...a Choir worth crossing the world to hear…the singers had done the travelling this time, of course, but they had so drawn us into their world that, as we stepped out of the Recital Centre, I almost expected to hear the crunch of snow underfoot.
Suzanne Yanko, Classic Melbourne
As part of Paul Kildea’s compelling artistic vision for 2024, Musica Viva Australia is delighted to be bringing back Choir of King’s College, Cambridge to Australian audiences around the country.
Founded in the fifteenth century by King Henry VI, The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is undoubtedly one of the world’s best known choral groups. Every Christmas Eve millions of people worldwide tune into A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service that has been broadcast almost every year by the BBC since 1928.
While the Choir exists primarily to sing the daily services in King’s College Chapel, its worldwide fame and reputation, enhanced by its many recordings, has led to invitations to perform around the globe, and to an extensive international tour schedule.
Paul Kildea says, "To bring the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge back to Australia is a privilege, but to have it perform great twentieth-century religious works alongside a commissioned work from Damian Barbeler and Judith Nangala Crispin, is an intimate way for the choir to engage with Australian history."
Led by Daniel Hyde, the presentation of classical choral repertoire alongside a new work by Damien Barbeler and Judith Nangala Crispin is going to be an Australian musical highlight of 2024. It is also a significant undertaking for Musica Viva Australia, and with that in mind we have launched a discrete appeal in support of the Tour.
There will be sixteen boy Choristers visiting Australia performing with the Choir, and in order to support this crucial part of the presentation, we have created The Choristers’ Circle. This is an opportunity for our valued subscribers and donors to provide discrete support for one (or more) of the Choristers in the amount of $3,000 (tax deductible) - and will make a tangible difference to Musica Viva Australia as we continue to build support into the future.
The Choir’s unparalleled soloistic, ensemble and tutti skills were on show as perhaps nowhere else, Hyde’s masterly direction ensuring an almost magical cohesion in terms of blend and ensemble.
Limelight Magazine
At Musica Viva Australia, we remain so very grateful to our donors and patrons for the myriad ways in which you support us each year, and we hope that you may feel able to join this new giving circle, or to make a donation of any size, towards the presentation of this unparalleled choir. Such support enables us to keep presenting the finest musicians from around the world, something we have been proudly undertaking for decades.
If you are interested in supporting this, or making a more general gift towards our work, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Zoë Cobden-Jewitt at ZCobden-Jewitt@musicaviva.com.au for more information, or donate online here.
Your support makes this work possible. Thank you.