Jul
17
to Jul 20
Australian Vocal Ensemble / WA Activity
Details to be announced soon… but AVE are coming to WA in July.
Andrew O'Connor
AUSTRALIAN BASS BARITONE
Jul
27
2:00 PM14:00
St John Passion / Willoughby Symphony
I’m delighted to be returning to the Willoughby Symphony in July to sing what is somewhat rare in Australia, a Bach Passion (St John this time) in English. I’ve actually never sung it in English myself, so it’ll be a first for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I respond to the magic of Bach in my ‘home tongue’ though I will obviously always adore the original German!
Sunday July 27, 2pm
The Concourse (Concert Hall) Chatswood
Sep
12
to Sep 21
Song Company / Pairings & Odd Couples
In 2025 I’ll be continuing my now 10-year association with The Song Company appearing in two major tours across the year. Pairings and Odd Couples is programmed and directed by Huw Belling, and will be a very ‘Song Company’ program that contrasts music, styles, and deliveries across many centuries. More below from The Song Company website.
12-21 September
Sydney, Blackheath, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra
Please note the current website dates are not accurate – check individual ticket listings
Pairings and Odd Couples is a bold exploration of musical contrasts, curated by Guest Director Huw Belling. This eclectic program brings together works from different countries and eras, placing composers in fascinating dialogue. Estonian chant meets Irish modernism, while the premiere of Belling’s Pru Vir offers a fresh response to Guerrero’s Prudentes Virgines.
The program also delves into the timeless versatility of J.S. Bach, highlighting his enduring influence. Spanning centuries, Pairings and Odd Couples ranges from early chant to contemporary compositions by living composers such as Finsterer and Pärt, creating a transcontinental conversation through time. These intriguing juxtapositions reveal the unexpected connections between seemingly disparate musical worlds, offering a compelling reflection on how music bridges cultures and eras.
Nov
27
to Dec 3
Pinchgut Opera / Handel’s Messiah
My second major project for Pinchgut Opera in 2025 is their performances of Handel’s Messiah at City Recital Hall. Presenting the original ‘Dublin Version’ with just twelve singers and the extraordinary playing of the Orchestra of the Antipodes will be very special.
This year, we celebrate the holiday season with one of the most beloved works of Baroque music, Handel's Messiah.
Renowned for its profound beauty and spiritual depth, Messiah isa deeply moving and transcendent experience.
Since its premiere in Dublin in 1742, Messiah has become one of the most performed choral works in Western music. Pinchgut will perform Handel's original Dublin version with an ensemble of 12 singers. The original scoring with its transparency and lightness of touch will be a revelation even to those who know the work well.
Handel's ability to convey complex emotions through his music makes Messiah a timeless work of art. Its blend of lyrical beauty and dramatic intensity ensures its place as a cornerstone of Baroque repertoire.
Erin Helyard leads the Orchestra of the Antipodes from the keyboard, just as Handel did, in his first time conducting Messiah on period instruments.
In a work that has become synonymous with Christmas and the holiday season, this a rare opportunity to discover it afresh, as the original audience did over 300 years ago.
Messiah
(Orginal Dublin Version, 1742)
by George Frideric Handel
Running time: 3 hours, including interval
Sung in English with surtitles
City Recital Hall, Sydney
Thursday 27 November, 7pm
Saturday 29 November, 2pm
Sunday 30 November, 5pm
Tuesday 2 December, 1pm
Wednesday 3 December, 7pm
Jun
7
to Jun 14
Pinchgut Opera / The Fairy Queen
My year would absolutely not be complete without my work with Pinchgut Opera – and I am thrilled to be part of the moment when this ‘boutique’ opera company finally presents an opera in a real theatre! Moving from its usual and regular home at City Recital Hall (where the concert hall has a stage and set built on it) we are presenting Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay. There is a wonderful cast of familiar (and newer) faces in a production directed and designed by Netia Jones which promises to be very special.
from the Pinchgut Opera website
Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is a curious and captivating opera, which originated as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pinchgut’s brilliant reimagining explores love in all its guises and disguises across a city in twenty-four hours.
Renowned for her imaginative and innovative work, award-winning UK director Netia Jones makes her Pinchgut debut to create this enthralling new production. The Fairy Queen examines the deepest of human emotions in a timeless portrait of our attempts to communicate, cohabitate, and love.
The score encompasses everything from French-style dances to exquisite laments and elaborate choruses. Its diversity and richness are a shining example of Purcell’s brilliance, securing its status as an enduring masterpiece.
Staged at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, The Fairy Queen marks a significant moment for Pinchgut and a highlight of the 2025 season.
May
24
5:30 PM17:30
Song Company / Coronation Choir 'Come-and-Sing'
The Song Company is hosting a big 'come-and-sing' community singing event with visiting guest conductor Eamonn Dougan (The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia Voices) across 24-25 May down at Walsh Bay and Verbrugghen Hall at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney.
