Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Logo
Background information
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genres classical and contemporary choral art music
Years active 9 September 1920 (9 September 1920)–present
Associated acts ChorusOz®, Vox
Website www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au
Members 289

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is Australia’s largest choral organisation. It presents its own annual concert series in the Sydney Opera House the City Recital Hall, and other venues in New South Wales, as well as serving as chorus for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Formed in 1920, it currently comprises the following choirs:

History

The choir formed in 1920 as the Hurlstone Park Choral Society and gave its first "Glee Performance", conducted by Tom Downer, on 9 September 1920 in hut 13, Randwick Hospital. The program was listed as Come where my love lies dreaming, Great God of wonders, There is music by the river and Sleep, baby, sleep. The first public performance, also conducted by Tom Downer, was on 3 November 1920 at the Masonic Hall, Dulwich Hill and the program was listed as Come where my love lies dreaming, Great God of wonders, There is music by the river, Sleep, baby, sleep, Oh hush thee my baby, Moonlight, The bells of St Marys and God save the King. The earliest performances to have been noticed in the press were at the Masonic Hall, Dulwich Hill, in 1922[1] and at St Clement's School Hall, Marrickville, in 1923.[2]

In 1922 the choir gave its first performance of a major choral work, 'Assisting Marrickville Choral Society' in Handel's Messiah. The next performance of Messiah was in 1927, and then annually in a sequence interrupted only in 1933 and 1943, until 2010.

Also in 1927, and continuing to 1939, the society entered Eisteddfods in various NSW locations, winning places on nine occasions. The prize money often had a significant bearing on the organisation's financial situation, which was always precarious. Interestingly, despite its financial situation, in 1961 the Hurlstone Choral Society felt able to make an unsolicited gift of £50 to its 'major rival', the Sydney Royal Philharmonic Society, which was 'broke and in danger of extinction'.[3]

The choir changed its name to Hurlstone Choral Society in 1937, Sydney Philharmonia Society in 1969[4] and Sydney Philharmonia Limited in 1974.[5] It employed its first professional manager in 1974.

During this time, Sydney Philharmonia has worked with many conductors, including Eugene Ormandy,[6] Otto Klemperer,[6] Sir Eugene Goosens,[6] Sir David Willcocks, Sir Charles Mackerras,[6] Sir Malcolm Sargent,[7] Sir Granville Bantock,[7] Sir Bernard Heinze,[7] Sir Thomas Beecham,[7] Georg Schnéevoigt,[7] Hans Vonk,[6] Ward Swingle,[6] Zubin Mehta,[6] Christopher Hogwood,[6] Edo de Waart,[6] Charles Dutoit, Mark Elder,[6] John Nelson, Vladimir Ashkenazy,[8] Richard Hickox, and Sir Simon Rattle.[9] The current musical director and chorusmaster is Brett Weymark.

Sydney Philharmonia’s singing commitments have grown to the point where a typical year (2012) sees it perform 16 performances in its own concerts and 17 performances with the Sydney Symphony and Sydney Festival, while Vox gives 8 performances. Other commitments such as corporate events, awards ceremonies and the like mean that the organisation mounts around 50 performances a year.[8][10]

Choir in a formal concert setting
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in a formal concert in the Sydney Opera House
Solo singer in white coat surrounded by backing choir, bright spotlights above
Sydney Philharmonia Vox on television show The X Factor
Singers and band musicians
Sydney Philharmonia The Beatles Unplugged ensemble
Choir on a beach with conductor and audience
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in a Dawn Chorus concert[11]

Civic and community events

Sydney Philharmonia has taken part in many civic and community events such as the 1988 bicentennial celebrations and the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano as part of an international video link. Two years later, in 2000, it performed in both the opening concert Symphony at the Superdome[12][13] and the live, globally telecast opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics, singing the Australian national anthem and an excerpt from Hector Berlioz's Te Deum that accompanied the lighting and ascension of the Olympic flame.[14]

Sydney Philharmonia took part in the 2001 centenary of federation celebrations in Sydney and Melbourne and the state memorial for former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It performed with the Australian World Orchestra concerts in 2011 and the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular in 2012.[15]

Non-traditional offerings

While Sydney Philharmonia has a long history of traditional classical-style choral concert presentation, it has in recent years gone considerably beyond this style in some of its concerts, with some notable success.

