Choristry is a 30-voice mixed vocal ensemble dedicated to performing a diverse range of choral music to the highest standard in and around Melbourne, Australia.
JOIN US FOR AN OPEN REHEARSAL on Tuesday May 21 2019
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Join UsWe are seeking expressions of interest from all voice parts to join us for our 2019 season and beyond.
Applicants should display competent music reading skills and the ability to work well within an ensemble of dedicated musicians. If you'd like to be part of this hard-working yet fun-loving ensemble, find out about auditions by clicking the button below. Go on. We're nice. |
OUR STORY
Choristry was established by Trevor Jones under the name DeChorum in 2008. The name of the ensemble was changed to Choristry in August 2009.
A fully-auditioned choir, Choristry was formed with the express commitment of performing beautiful choral music at the highest standard. All members of Choristry are experienced vocal performers, many of them soloists in their own right.
The choir’s inaugural concert, a performance of L’Enfance du Christ by Berlioz, was given in support of the Hush Foundation in December 2008 and recorded by radio station 3MBS.
Since then, the ensemble’s diverse repertoire has included Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, Britten’s St Nicolas, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat and Cantata 140, works by Eric Whitacre and Randall Thompson and a number of contemporary Australian works by composers including Stephen Leek, Iain Grandage and Matthew Orlovich.
As well as presenting its own concerts, Choristry performed at the 2009 Australia Day concert at Melbourne’s Federation Square and has participated in several services at the city’s St Paul’s Cathedral. Choristry also performs regularly at University of Melbourne graduation ceremonies.
Between 2015 and 2018, Choristry performed under the artistic direction of Dan Walker, a preeminent composer and one of Australia's most sought-after vocal specialists. With Dan's move interstate, the choir is thrilled to announce Dr Calvin Bowman as its new Musical Director.
A fully-auditioned choir, Choristry was formed with the express commitment of performing beautiful choral music at the highest standard. All members of Choristry are experienced vocal performers, many of them soloists in their own right.
The choir’s inaugural concert, a performance of L’Enfance du Christ by Berlioz, was given in support of the Hush Foundation in December 2008 and recorded by radio station 3MBS.
Since then, the ensemble’s diverse repertoire has included Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, Britten’s St Nicolas, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat and Cantata 140, works by Eric Whitacre and Randall Thompson and a number of contemporary Australian works by composers including Stephen Leek, Iain Grandage and Matthew Orlovich.
As well as presenting its own concerts, Choristry performed at the 2009 Australia Day concert at Melbourne’s Federation Square and has participated in several services at the city’s St Paul’s Cathedral. Choristry also performs regularly at University of Melbourne graduation ceremonies.
Between 2015 and 2018, Choristry performed under the artistic direction of Dan Walker, a preeminent composer and one of Australia's most sought-after vocal specialists. With Dan's move interstate, the choir is thrilled to announce Dr Calvin Bowman as its new Musical Director.
CALVIN BOWMAN
Calvin Bowman is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, and was the first Australian to graduate with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, with the assistance of a Fulbright scholarship. He is a former Senior Lecturer in Composition and University Organist at the Australian National University.
Dr Bowman's major focus as a composer is in the composition of art song. His song Now Touch the Air Softly, recorded by Emma Matthews with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, was nominated for Best New Composition in the 2009 Limelight Awards, and was recently listed in the 'ABC Classic FM - Classic 100: Love' countdown. His songs have been lauded by many prominent musicians including Sir Neville Marriner ('...an absolute gem of twenty-first century imagination'); Lee Hoiby ('...it's so rare that I find a living composer who delights me'); and Barbara Bonney ('Your songs are very beautiful and well written').
Dr Bowman's major awards include an Australia Council Fellowship, and he has also been commissioned by organisations such as Ars Musica Australis and Symphony Australia, as well as by many individuals and ensembles. Commissions for 2017 include works for the Flinders Quartet, Tinalley Quartet, Greta Bradman, Stefanie Farrrands, and a major song cycle for the 2017 Adelaide Festival.
As a performer he has presented the complete Bach organ works twice in public, once in 1995 and again in 2009 for the Melbourne International Festival where he performed them in a single seventeen-hour sitting. For the latter feat he was nominated for a Helpmann Award. As keyboardist he has premiered works by Philip Glass, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards, Richard Mills, Graeme Koehne, Andrew Schultz and others, and appeared as soloist with many of the major Australian orchestras.
Calvin Bowman is an exclusive Decca/UMA artist. His first recording of art song entitled 'Real and Right and True' was released in July 2018.
Dr Bowman's major focus as a composer is in the composition of art song. His song Now Touch the Air Softly, recorded by Emma Matthews with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, was nominated for Best New Composition in the 2009 Limelight Awards, and was recently listed in the 'ABC Classic FM - Classic 100: Love' countdown. His songs have been lauded by many prominent musicians including Sir Neville Marriner ('...an absolute gem of twenty-first century imagination'); Lee Hoiby ('...it's so rare that I find a living composer who delights me'); and Barbara Bonney ('Your songs are very beautiful and well written').
Dr Bowman's major awards include an Australia Council Fellowship, and he has also been commissioned by organisations such as Ars Musica Australis and Symphony Australia, as well as by many individuals and ensembles. Commissions for 2017 include works for the Flinders Quartet, Tinalley Quartet, Greta Bradman, Stefanie Farrrands, and a major song cycle for the 2017 Adelaide Festival.
As a performer he has presented the complete Bach organ works twice in public, once in 1995 and again in 2009 for the Melbourne International Festival where he performed them in a single seventeen-hour sitting. For the latter feat he was nominated for a Helpmann Award. As keyboardist he has premiered works by Philip Glass, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards, Richard Mills, Graeme Koehne, Andrew Schultz and others, and appeared as soloist with many of the major Australian orchestras.
Calvin Bowman is an exclusive Decca/UMA artist. His first recording of art song entitled 'Real and Right and True' was released in July 2018.