Eamonn is directing the upcoming 'Love's Four Seasons' Song Company tour which I'm otherwise unavailable for (The Fairy Queen with Pinchgut Opera) but I am excited to be singing more Purcell (and Handel) with him and the assembled 'Coronation Choir' next Sunday.
Registrations for the 'come-and-sing' event are still open – so if you'd like to join The Song Company (all levels of experience welcome!) to sing some fabulous music from the English Baroque next weekend hit the link here!
Apr
21
10:30 AM10:30
AVÉ / Australian Vocal Ensemble / Creative Development (QLD)
As part of our ongoing relationship with the Griffith Conservatorium of Music (Queensland University) AVÉ - Australian Vocal Ensemble - is spending several days in Meanjin, Brisbane working alongside composers and singers alike in a very special new workshop. This will combine First Nations Storytelling and Engagement, working with contemporary QLD writers, and workshop-performances and recording of some of AVÉ’s recent projects.
Apr
17
7:00 PM19:00
St Matthew Passion / Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
In what will be an undoubtable career highlight for me - I am thrilled to be singing the arias of the St Matthew Passion (J.S. Bach) for the first time with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House. That this performance also represents the *Australian Premiere of the Mendelssohn Version of the work (with ARCO – Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra) is also extraordinary.
From the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs website
A world without the music of Johann Sebastian Bach seems unimaginable. But it wasn’t always so. After his death, Bach was largely forgotten, of purely academic interest, until an enthusiastic young composer, Felix Mendelssohn, decided to revive his reputation. And he did it with a monumental performance of the St Matthew Passion, a century after its premiere in 18th-century Leipzig.
In this Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (and Australian) first, we’re performing Mendelssohn’s version of this masterwork, transformed for 19th-century audiences and Romantic ears. This version is shorter in length with a tighter narrative, but expanded in volume and colour. It includes instruments Bach might only have imagined, with clarinets and basset horns added to the orchestra, a substantial organ part, and richer textures.
In another SPC first, we’ll be joined by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, admired for their exciting and illuminating performances of 19th-century music on period instruments. And following 2024’s much-acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, we welcome back Andrew Goodwin (Evangelist) and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Christus) in a starry line-up of soloists.
This is a rare opportunity to experience, two centuries on, how another generation of music lovers came to discover the genius of Bach.
Thursday 17 April | 7pm
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
This performance will run for 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.
PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian BACH St Matthew Passion
(Mendelssohn’s 1841 version)*
* Australian premiere
ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Penelope Mills soprano
Emily Edmonds mezzo-soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor (Evangelist)
Teddy Tahu Rhodes baritone (Christus)
Andrew O’Connor bass
Chamber Singers
VOX
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Rachael Beesley artistic director
Apr
9
7:00 PM19:00
Stabat Mater / St Mary's Cathedral Choir
From the Cathedral Choir Website
St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney and the Consolato Generale d'Italia - Sydney are pleased to present a free concert on Wednesday 9 April at 7pm featuring music for Passiontide.
The key piece in this programme is Palestrina’s emotional setting of the Stabat Mater, as 2025 marks 500 years since Palestrina’s birth. Alongside it will feature important pieces for Passiontide, including the famous Miserere Mei by Allegri, and music by William Byrd.
Apr
5
5:00 PM17:00
Sydney Chamber Choir / 50th Anniversary / Faure Requiem
I’m delighted to be joining the Sydney Chamber Choir as soloist in the Fauré Requiem as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2025. It’s a huge milestone for any arts organisation in Australia. It will also be a delight to sing the work in St James’ Church, King Street with Thomas Wilson on the organ – as it was one of the very first places I sang in Sydney when I first moved 10 years ago.
🗓️ Saturday 5 April, 5pm
📍 St James' Church, King Street, Sydney
🎟️ https://bit.ly/4iRo6tc
#freelancelife
Video from my last complete concert performance of the FAURE REQUIEM with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
Mar
23
2:30 PM14:30
Preston Symphony Orchestra / Hidden Thoughts III: Stories of Awe
Originally written for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – a new version of Katy Abbott’s Hidden Thoughts III: Stories of Awe is being re-worked for the Preston Symphony. I’m hugely looking forward to presenting this challenging but deeply contemporary and very relatable work again in Melbourne. I always love visiting this great city, and to do so to present this Major Australian Work again is a great privilege.
Mar
7
to Mar 16
Song Company / Journeying to Finisterre
In 2025 I’ll be continuing my now 10-year association with The Song Company appearing in two major tours across the year. Journeying to Finisterre is programmed and directed by Amy Moore, and will feature many early Spanish works alongside contemporary Australian works by Anne Cawrse, Joe Twist, and more.
From the Song Company website
7-16 March
Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Sydney, Blackheath*
*Other dates to be added…
Journeying to Finisterre is an evocative exploration of pilgrimage, not just across landscapes but deep within the self. Curated by Co-Artistic Director and Soprano Amy Moore, this program delves into the 12th Century Codex Calixtinus and 14th Century Libre Vermell de Montserrat—devotional manuscripts that guided pilgrims both physically and spiritually.
