The Brisbane Chamber Choir is directed by its founding director Graeme Morton. One of Australia’s more eclectic choirs, the choir combines musicians from diverse backgrounds and regularly performs in all musical styles from Renaissance repertoire to contemporary music, including premieres and commissions. A regular feature of our annual season has become the Magnificent Bach services which highlights the cantatas, masses and passions of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The ensemble regularly collaborates with other organisations and this year returns to Canberra (where the choir has previously performed the premieres of the Vietnam Requiem and the Prisoner of War Requiem) to premiere the Peacekeeping Symphony for the Flowers of Peace in partnership with the Australian War Memorial. Earlier this year, the performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony signified another successful partnership with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, with previous performances under maestros Stephen Layton and Dane Lam.
The choir has released a number of recordings including, in 2016, Mass of the Dreaming, a celebration of Australian choral music. It features the premiere recording of the Ross Edwards’ title work, together with compositions of musical friends Stephen Leek, Matthew Orlovich, Andrew Schultz, Paul Stanhope, Keren Terpstra and Joseph Twist.
The Brisbane Chamber Choir regularly commissions new works and composers commissioned for 2022 include Andrew Ford and Andrew Schultz. The choir is currently the resident Chamber Choir of St John’s Anglican Cathedral and as of 2023 an Affiliate Ensemble of the University of Queensland School of Music.