BY RACHEL BRUERVILLE
I’d like to begin by mirroring the excitement of the wonderful Australian composer Joe Twist. I recently asked him to send me some thoughts on the upcoming inaugural Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival, and he came back with: “To me, this is the Power Rangers of Australian chamber choirs – ‘our powers combined’!”
I’d also like to describe it as the Captain Planet of Australian chamber choirs – so many different elements all coming together to create something bigger.
I am writing from my perspective as an alto who sings with the beautiful Adelaide Chamber Singers directed by Christie Anderson — the host choir of this festival — and also as an administrator. Certainly the idea of “our powers combined” is applicable for our tiny administration and artistic team running a three-day, five-concert festival, too!
So how has this all come together, and why are we doing it?
A festival specifically for chamber choirs
The ACS team may be small, but we are passionate and ambitious, and that is the short answer of how this festival has come together!
The longer answer is that ACS founder and conductor emeritus Dr Carl Crossin OAM has had the concept of the Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival in his mind for many years: a festival specifically for chamber choirs, rather than a gathering of large choirs, is something that has never been presented in Australia before (as far as we know).
The art of chamber singing – small ensemble singing – is so specialised, but the experience of listening to chamber choirs in concert can be enjoyed by everyone. I think that making music using the human voice intensifies the connection between performers and audiences.
When I initially took on some of the behind-the-scenes work for ACS last year, rather than ‘just’ being a singer in the group (which I have been since 2013), I was asked to assist the organisation with digital strategy development. To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting in to, but I’m so grateful to the Australian Digital Concert Hall team for being a large part of that strategy as our digital broadcast partner this year. There is no way we as a small arts organisation would have been able to reach as many people online without their extremely valuable platform.
To have the Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival accessible from anywhere in the world, whether in regional Australia, other cities interstate, or overseas, is something we are really proud of.
A living tradition of chamber singing
Initially planned for 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, the 2023 Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival is now bigger than originally planned. There are options for audiences to attend performances in person across three iconic Adelaide choral venues, or to live stream the concerts via Australian Digital Concert Hall.
In another major aspect of my musical life – as a composer – I am the most excited about this festival, which features four world premieres, and many more South Australian premieres by living composers. There are so many new works that I haven’t ever sung or heard before, and a really excellent balance of women composers, too, including Australians Anne Cawrse, Elizabeth Younan, Juliana Kay, and Ella Macens.
In my experience, the choral world is more progressive than the orchestral world in the music we present, and I’m not exactly sure why this is the case. Groups like The King’s Singers and VOCES8 have become well-known for excellence across a wide range of repertoire, with their programs often described as “eclectic”; and both choral and orchestral traditions go back many, many centuries.
Of course, during the festival we will also sing music by the brilliant William Byrd (who died 400 years ago this year), but it is quite common to hear newer music alongside the old in a chamber choir concert. I think this connects audiences to the living tradition of chamber singing.
Are specialist chamber singers and their artistic directors just more willing to experiment than instrumentalists are? All five choirs participating in the festival are champions of new Australian music, and this is illustrated in the works they will perform in Adelaide.
I think that self-identified choir nerds are some of the best people you will ever meet and have the pleasure of working with, and we’d love to share the joy of singing with you.
Experience the inaugural Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival from 6-8 October in Elder Hall and North Adelaide’s St Peter’s Cathedral and Christ Church, and the Australian Digital Concert Hall. Full program and tickets on the website.
The 2023 Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival is presented by Adelaide Chamber Singers in association with Brisbane Chamber Choir, Polyphonic Voices, Sydney Chamber Choir, and Voyces – with support from Arts South Australia and the Adelaide Chamber Singers Supporters Fund.
Images supplied. Featured image shows Adelaide Chamber Singers at UKARIA.