We trace the Camino paths to Santiago de Compostela with Spanish and Portuguese Renaissance polyphony, including Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Versa est in Luctum which echoes through time in Joseph Twist’s setting of the same text. Paul Stanhope’s Explorer’s Journal draws us deep into the natural world, and Anne Cawrse’s Pilgrim Psalms offer a contemporary reflection on spiritual journeys, the quest for inner connection and the timeless search for meaning.
Jan
9
to Jan 11
Sydney Festival / Bach Akademie Australia
My first performances for 2025 are at the Sydney Festival with Bach Akademie Australia from 9-11 January. It’s one of my favourite times to be in Sydney - and in the height of what is usually a very warm summer I like to escape into the cool of the concert hall or theatre when I can!
The two performances are at Walsh Bay (The Nielsen, Pier 2/3 home of the ACO) and form part of a myriad of events being held at ‘The Wharf’ as part of the Festival.
From the Sydney Festival website
When Galileo’s father, Vincenzo, was composing in the 16th century, the heavens were thought to have their own music, audible to the soul. Even today, the ‘heavenly dance’ of the stars and planets evokes a sense of inevitable destiny, elegant precision and timeless mystery. Those same qualities can be heard in the intricate creations of Johann Sebastian Bach, and it’s one of the reasons his music continues to resonate.
The music of Bach – perfect and universal – is the connecting thread in a compelling program that looks to the heavens for inspiration. Voices and instruments will dance and resound in music from the high Renaissance to our own time, from Europe to the Pacific and First Nations Australia – with the Morning Star as our guiding light.
It’s the kind of concert for which Madeleine Easton and the Bach Akademie Australia have become known: intellectually satisfying, emotionally rewarding and thrilling to the senses.
PROGRAM
J.S. Bach Sinfonia and Chorus from ‘Himmelskönig, sei willkommen’ – Cantata, BWV 182
Tomás Luis de Victoria O magnum mysterium
J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C major from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2
Vincenzo Galilei Highlights from ‘The Well-Tempered Lute’, arr. for string quartet
J.S. Bach Highlights from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
James MacMillan O Radiant Dawn
Troy Russell Clans, arr. for solo violin
J.S. Bach Aria and Chorale from ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’ – Cantata, BWV 1
Dec
18
11:00 AM11:00
Carols at the Cathedral / St Mary's Cathedral Choir
Returning in full for the first time since 2022 – the ‘Carols at the Cathedral’ event brings the full forces of the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir and Sinfonia Australis together in a joyful celebration of Christmas Music and Readings. There are two concerts (11:00am & 7:00pm) on Wednesday 18 December.
Dec
6
to Dec 8
Handel’s Messiah / Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
At the time of writing (17 October, 2023), Christmas has come 416 Days early for this Bass-Baritone, and I am honoured and humbled to announce that I will be part of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Season singing Handel's 'Messiah' alongside some extraordinary colleagues.
It's shaping up to be a very big and busy year! Full details can be found here.
From the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra website
Embrace the cherished Christmas tradition of Handel’s Messiah. From deeply tender arias to show-stopping choruses, this music enchants audiences worldwide. The orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists intertwine, breathing life into a narrative of prophecy, suffering, and redemption. Messiah carries a glorious message of belief, one which continues to resonate through time.
Featuring
Samantha Clarke, Soprano
Ivars Taurins, Conductor
Nov
28
to Dec 1
Hark! / The Song Company
It is a great delight to be programming Hark! 2024 which rounds out the 40th Anniversary Year of The Song Company. Earlier this year I became an uncle for the first time, and I found myself reflecting on the 'sacred' and gentle way in which humans hold themselves around new life – and indeed around the end of life also. We speak gently, think deeply, and often find moments of great togetherness.
The Christmas Season, regardless of your particular religious stripe, is a time of year that invites reflections on family, friendship, and (for some) faith – and at its centre draws focus to the story of a child being born in a stable to Jewish parents in what was then Roman-controlled Palestine. Hark 2024! will reflect and celebrate the Christmas story and the little everyday miracle of new life with music and poetry old and new; both sacred and secular.
The Song Company tours Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, and the Blue Mountains with this program from 28 November - 1 December.
Nov
21
7:00 PM19:00
Pinchgut Opera / Julius Caesar
Rounding out my year with Pinchgut Opera – I’m delighted to be 'bookending’ with Handel and singing the role of Curio in the ever-popular Giulio Cesare which will feature Tim Mead in the title role and Samantha Clarke as Cleopatra.
From the Pinchgut Opera website
A shining success from its very first performance in 1724, Julius Caesar is now one of the most famous Baroque operas of all time. With its irresistible blend of passion and intrique, it was the perfect vehicle for Handel's dramatic genius
The story plunges us into the bloodthirsty world of the Roman empire
Caesar's rival Pompeo has been cruelly executed by the Egyptian king, Tolomeo But while Pompeo's widow grieves and his son Sesto vows vengeance, Tolomeo's sister Cleopatra decides to seduce Caesar to tip the balance of power in her own favour.
