VOICE. ENERGY. JOY.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is a dynamic force in Australian music, known for its ambitious programming, exciting musical collaborations and musical excellence. Founded in 1920, SPC has brought people together through music, and for over five decades it has been the heartbeat of choral performance at the Sydney Opera House.
With more than 2,000 singers across six ensembles, giving around fifty performances annually throughout Sydney and beyond, SPC is Australia’s premier choral organisation. Under the leadership of Artistic and Music Director Brett Weymark OAM and Associate Music Director Dr Elizabeth Scott, SPC brings the full power of the human voice to dynamic music making – from blockbuster choral classics like Verdi’s Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana to soaring film soundtracks and heartwarming musical theatre, from Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces to bold new Australian works.
In addition to its annual concert series, each year SPC collaborates with top-tier orchestras, soloists and conductors, performing regularly with many of Australia’s most prominent arts companies and festivals, and as the choir of choice for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 1936. SPC has performed in the Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall Melbourne, the Singapore National Football Stadium, Westminster Abbey, the Tokyo Dome and the Royal Albert Hall. Highlights over the years have included the opening of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney and Nagano Olympic Games and being the first Australian choir to perform at the BBC Proms.
SPC concerts celebrate diversity – of voices, of stories, and of sound. We sing in numerous languages from English to Gadigal, keeping things fresh with premieres, commissions, and new interpretations of beloved classics. Our musical diversity is reflected in our choristers, a true cross-section of modern Sydney’s international population, with singers aged 18 to over 80, and from a whole range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
We’re equally passionate about the next generation of music-makers. Through our VOX choir for young adults, our Conducting Fellows and our Emerging Composers we provide meaningful pathways into choral music for emerging singers, composers, and conductors. We regularly perform the world and Australian premieres of new works, we particularly champion Australian composers and have an extraordinary commissioning program, with 23 new works commissioned in the last five years alone.
Whether you’re a lifelong choral fan or stepping into a concert hall for the first time, SPC performances are for you, and for everyone.
