Gondwana Choirs

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Gondwana Choirs
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Background information
Origin Sydney
Genres classical and contemporary choral art music for young people
Years active August 1989 (1989-08)–present
Associated acts Sydney Children’s Choir, Gondwana National Indigenous Children’s Choir
Website www.gondwanachoirs.com.au

Gondwana Choirs is Australia's most dynamic choral organisation. It is internationally renowned for artistic excellence and innovation in the development of a unique Australian choral voice for young people.

Gondwana Choirs consists of several different choirs.[1]

  • Sydney Children's Choir
  • Gondwana National Choirs, including:
    • Gondwana Voices (the national children's choir of Australia)
    • Gondwana Chorale (the national youth choir of Australia
    • Gondwana Singers
    • Junior Gondwana
  • Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir

Structure and constituents

Gondwana Choirs, founded in August 1989, is a not-for-profit company based in Sydney. It relies on support from the public, as well as government and philanthropic organisations to run its activities across Australia. As well as offering free musical education to young Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people through the Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir, it offers bursaries to financially disadvantaged choristers in Sydney Children's Choir and the Gondwana National choirs.

Sydney Children's Choir is Gondwana Choirs' original choir,[2][3] offering weekly rehearsals to young people aged 6–17 from across Sydney. The Sydney Children's Choir regularly performs with ensembles such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs,[4] and at major cultural events, including the International Society for Music Education Conference in Beijing 2010.

Gondwana Voices is the original, truly national Australian children's choir, founded in 1997.[3] It includes young people aged 10–16 from right across Australia. Gondwana Voices has been invited to tour internationally, including a 2007 tour to perform at the prestigious BBC Proms,[5][6] a 2011 tour to the United States and Canada, and an invitation to represent Australia at the World Choral Summit in Beijing 2012.[7]:page 9 They have also performed at major events such as the Melbourne Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies and recorded several CDs with ABC Classics.

Gondwana Chorale, founded in 2006, is a SATB choir for singers aged 17–25. The Chorale is designed to cater for ex-Voices members and male singers with changed voices. In 2011 it made its first international tour to New Zealand.[7]:page 6

Gondwana Singers is for young people aged 13–16, on the verge of gaining entry into Gondwana Voices or Gondwana Chorale, including boys with changed/changing voices as well as treble voices.

Junior Gondwana is Gondwana Choirs' entry-level training choir which caters for children with treble voices aged 10–13 years old.

Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir is Gondwana Choirs' newest choir. GNICC offers Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander young people, aged 8–16, the opportunity to join their peers from across Australia, participate in first-class musical education, and represent their culture on the world stage. All GNICC activities are made available at no cost to participating children, their schools or communities.[1][8]

Associated activities

Each year in January, after national auditions, Gondwana Choirs runs a National Choral School, which is a two-week camp, at locations which rotate around Australia, offering intensive rehearsals, workshops and concerts. The national choirs will then typically undertake one or more tours throughout the year. Associated with the National Choral School is a composer school and a conducting internship.[9]

Honours and awards

Gondwana Choirs received the APRA/AMCOS 2012 Award for Excellence in a Regional Area for their Cairns Residency Project.[10]

Gondwana Choirs received the APRA/AMCOS 2012 Award for Excellence in Music Education for its 2011 Program.[11]

The founder and musical director of Gondwana Choirs, Lyn Williams, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia "For service to the arts as founder and Director of the Sydney Childrens Choir and Gondwana Voices".[12] Williams was also awarded the Australian Centenary Medal.[13]

Recordings

Movies

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gondwana National Choirs
  2. ↑ Ford, Andrew; Williams, Lyn (23 June 2007). The Music Show (Podcast). Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2min 55sec. Retrieved 27 January 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Gondwana Choirs". Retrieved 25 January 2013. "Sydney Children's Choir in 1989 and ... Gondwana Voices in 1997" 
  4. ↑ Greg Keane (3 January 2011). "Review: Mahler Symphony No 8 (Sydney Symphony / Ashkenazy) - Classical Music - Limelight Magazine". Retrieved 25 January 2013. 
  5. ↑ "BBC - Proms - Prom 13 2007". The Proms Archive. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 January 2013. 
  6. ↑ Hall, George (24 July 2007). "BBCSO/Robertson, Royal Albert Hall, London | Music | The Guardian". The Guardian (London). 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gondwana Choirs Ltd (2012). Annual Report.pdf Annual Report 2011. Annual report. Sydney. 
  8. ↑ http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/a-new-direction-for-gondwana-choirs
  9. ↑ "Gondwana Choirs". Retrieved 30 January 2013. 
  10. ↑ "APRA|AMCOS : 2012 Award for Excellence in a Regional Area". Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited. Retrieved 26 January 2013. 
  11. ↑ "2012 Award for Excellence in Music Education". Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited. Retrieved 26 January 2013. 
  12. ↑ "It's an Honour - Honours - Search Australian Honours". It's an Honour website. 26 January 2004. Retrieved 25 January 2013. 
  13. ↑ "It's an Honour - Honours - Search Australian Honours". It's an Honour website. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 25 January 2013. "Citation: For service to the community" 
  14. ↑ Gondwana Voices, Sydney Children's Choir and Lyn Williams in Australia at the Internet Movie Database
  15. ↑ Sydney Children's Choir in Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger at the Internet Movie Database
  16. ↑ Sydney Children's Choir and Lyn Williams in Happy Feet at the Internet Movie Database

External links

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