However, as events unfold, Cleopatra and Caesar discover that they have fallen in love. Tolomeo's defeat is now imperative, and a feud between the siblings becomes an all-out war.
With alliances constantly shifting, who will emerge victorious?
Celebrated Australian director Neil Armfield (Platée, 2021) makes his much-anticipated return to the Pinchgut stage, with a spectacular cast and creative team to bring a fresh perspective to Handel's masterpiece, while allowing it to resonate in all its splendour.
English countertenor Tim Mead makes his Pinchgut debut in the title role, while Australian star soprano Samantha Clarke will seduce us all as Cleopatra.
A sensational production to cap off a year of Baroque wonders, with every voice and instrument from this phenomenal lineup of artists perfectly placed for maximum pleasure in the brilliant acoustic of City Recital Hall.
Sep
20
to Sep 22
Bach Akademie Australia / The Road to Lübeck
Looking forward to this project with Bach Akademie Australia next weekend at St James' Church, King Street, Sydney and Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle. As it happens it will be my last with BAA for the year (too much else in the diary!) but I'm particularly delighted to be singing one of the Nicolaus Bruhns Cantatas for Bass Voice in a program that traces J.S. Bach's famous journey from Arnstadt to Lübeck – and the musical lineage shared between composers like Pachelbel, Johann Christoph Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns, and Johann Sebastian Bach himself.
The concert features the newly installed organ at SJKS and the magnificent organ of Christ Church Cathedral played by Marko Sever and Russell Harcourt singing J.S. Bach's beautiful Vergnügte Ruh.
Friday 20 September, 7:30pm (Sydney)
Sunday 22 September, 2:30pm (Newcastle)
Come along if you can!
🎟️ https://bit.ly/3B8quuk
#freelancelife
Aug
24
2:00 PM14:00
Pinchgut Opera / Eternal Light
Of all the programs in Pinchgut’s 2024 Season this might be the one I’m most musically excited by – in no small part for this being my first time singing the marvellous Biber Requiem which I think is an extraordinary work, and will no doubt be an introduction to many of our Sydney audience. The acoustics of City Recital Hall, Angel Place, will be perfect for this program.
From the Pinchgut Opera website
ETERNAL LIGHT
ALLEGRI, SCHMELZER & BIBER
From the Sistine Chapel to Salzburg
Eternal Light is a celebration of the power of one of the most famous pieces of Baroque vocal writing: Allegri's Miserere
Tracing a journey from the Sistine Chapel (where Allegri's masterpiece was exclusively heard) to Salzburg, we bookend our performance of the F-minor Requiem by Franz Biber and instrumental music by his mentor, Johann Schmelzer, with two versions of the Miserere: one reconstructed to sound as it did in Allegri's day, the other in the version familiar to us today, with its glorious - but mis-transcribed high Cs.
Immerse yourself in the exquisite textures and tones of Australia's most celebrated chorus, Cantillation, along with the assured and expert Baroque specialists of the Orchestra of the Antipodes, for this sublime presentation of transcendent works of sheer beauty and brilliance.
Aug
9
to Aug 10
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Hidden Thoughts: Stories of Awe
I am over the moon to announce that I will be debuting with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for not one but two projects in their 2024 Season.
In August I will give the WORLD PREMIERE of Katy Abbott's new commission for the MSO 'Hidden Thoughts: Stories of Awe' – a 40-minute work for Orchestra, Soprano, Baritone and Narrator helmed by Maestro Benjamin Northey. You too can contribute to the work with your stories of awe via the MSO website below. To be part of such an important premiere in Hamer Hall really is a huge honour.
Friday 09 August 2024 - 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Saturday 10 August 2024 - 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Northey conductor
Sunny Kim vocalist
Andrew O'Connor bass-baritone
Pamela Rabe narrator
Program
Katy Abbott* Hidden Thoughts III: Stories of Awe**
Max Richter The Four Seasons Recomposed
*MSO Composer in Residence
**World premiere of an MSO Commission
About this performance
This dynamic program opens with the third piece in Katy Abbott's award-winning Hidden Thoughts series. Based on the stories of anonymous participants, this piece sets individual stories and the collective voice to music, capturing and delivering the very human experience of awe. The stories tell of unexpected encounters, of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, of being moved by music, art, nature, kindness and courage. Collective effervescence, spiritual awakenings, the delicacy and complexity of nature and the infinitesimal self within it.
If you’d like to contribute a story to Hidden Thoughts III, please complete a short anonymous survey at: bit.ly/stories-of-awe
Ground-breaking composer Max Richter’s minimalist-inspired music is equally at home in the concert hall as it is on screen, having featured in Arrival, and episodes of Black Mirrorand The Last of Us, among many others. His innovative fresh take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasonstopped the classical charts in 22 countries in 2012, and continues to awe devotees of the original and new fans alike.
