teacher and Founder/Conductor Laureate of the Toronto Children's Chorus....
CM, O.ONT - Toni LamondToni LamondToni Lamond AM is an Australian cabaret singer, stage actor, dancer and comedienne...
AM - Terry GillTerry GillTerry Gill is a British-born actor who carved a nichè in Australian television playing police officers.He was a recurring cast member in the women's prison drama Prisoner as Det. Insp. Jack Grace, a regular cast member as Sgt...
- Judith DurhamJudith DurhamJudith Durham, OAM is an Australian jazz singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group The Seekers in 1963. She left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career...
OAM
Principal Accompanist: Amir Farid
Amir Farid
Amir Farid is an Iranian-Australian solo pianist and chamber musician based in Melbourne. He is also the pianist member of Benaud Trio as well as the principal accompanist for the senior performing ensemble of the Australian Children's Choir. In 2006 he won the first prize of the prestigious...