Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Encyclopedia
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is Australia
’s largest choral
organisation. It presents its own annual concert series in the Sydney Opera House
and City Recital Hall
, as well as acting as chorus for the Sydney Symphony.
Formed in 1920 it currently consists of four choirs:
Sydney Philharmonia has worked with many conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle
, Eugene Ormandy
, Otto Klemperer
, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Charles Mackerras
, Edo de Waart
, Charles Dutoit
, Christopher Hogwood
, Mark Elder
, John Nelson (conductor)
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
and Richard Hickox
. The current musical director and chorusmaster is Brett Weymark.
In 2000, the choir performed live with Barbra Streisand in two concerts at Sydney's Aussie Stadium as part of her Timeless: Live in Concert Tour. The choir later recorded the backing tracks for numerous pieces from this concert (including People, Somewhere, On A Clear Day, At The Same Time) and they are credited on the 'live' CD recording of Barbra's Timeless millennium concert in Las Vegas.
Also in 2000, Philharmonia performed in the live, globally telecast Opening Ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games
, singing the Australian National Anthem and a classical selection that accompanied the lighting and ascension of the Olympic flame.
are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) and Australian Music Centre
(AMC).
|-
| 2004
|| Berceuse (Gerard Brophy) – Sydney Philharmonia Choirs || Vocal or Choral Work of the Year ||
|-
| 2006
|| Journey to the Horseshoe Bend (Andrew Shultz, Gordon Williams) – Ntaria Ladies Choir, Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, Sydney Symphony || Best Performance of an Australian Composition ||
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...
’s largest choral
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
organisation. It presents its own annual concert series in the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
and City Recital Hall
City Recital Hall
City Recital Hall, or City Recital Hall Angel Place, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is a purpose-built concert venue with the capacity for 1,238 guests seated over three tiers of sloped seating...
, as well as acting as chorus for the Sydney Symphony.
Formed in 1920 it currently consists of four choirs:
- The Chamber Singers, a chamberChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
choir of around 36 voices - The Symphony Chorus, a choral orchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l choir of 100 voices - Vox, a chamber vocal ensembleMusical ensembleA musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
for around 25 18- to 25-year-olds - The Festival Chorus, a very large, choral orchestral, open choir of up to 450 voices
Sydney Philharmonia has worked with many conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
, Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
, Charles Dutoit
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
, Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
, Mark Elder
Mark Elder
Sir Mark Philip Elder, CBE is a British conductor. He is the music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.-Biography:Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, the son of a dentist...
, John Nelson (conductor)
John Nelson (conductor)
John Wilton Nelson is an American conductor. Nelson studied at Wheaton College, and later at the Juilliard School of Music with Jean Morel ....
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
and Richard Hickox
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
. The current musical director and chorusmaster is Brett Weymark.
In 2000, the choir performed live with Barbra Streisand in two concerts at Sydney's Aussie Stadium as part of her Timeless: Live in Concert Tour. The choir later recorded the backing tracks for numerous pieces from this concert (including People, Somewhere, On A Clear Day, At The Same Time) and they are credited on the 'live' CD recording of Barbra's Timeless millennium concert in Las Vegas.
Also in 2000, Philharmonia performed in the live, globally telecast Opening Ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, singing the Australian National Anthem and a classical selection that accompanied the lighting and ascension of the Olympic flame.
APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards
The APRA-AMC Classical Music AwardsAPRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) and Australian Music Centre
Australian Music Centre
The Australian Music Centre fosters the development of an Australian music community by providing specialist support to its membership of performers, composers, sound artists, educators, students, and music specialists across Australia and throughout the world.The AMC is the Australian national...
(AMC).
|-
| 2004
APRA Awards of 2004
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2004 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 24 May at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, they were presented by APRA and the...
|| Berceuse (Gerard Brophy) – Sydney Philharmonia Choirs || Vocal or Choral Work of the Year ||
|-
| 2006
APRA Awards of 2006
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2006 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 5 June at the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel, they were presented by APRA and the...
|| Journey to the Horseshoe Bend (Andrew Shultz, Gordon Williams) – Ntaria Ladies Choir, Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, Sydney Symphony || Best Performance of an Australian Composition ||