Duration: approx. 2 hours including interval
Jun
23
3:00 PM15:00
The Song Company / 40th Anniversary Gala, Vespers for Mother Earth
Taken from The Song Company website
The world premiere of a major new work by Australia's most beloved composer performed by the country's finest singers and instrumentalists
Sunday 23 June, 3pm
40th Anniversary Gala Concert
Sydney – City Recital Hall
Join us in celebrating The Song Company's 40th Anniversary with a musical event like no other—the world premiere of Vespers for Mother Earth, an astonishing composition by beloved composer Ross Edwards. Joining them on stage in this historic performance at the prestigious City Recital Hall is an eclectic array of instrumental forces, including the groundbreaking Ensemble Offspring, Genevieve Lang (harp), Julian Smiles (cello), Lu Liu (pipa) and Lindsay Dugan (shakuhachi).
Inspired by Monteverdi's masterpiece Vespero della Beata Vergine, Edwards ingeniously weaves symbols of day and night into a profound contemplation on the pressing ecological crisis of our time. It symbolises both a farewell to humanity's destructive dominance and the dawn of a new era — a rekindling of the sacred feminine principle, embodied by the night.
In an eagerly anticipated moment, long-term Artistic Director of The Song Company Roland Peelman returns to direct after a nine-year absence. His masterful guidance ensures this performance will be a true testament to our 40-year journey of excellence.
The program's first half is a celebration of our rich history of collaborations with luminaries of Australian music, including Peter Sculthorpe, Elena Kats-Chernin, Nigel Butterly and Katy Abbott. We also look to the future, showcasing the next generation of composers, including Alice Chance and Sonya Hollowell, and a captivating new work by Angus Davison.
Jun
14
to Jun 30
The Song Company / The Stars Turn
From the Song Company Website:
Celebrating the wealth of Australian music commissioned and performed by The Song Company over its illustrious 40-year history.
14-30 June
Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra (more to come…)
Drawing inspiration from the iconic masterpiece by Peter Sculthorpe, The Stars Turn captures the essence of The Song Company's vibrant history, showcasing our rich tapestry of collaborations with some of the brightest stars of Australian music. From the mesmerising Elena Kats-Chernin to the intricate textures of Nigel Butterly and Katy Abbott, this program is a snapshot of The Song Company's musical milestones.
The Stars Turn also casts its gaze toward the future, with the next generation of composers whose talents light up the musical sky. Experience the innovative soundscapes of Alice Chance, Sonya Holowell and Chris Williams, and the debut of a mesmerising new work by Angus Davison.
Don't miss this extraordinary celebration of Australian musical creativity, past, present and future. Secure your tickets now and be part of this luminous constellation of sound.
Jun
9
5:00 PM17:00
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / ChorusOz
Well, in one of those things you never quite expected or anticipated, I am still shocked myself to reveal that I am writing some of the music to be performed in this Sydney Philharmonia Choirs ChorusOz event at the Sydney Opera House. Also featuring the voices of AVE (Australian Vocal Ensemble) and most chiefly Katie Noonan (whose fault it is I have been dared to write music!) it will be a surreal moment to hear a little piece of my own musical brain be sung by hundreds of others on one of the iconic stages of the world.
From the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs website
ChorusOz | The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
ChorusOz – our annual ‘big sing’ at the Sydney Opera House – brings together singers from across Australia and around the world for an inspiring weekend of community and music-making.
Brett Weymark has chosen The Armed Man: one of the most popular choral works of our time, with thousands of performances and decades in the classical charts. Its starting point is a mediæval earworm (L’Homme armé) but the themes are absolutely contemporary.
Inspired by the tragedy of the Kosovo War, Karl Jenkins combines sacred and secular texts. It’s exhilarating music to perform, with a parade of musical styles, thought-provoking texts and powerful emotions. Equally exhilarating are the choral hymns Finlandia and Jerusalem. And – for the first time the 16-year history of ChorusOz – we’ve commissioned a new Australian work especially for this event.
Whether you’re in the middle of the choir singing at full voice, or joining us in the audience, find harmony singing for peace.
Sing in ChorusOz 2024: open to singers of any ability – no prior singing experience required. Find details and register below.
Sunday 9 June at 5pm
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
This performance will run for 1 hour and 30 minutes. No interval.
PROGRAM
Karl JENKINS The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
Jean SIBELIUS Finlandia with choral hymn finale
Hubert PARRY Jerusalem
(orchestral accompaniment by Edward Elgar)
Katie NOONAN & Andrew O’CONNOR New Work†
† Sydney Philharmonia Choirs commission
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Katie Noonan soprano
AVÉ (Australian Vocal Ensemble)
ChorusOz 2024
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
May
31
to Jun 3
Pinchgut Opera / Dido & Aeneas
As part of my involvement in all of Pinchgut Opera’s 2024 Season – I’m delighted to be singing in a reduced Consort of voices from Cantillation in this baroque gem that I haven’t sung for many years.
