Photography by Keith Saunders

Symphony Chorus

This highly skilled group of up to 150 highly skilled auditioned singers perform a diverse range of repertoire from early Baroque and Renaissance, through to contemporary and newly commissioned works. They excel in large-scale choral repertoire. For more than 80 years, Symphony Chorus has been the chorus of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In 2019 Symphony Chorus performed Brahms’ Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Fauré’s Requiem, Britten’s Peter Grimes, in Last Night of the Proms and Handel’s Messiah at Christmas. In 2020, after the lockdowns, a small number of Symphony Chorus presented two performances of Handel’s Messiah – Part the First at St Andrew’s Cathedral. In 2021, Symphony Chorus performed Orff’s Carmina Burana, Peter Sculthorpe’s Sun Music and John Peterson’s The Earth That Fire Touches before lockdowns began again. In 2022, they performed Mozart’s Requiem and other works of Mozart, Jessica Wells’ Dolor ultimae melodiae, and in Handel’s Messiah. 2023 saw Symphony Chorus perform Handel’s Samson oratorio, choruses from the great musicals in The Golden Age of Broadway and in Carols at the House.

In 2024, Symphony Chorus will perform Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers), hits from the great Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in Showstoppers, and in Handel’s Messiah with the Christmas Choir.

Photography by Keith Saunders

Chamber Singers

The Chamber Singers is a choir of 32 highly skilled singers who specialise in virtuosic choral repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century. They are renowned for their dynamic performances and their exceptional musicianship and professionalism. Their performances can be intimate and delicate, yet have the vocal power to inspire awe. They have premiered Australian music by Dan Walker and Luke Byrne, amongst others, and regularly perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra including performances of Eötvös’ Halleluja — Oratorium balbulum and in the Tea & Symphony series. In 2016 the Chamber Singers recorded and released This Secret World, the music of Dan Walker.

Every year, the Chamber Singers perform their own concert. In 2019, they presented their own concert of jazz and swing – In the Mood. In 2020, the Chamber Singers performed an intimate concert of Fauré’s Requiem at St Andrew’s Cathedral. At Easter 2021, Elizabeth Scott led the Chamber Singers in Bach’s St John Passion, with works by Brooke Shelley and Joseph Twist woven throughout. In 2022, they performed as part of the Sydney Festival in Night of the Soul, JS Bach’s Mass in B minor, and in Grant Us Peace with works by Peteris Vasks, Stuart Greenbaum and Maria Lopes at St Andrew’s Cathedral. In 2023, the Chamber Singers performed Sir James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater along with other works in St Andrew’s Cathedral.

The 2024 Season sees the Chamber Singers singing John Peterson’s Shadows and Light, Fauré’s Requiem, works by D Scarlatti, Monteverdi and more in Voices of the Italian Baroque, and Rodgers & Hammerstein hits in Showstoppers.

Photography by Keith Saunders

VOX

VOX is at the forefront of contemporary choral music in Australia. With singers aged 18–30, VOX brings together Sydney’s most talented young singers to perform in the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ concert season. VOX are led by acclaimed choral conductor and VOX Music Director, Elizabeth Scott. VOX regularly perform in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s season in programs such as Last Night of the Proms, Britten’s Peter Grimes and Fauré’s Requiem. They starred in their own performances of Wonder in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House. VOX regularly appears at corporate events and in major cultural festivals such as VIVID Sydney, the Greek Music Festival and Four Winds.

In 2019 they performed with the Sydney Symphony in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis at the Sydney Opera House. They have sung on recordings for composers Sally Whitwell and Dan Walker, and Bangarra Dance Theatre’s production Bennelong. In 2020 VOX performed Craig Hella Johnson’s searing Considering Matthew Shepard in collaboration with the City Recital Hall.

In 2021 they performed on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt for the Australia Day celebrations, and Berliner Messe at St Andrew’s Cathedral, featuring the works of Arvo Pärt, Matthew Orlovich and Aija Draguns. In 2022, they featured in The Pulse as part of the Sydney Festival, in Bach’s Mass in B minor, and with legendary choral leader Eric Whitacre in the Sydney premiere of his latest composition, The Scared Veil at the Sydney Opera House. In 2023, VOX performed David Lang’s Pulitzer prize-winning The Little Match Girl Passion along with other works by Luke Byrne and Naomi Crellin and in Carols at the House at the Sydney Opera House.

In 2024, VOX sings John Peterson’s Shadows and Light, Fauré’s Requiem, works by Ešenvalds, Rautavaara, Whitacre, Byrne, Pärt and more in Aurora and in Handel’s Messiah with the Christmas Choir.