Touring

In 2002, Sydney Philharmonia was the first Australian choir to sing at the BBC Promenade Concert Series, performing Mahler's 8th Symphony under Sir Simon Rattle.[9] In 2010 Sydney Philharmonia celebrated its 90th Anniversary with a return to London and a return appearance at the opening night of the Proms, again performing Mahler's 8th Symphony, this time with the BBC Symphony Chorus, Crouch End Festival Chorus and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek.[23]

Sydney Philharmonia has also toured to other parts of the UK,[24] as well as Japan, Korea, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle (NSW), Orange (NSW) and Perth.

Awards and nominations

APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards

The APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australian Music Centre (AMC).[25]

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2004 Berceuse (Gerard Brophy) – Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Vocal or Choral Work of the Year[26] Won
2006 Journey to Horseshoe Bend (Andrew Shultz, Gordon Williams) – Ntaria Ladies Choir, Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, Sydney Symphony Best Performance of an Australian Composition[27] Nominated

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards, presented annually, recognise distinguished achievement in the Australian performing arts.

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2010 Oedipus Rex & Symphony of Psalms (Igor Stravinsky) – Sydney Festival with the Sydney Symphony and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Best Symphony Orchestra Concert[28] Won

Recordings

Movies and television

References

  1. ↑ "HURLSTONE CHORAL SOCIETY [sic]". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, NSW. 23 February 1922. p. 12. The Hurlstone Park Choral Society ... gave a successful invitation concert
  2. ↑ "Hurlstone Park Choral Society". The Alert. Marrickville, NSW. 27 April 1923. Monday evening last
  3. ↑ Daily Telegraph 12 March 1961, cited in Thornley, Clare (2004). The Sydney eScholarship Repository: The Royal Philharmonic Society of Sydney: the rise and fall of a musical organisation (Master of Music (Musicology) thesis). Sydney University. pp. 131–132. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  4. ↑ The Messiah. Concert program. Sydney: Hurlstone Choral Society. December 1968.
  5. ↑ "Search ASIC Registers". Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Retrieved 1 September 2012. Registration date: 28/08/1974
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Garrett, David (February 1995). "Magnificat". ABC Radio 24 Hours. Australian Broadcasting Corporation: 37–40.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hurlstone Choral Society". Messiah. Concert program. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 October 1941. p. 15.
  8. 1 2 2012 season media kit (PDF). Sydney, Australia: Sydney Symphony. p. 5. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  9. 1 2 "BBC - Proms - Prom 30 2002". The Proms Archive. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Season 2012 (PDF, printed booklet). Sydney, Australia: Sydney Philharmonia Limited. 2011.
  11. ↑ Hindmarsh, Peter (2009). "quoir". Retrieved 2013-05-09.
  12. ↑ Olympic Arts Festival (19 August 2000). Symphony at the Superdome. Concert program. Sydney: Playbill Pty Ltd.
  13. ↑ McCallum, Peter (21 August 2000). "Mahler's dignity preserved in SuperDome arena". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney.
  14. ↑ Games of the XXVII Olympiad opening ceremony (Program). Sydney: Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). 15 September 2000. pp. 17, 52, 64, 74.
  15. ↑ Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular. Concert program. Sydney: Sydney Opera House. 15 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Mick’s still got the moves as the Rolling Stones hit Hope Estate". Cessnock Advertiser. Cessnock, NSW. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Gig review: The Rolling Stones on tour in Australia @ Hope Estate". Britpop News. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "The X-Factor Australia Video - Official Site - Channel 7 - Yahoo!7 TV". The X Factor. Series 3. Episode 20. 9 October 2012. Seven Network. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  19. ↑ Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (24 August 2012). The Beatles Unplugged. Concert program. Sydney: Playbill Pty Ltd.
  20. ↑ Kary, David (August 2012). "Review". Sydney: Sydney Arts Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  21. ↑ Westwood, Matthew (January 2009). "Sydney Festival Reviews". Sydney: The Australian. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  22. ↑ "Sydney Festival 2009 Presents Dawn Chorus - Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at Balmoral Beach, Balmoral, Newcastle [sic], NSW on 10 Jan 09, 5:30 AM". Liveguide. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  23. ↑ "BBC - Proms - Prom 01 - First Night of the Proms 2010 2010". The Proms Archive. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  24. ↑ Cambridge Summer Recitals Ltd (2002). Cambridge Summer Music Festival. Concert program. Cambridge, UK. pp. 50–52.
  25. ↑ "Classical Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  26. ↑ "2004 Winners - Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  27. ↑ "2006 Finalists - Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  28. ↑ "Winners". Helpmann Awards. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  29. 1 2 "It's an Honour - Symbols - Australian National Anthem". It's an Honour website. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  30. 1 2 3 4 "Sydney Philharmonia Choir - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Sydney Philharmonia Choir [au] - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
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