AUDITIONED CHOIRS
Love to sing? Then sing with us. You could perform with leading conductors, soloists and orchestras on stage at the world-famous Sydney Opera House. From rehearsal to performance, you will be expertly led by our Music Directors, Brett Weymark and Elizabeth Scott. We have three auditioned choirs.
See below for more details on each choir and how to register.
Symphony Chorus
Symphony Chorus is considered the most prestigious choir of its size in Australia, renowned for its sheer vocal power and precision. For the past 85 years, Symphony Chorus has been the chorus of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
This highly skilled group of up to 150 highly skilled auditioned singers performs a diverse range of repertoire from early Baroque and Renaissance, through to contemporary and newly commissioned works. It particularly excels in large-scale choral repertoire, which is why, for more than 80 years, Symphony Chorus has been the chorus of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In 2025, Symphony Chorus will be performing I was Glad: Cathedral Classics at the Sydney Opera House, as well as at Bathurst and Goulburn in regional New South Wales. It will also be performing Michael Tippett’s choral masterpiece, A Child of our Time, once again at the Sydney Opera House. With the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Chorus will be performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with its infamous Ode to Joy.
In the past two years Symphony Chorus has performed Rachmaninoff’s Vespers and Rodgers & Hammerstein – Showstoppers at Sydney Town Hall, as well as Handel’s Samson and choruses from the great musicals in The Golden Age of Broadway at the Sydney Opera House. With SSO, they have performed in Duruflé’s Requiem, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Eumeralla JS Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Schoenberg’s Gurre-lieder.
Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers is a choir of 50 highly skilled singers which specialises in virtuosic choral repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The ensemble is renowned for its dynamic performances, exceptional musicianship and professionalism. The Singers’ performances can be intimate and delicate, yet have the vocal power to inspire awe. They have premiered Australian music by Dan Walker, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon and Luke Byrne, amongst others, and have regularly performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra including performances of Eötvös’ Halleluja – Oratorium balbulum. You can hear the Chamber Singers on the album This Secret World, the music of Dan Walker.
Every year, Chamber Singers perform their own concerts, and in 2025 that will include JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio at the Sydney Opera House and a program based around Christopher Tin’s Lost Birds in the White Bay Power Station. In the last two years, Chamber Singers have also performed Sir James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater along with other works in St Andrew’s Cathedral, John Peterson’s Shadows and Light, Fauré’s Requiem, and Rodgers & Hammerstein Showstoppers in Sydney Town Hall, and works by Scarlatti, Monteverdi and more in their Voices of the Italian Baroque at St James’ King Street.
Chamber Singers rehearses on Monday evenings with some additional rehearsals throughout the year.
VOX
VOX is the vibrant young-adult ensemble of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, bringing together singers aged 18-30 under the direction of Elizabeth Scott and Brett Weymark. Celebrated for its versatility and distinctive sound, VOX performs an adventurous repertoire spanning classical works, contemporary music, and bold collaborations with leading Australian composers and artists.
A regular presence at the Sydney Opera House, VOX has earned critical acclaim for its fresh, expressive performances. Recent highlights include projects with Eric Whitacre, Ekrem Eli Phoenix, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a feature on NCIS Sydney.
VOX offers emerging singers the opportunity to develop their artistry, within the broader context of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, through a wide range of repertoire and performance experiences.
