Adelaide Chamber Singers is proud to present its 2023 concert series which explores the ways music narrates our life experiences.
In her second full season as Adelaide Chamber Singers’ Artistic Director and Conductor, Christie Anderson has put together a program of 4 unique and transfixing performances. As part of the main season concerts there is a very special event taking place.
For the first time in its history, Adelaide Chamber Singers will present the Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival which is curated by none other than former Artistic Director and conductor of ACS, Carl Crossin OAM.
As one of Australia’s premier choirs, ACS has garnered respect from other esteemed choral organisations, and the Chamber Choir Festival will feature 5 of Australia’s finest choirs in attendance, taking place from Friday the 6th of October to Sunday the 8th of October.
The 5 concerts over 3 days in 3 different venues will see of course the Adelaide Chamber Singers, performing with the Sydney Chamber Choir, Brisbane Chamber Choir, Polyphonic Voices from Melbourne, and Perth-based Voyces.
The rest of the Adelaide Chamber Singers season officially starts with ACS welcoming back the newest member of the ACS family in the development choir ACS2, performing in their second Adelaide Chamber Singers main season at St John’s Anglican Church.
Behold the Wonder, set across 3 dates at 3 different venues, will take the audience on a journey of the life of 12th-century polymath and saint, Hildegard von Bingen. Rounding out the program will be Silver and Gold, ACS’ Christmas concert that will be on so many Christmas wishlists.
For those who can’t wait for the season beginning in May, ACS will be performing Celestial as part of the Adelaide Festival, taking place in the iconic St Peter’s Cathedral on Wednesday 15 March.
As well as the announcement of the program, Adelaide Chamber Singers is thrilled to be partnering with Australian Digital Concert Hall in 2023, who will live stream a number of their performances throughout the year. The first live stream will be Celestial on March 15 that will be available at the link HERE, with further announcements to come.
ACS Artistic Director and Conductor Christie Anderson says this is a wonderful season of collaborations, beautiful music, and the meeting of old friends.
“It’s incredibly exciting to bring audiences such a huge program, and with the added treat of the very first Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival, it’s going to be a really special year. These collaborations are at the heart of Adelaide Chamber Singers’ style of music making,” said Anderson.
For more information about the Adelaide Chamber Singers 2023 season, visit: www.adelaidechambersingers.com for details.
Image: Adelaide Chamber Singers – photo by Curtis Brownjohn
ADELAIDE CHAMBER SINGERS 2023 SEASON
Adelaide Festival – Celestial
St Peter’s Cathedral: Wednesday 15 March – 8:00pm & 10:00pm
Imagine looking up into the night sky, far from the city lights. In this single sung-through experience, the singers will perform while moving through the space. Featuring Tallis’ Videte Miraculum, Mealor’s Ubi Caritas, Essenvalds’ Stars, Elgar’s Lux Aeterna, and stunning reimagining’s of JS Bach’s timeless chorale Come Sweet Death.
Program 1 – Us
St John’s Anglican Church: Sunday 21 May – 2.00pm & 4.30pm
After debut performances at the inaugural UKARIA A Cappella Academy with Timothy Wayne-Wright (May 2022), and in their own program, Beginnings (October 2022), ACS welcomes back the newest member of the Adelaide Chamber Singers family, ACS2. This ensemble features Adelaide’s leading emerging chamber singers mentored by long-term members of ACS.
Program 2 – Behold the Wonder
St Peter’s Cathedral: Friday 30 June – 7.00pm | Art Gallery of South Australia: Saturday 1 July – 7.00pm | UKARIA Cultural Centre: Sunday 2 July – 2.30pm
“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of the earth’s greening. Now think.” (Hildegard von Bingen) Across three different venues and acoustic spaces, Behold the Wonder is a concert experience based around the works of the 12th century polymath and saint, Hildegard von Bingen. We explore Hildegard’s music, teachings, and the profound influence she still has today.
SPECIAL EVENT: Adelaide Chamber Choir Festival – Curated by Carl Crossin OAM
Christ Church: Friday 6 October – 6.00pm & 8.00pm | Elder Hall – University of Adelaide: Saturday 7 October – 6.00pm & 8.00pm | St Peter’s Cathedral: Sunday 8 October – 3.00pm*
Adelaide Chamber Singers has ‘lived’ its passion for collegial music-making for over thirty-five years, and has shared the stage with singers and choirs from around Australia and the world. Now, in 2023, they have invited four of Australia’s finest chamber choirs to join them in Adelaide for a feast of glorious choral music – Sydney Chamber Choir, Brisbane Chamber Choir,
Voyces (Perth) and Polyphonic Voices (Melbourne). All five of the Festival’s choirs are dedicated champions of Australian choral music, and the concerts will not only embrace global choral repertoire, but will shine a light on the living art of some of our own composers. *Finale concert features a newly commissioned work for the five combined choirs, composed by Carl Crossin.
Program 3 – Silver and Gold
St Peter’s Cathedral: Saturday 9 December – 7.00pm | St John’s Anglican Church: Sunday 10 December – 2.30pm
Celebrate Christmas with music old and new, with the first half showcasing glorious a cappella Christmas music, including Mistletoebird by Rachel Bruerville, commissioned by ACS. In the second half, the choir travels back through time to the French Baroque, where Marc-Antoine Charpetier’s Christmas Mass, the Messe de minuit pour Noel, celebrates the news of the birth of Christ with joy and elegance, in the setting of a midnight mass. Composed in 1694, Charpentier has rearranged ten traditional French Christmas hymns to create a piece of dance-like energy and grace.