From the Pinchgut Opera Website
Acclaimed for its insightful and unique interpretations of the lesser-known works from the Baroque period, Pinchgut Opera also relishes the opportunity to put its signature stamp on one of the best-known operas in the repertory.
Dido and Aeneas is the perfect operatic gem. Few stories capture the essence of tragic love, heroism and destiny as intensely as the tale of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the noble Queen Dido, the founder of Carthage.
It is this star-crossed love story, laden with the tumultuous interplay of duty, passion and fate, that Purcell, a master of music for the theatre, chose as the subject of his only true opera.
Australian star soprano Valda Wilson (Theodora, 2016) returns to Pinchgut in her role debut as Dido, with acclaimed baritone David Greco as Aeneas. Joining them is Kanen Breen (Ormindo, 2009; Platée, 2021) inhabiting the snarling malice of the Sorceress, and the ever-eloquent Sara Macliver (The Fairy Queen, 2003; Orfeo, 2004; Bajazet, 2015) as Belinda.
Dido and Aeneas features some of the most beautiful Baroque music of all time, including the final lament of Dido, darkly brooding and famously tragic, which was aptly featured in the final season of the HBO smash-hit series The White Lotus.
Musically resplendent and thrillingly fierce, Pinchgut’s presentation of Dido and Aeneas is not to be missed.
May
3
to May 5
Salut Baroque / The Influencers
I am looking forward to working with Salut Baroque for the first time in May - having long known of their recordings and long history in Australia. These performances in May will feature a great mix of vocal and instrumental works by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Lambert, Buxtehude, Monteverdi and more!
From the Salut Baroque website
The Influencers
Expectations were high for salaried composers during the Baroque period. Constant demands for new repertoire required inspiration and creativity as well as talent. Influence ebbed and flowed between composers, nations, styles and beliefs. Bach was inspired by his devoutness and his vast collection of other composers’ works; Handel reinvented himself between German, Italian and English styles, depending on where he was living and what was fashionable; Purcell loved theatrical spectacle; and Rameau was fascinated by the exploration of culture from abroad. In turn, our curious composers influenced generations of musicians to continually discover new horizons of musical creativity.
Andrew O’Connor (Bass-Baritone), Sally Melhuish (Recorder), Jane Downer (Baroque Oboe, Recorder), Meg Cohen (Baroque Violin), Julia Russoniello (Baroque Violin), Karina Schmitz (Baroque Viola), Suzie Kim (Baroque Viola), Tim Blomfield (Baroque Cello), Simon Martyn-Ellis (Theorbo), Monika Kornel (Harpsichord)
Program
Avison – Concerto No. 5 in D minor
Bach – Aria Ich habe genug from Cantata BWV 82
Biber – Battalia in D major, C61
Handel – Aria O ruddier than the cherry
Locke – Lilk; Curtain Tune; Rustick Air; Minoit
Vivaldi – Aria Se il cor Guerriero
Buxtehude – Sonata; Vulnerasti cor meum
Rameau – Air pour les esclaves africains; Tambourins I-II; Air pour l’adoration de soleil; Air pour les Sauvages
Lambert – Ma bergère est tendre et fidèle
Telemann – Concerto in G major for Viola, TWV 51:G9
Purcell – Aria What Power Art Thou?
Monteverdi – Damigella tutta bella
Friday 3 May 2024, 7.30pm
Wesley Church, 20 National Circuit, Forrest, Canberra
Sunday 5 May 2024, 3.00pm
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Apr
21
11:00 AM11:00
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Hidden Thoughts: Do I Matter?
I am over the moon to announce that I will be debuting with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for not one but two projects in their 2024 Season.
I will join old friends and new at the Consort of Melbourne for 'Hidden Thoughts: Do I Matter?' which was originally penned for me and my colleagues at The Song Company almost ten years ago – so it will be a delight to revisit it again in this April 21 concert which opens the MSO Chamber Series.
Apr
12
to Apr 14
Bach Akademie Australia / Sydney Concerts
I will be joining Bach Akademie Australia for a few projects across 2024 - my COVID-cancellation at the Sydney Festival not withstanding - and the first is this Cantata project with two concerts in Sydney: Paddington and Chatswood — April 12 & April 14
From the Bach Akademie Australia website
The Bach family spent their lives in service. After four generations of practicing musicians, J.S. Bach was no different. He was a passionate educator, pedagogue, school master and mentor to his own many children and those of the Thomasschule of which he was Cantor. With a strong social conscience, he composed music to enrich, instruct and inspire the lives of all. Bach Akademie Australia presents a program featuring Bach’s cantata ‘Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot’, dubbed the ‘refugee cantata’, thought to have welcomed the arrival into Germany of Protestant refugees banished from Salzburg.
Composed in Cöthen, his Harpsichord Concerto in E arranged for violin is a shining example of clever adaptation, which he used later in his career as a toolfor teaching his students. We end with his famous cantata ‘Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben’ BWV 147, which perfectly encapsulates Bach’s desire that our hearts, mouths, deeds and lives be in service to humanity and to God.
PROGRAM
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot’ BWV 39
J.S. Bach Harpsichord Concerto in E arranged for Violin in D (after BWV 1053) arr. K. Debrezeni
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben’ BWV 147
Mar
28
7:00 PM19:00
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / Requiem
Taken from the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs website
This Easter, we offer you a concert that embraces the uplifting energy and the healing power of choral singing.
Fauré’s Requiem is paired with a revival of John Peterson’s Shadows and Light, an SPC commission inspired by both the texts of the requiem mass and the headlines of September 11, 2001. But the key to the program is not death but rest (requiem) and light.
Both works play to the virtuosity and youthful sound of VOX and Chamber Singers. Shadows and Light features Peterson’s animated rhythms and attractive blending of musical styles – traditional and popular – in music that reminds us we need shadow in order to ‘see the light’.
Fauré’s Requiem stands apart from its more theatrical counterparts. Instead of fire-and-brimstone drama, it’s beautiful and consoling – a ‘lullaby of death’. Experience Fauré’s original vision with its intimate use of instruments and voices, from the drama of the Libera Me to the ethereal purity of the Pie Jesu and a finale that will take you to paradise.
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings is the cathartic interlude in this profoundly moving concert.
Thursday 28 March at 7pm
Sydney Town Hall
This performance will run for 1 hour and 15 minutes. No interval.
PROGRAM
John Peterson Shadows and Light
Samuel BARBER Adagio for Strings
Gabriel FAURÉ Requiem
(1893 version edited by John Rutter)
ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Chloe Lankshear soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor
Andrew O’Connor baritone
VOX and Chamber Singers
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
Mar
1
to Mar 10
Australian Music, Canberra, Concerts, Digital Concert, Festivals, New Music, Sydney, The Song Company, Touring
The Song Company / Superbloom Tour
I will be (re)joining The Song Company for three major projects in its 40th Anniversary Season in 2024 - and the first of these is Superbloom with guest director Jane Sheldon.
Touring from 1-10 March in Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Sydney, and to the Orange Chamber Music Festival.
From The Song Company Website:
"Superbloom" is the phenomenon in which the desert landscape receives an unusual season of rain such that the next spring brings forth carpets of rare displays of flowers. Immerse yourself in this magical and musical "Superbloom" - a program of rare works for unaccompanied voices that draws parallels between the stark beauty of the arid desert and the lush abundance brought by the wet season.
Acclaimed Australian-American soprano and composer Jane Sheldon makes her Guest Directorial debut with The Song Company. Her artistry has created a musical journey that connects historical compositional giants such as Hildegard von Bingen and Carlo Gesualdo with contemporary composers Rebecca Saunders, Chaya Czernowin and James Weeks. Plus, be among the first to experience a brand-new work composed by the talented Jane Sheldon herself.
The Song Company has been captivating audiences with adventurous programming for 40 years. Join Australia's world-class vocal ensemble for this unforgettable experience that celebrates both the resilience of the desert and the creativity of the human spirit.
Superbloom Tour Dates & Ticket Links
Newcastle
Fri 1 March, 6pm
Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle
Wollongong
Sat 2 March, 3pm
St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong
Canberra
Sun 3 March, 3pm
Wesley Music Centre, Ainslie
Sydney
Thu 7 March, 7pm
Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House
Orange
Sat 9 March, 11am
Orange Chamber Music Festival
Holy Trinity Church, Orange
Chatswood
Sun 10 March, 3pm
Our Lady of Dolours Catholic Church, Chatswood
Feb
8
to Feb 9
Pinchgut Opera / Theodora at Sydney Opera House
THEODORA IN CONCERT
BY HANDEL
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OPERA AUSTRALIA
8 & 9 FEB | JOAN SUTHERLAND THEATRE | SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
In a milestone collaboration with Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera makes its Sydney Opera House debut for Handel’s masterpiece.
Bookings and Information available here.
How strange their ends, and yet how glorious!
The Messiah might be Handel’s most famous work, but the composer himself held Theodora in higher esteem.
Judge for yourself which oratorio deserves the title of Handel’s greatest masterpiece when Pinchgut Opera and Opera Australia join forces to present Theodora in concert.
A series of sublime arias and powerful choruses, Theodora is a heavenly musical experience. Set in ancient Rome, it follows the plight of a courageous woman and bold young soldier who risk everything in the face of a tyrannical power.
This milestone collaboration with Pinchgut Opera is the first time the acclaimed Baroque specialists have performed in the Joan Sutherland Theatre.
It’s a wonderful chance to see the Orchestra of the Antipodes in their element, performing on period instruments, with Pinchgut’s charismatic director Erin Helyard leading from the harpsichord, and Cantillation as the chorus. Pinchgut has assembled a cast of early music specialists, including countertenor Christopher Lowrey who reprises his acclaimed performance of Didymus which he first sang in Pinchgut’s fully staged production of Theodora in December 2016.
Jan
23
to Jan 24
Sydney Festival / Bach Akademie Australia
I’m delighted that my first engagement for 2024 is part of the Sydney Festival’s Temperament Series - a 5-day mini festival of J.S. Bach held at The Neilson, home of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
From the Sydney Festival website
TEMPERAMENT SERIES
JS Bach is a true avant-gardist. Temperament – a week-long celebration and deconstruction of Bach – pays homage to the revolutionary advances his music enabled and its influence on modern composers.
This series features an exceptional group of local and international artists and ensembles including Bach Akademie Australia, Korkmaz Can Sağlam, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Andrew Bukenya, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Benjamin Skepper and Ensemble Apex.
"Bach truly is the master of rhetoric and the Bach Akademie Australia the masters of persuasion and joy."
PROGRAM
Under violinist and founder Madeleine Easton, the ensemble's focus on mastery, authenticity and originality of interpretation makes it the ideal companion for the journey of Bach’s remarkable life, from beginning to end. Bach’s earliest cantata (his 'Actus Tragicus', circa 1708) is a perfect place to start, an introspective and innovative funeral cantata. In his splendid Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, written a decade later, we hear what is arguably the first ever keyboard concerto ever written. From Bach’s later life in Leipzig, comes his motet 'Lobet den Herrn’, one of his most joyful works, and his cantata 'Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats', a narrative of faith and hope in six captivating movements. Played in intimate, acoustically excellent surroundings, JS Bach: A Life in Music promises spiritual depth, instrumental brilliance and choral splendour.
TIMES
Tue 23rd Jan, 07:30pm
Wed 24th Jan, 02:00pm
TICKETS & INFO
Dec
10
2:30 PM14:30
Handel's Messiah / Newcastle, NSW
From the Newcastle Civic Theatre Website
Sunday 10 December 2023
Presented by Newcastle University Choir & Civic Theatre Newcastle
Get into the festive spirit at Newcastle City Hall this December with Newcastle University Choir, internationally renowned soloists and the Christ Church Camerata orchestra.
The Messiah‘s most famous movement, the Hallelujah Chorus, is instantly recognizable as one of the most famous and inspirational choral works ever written.
Immerse yourself in Handel’s masterpiece and the world’s most loved choral work.
Running time*
2hrs 30mins
*Running times are a guide only and subject to change.
Nov
29
to Dec 2
Hark! / The Song Company
The Song Company Christmas
Start the festive season with well-loved carols and heart-melting harmonies.
A Christmas concert for the whole family to enjoy together in Sydney and Wollongong.
The Song Company Christmas Carol program Hark! will be presented three times in Sydney and for the first in Wollongong.
See The Song Company Christmas Carols:
Wed 29 Nov, 6:00PM Our Lady of Dolours, Chatswood
Thu 30 Nov, 6:00PM St Francis of Assisi, Paddington
Fri 1 Dec, 6:00PM The Garrison Church, Millers Point
Sat 2 Dec, 2:00PM St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong
Hark! will also be broadcast live via the Australian Digital Concert Hall on Friday, 1 December at 6pm and will be available on demand after that initial livestream.
Nov
18
to Nov 23
Bach Akademie Australia / Castle of Heaven
In November I will join Bach Akademie Australia for their final program in 2023 (the only one I was available for!) which includes performances in Glenbrook, Chatswood, and the ‘flagship’ performance at City Recital Hall, Angel Place. Featuring some of the music I recently sang in the United States with the American Bach Soloists, it will be a fitting end to a big year of Bach for me personally.
Saturday 18 November, 7:30pm, Glenbrook
Sunday 19 November, 2:30pm, Chatswood
Thursday 23 November, 7:00pm, City Recital Hall
From the Bach Akademie Australia Website - where further details can be found
2023 brings us an opportunity to celebrate one of the greatest events in musical history, J.S. Bach’s appointment as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. As a result, a new era in music history began. For the next 27 years, the requirements of his appointment combined with his deep faith and desire to encourage faith in all others, inspired Bach to produce music of such staggering beauty, complexity and profundity that changed the course of music forever. These works, particularly the cantatas, are still performed and idolised around the world today, demonstrated by the more than 300 Bach choirs and societies that exist worldwide. To celebrate this momentous event, we have chosen 3 of his most celebrated Leipzig cantatas and his jubilant motet ‘Singet dem Herrn’. How can the works of Bach ever be adequately summed up? We will leave it to our international patron Sir John Eliot Gardiner ’But it is Bach, making music in the Castle of Heaven, who gives us the voice of God – in human form. He is the one who blazes a trail, showing us how to overcome our imperfections through the perfections of his music: to make divine things human and human things divine.’
PROGRAM
J.S. Bach Chorale Prelude ‘In Dulci
Jublio’ BWV 729
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Unser mund sei voll
Lachens’ BWV 110
J.S. Bach Motet ‘Singet dem Herrn’
BWV 225
— Interval —
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Jesu, der du meine
Seele’ BWV 78
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Wachet auf’
BWV 140