THE CHOIR OF ORMOND COLLEGE, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Director: Douglas Lawrence
In
June and July of 2003 The Choir of Ormond College gave its tenth
international concert tour, visiting England, Scotland, France, Germany,
Denmark, Austria and Italy. Other tours have included New Zealand, Singapore,
Japan, Holland, England, Scotland, Switzerland and Belgium.
These
tours have received outspoken praise from the public and critics alike.
During
the 1995 tour the choir gave the final concert of The Arolsen Barock Festspiele.
Other artists at that festival included the Jean Francois Paillard
Orchestra, The London Brass Ensemble, Gerard Jerry, The Hilliard Ensemble and
Gustav Leonhardt. The choir received what was only the second standing ovation
awarded in the festival’s history.
There are many similiar stories.
The
Choir was formed by its Director; Douglas Lawrence, Master of the Chapel Music,
in 1982. There are 24 Choral Scholars: ten sopranos, four altos, four tenors,
and six basses.
The Choir sings each Sunday evening during term in the College chapel and
presents an annual concert series. Each year a number of outside engagements are
undertaken; these have included concerts for: The
Australian Broadcasting Commission, Musica
Viva, The Melbourne International Festival, The Melbourne Concert Hall, The
Faculty of Music at Melbourne University, Monash University, The Melbourne
International Festival of Organ and Harpsichord, The Ballarat Opera Festival,
The Fremantle Bach Festival,The Mildura Arts Festival and The Port Fairy
Festival. In Europe Festival engagements have included
- Wiener Festwochen, Vendsyssel
Festival, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Accademia Chigiana, Sorø Festival,
Arolsen Barock Festspiele, Dunkeld Festival,
Bonn Sommerkonzerte , Festival du L’Orgue
Ancien-Sion.
The
Choir’s repertoire is wide. It ranges through the Renaissance to the Baroque,
with special attention given to the music of J.S.Bach; on through the C19th and
20th and then into the largely untapped area of contemporary choral composition.
The Choir of Ormond College has given over 40 premieres.
Several fine composers have emerged from the choir’s ranks; prominent
amongst them are Gordon Kerry and Philip Nunn; both now with significant
international reputations
The
choir also has a strong commitment to early performance practice and gave the
first authentic Melbourne performances along with The Australian Baroque
Ensemble of, amongst other works, Messiah and The Coronation Anthems by G.F.
Handel and of the St. John Passion, St Matthew Passion (withThe Choir of Trinity
College) Mass in B Minor, Magnificat and several cantatas by J. S. Bach.
Ten
compact discs on the MOVE label produced in the last eight years have sold
exceptionally well.
The complete choral works of Samuel Barber have been recorded and will
shortly be released by NAXOS.
The
Choir has a large repertoire of secular music from many countries and a program
of this music is also available.
Reviews
in the Melbourne AGE in September 2000 have spoken of the Choir:
“once more realising some of the most difficult baroque choral writing
with youthful gusto and a forthright attack”( Bach, B Minor Mass) and
of the new CD Beatus Vir:
“ This last piece (Monteverdi-Beatus Vir)
is a technical tour de force, which the young voices dispatch with
aplomb”
Compact
Discs
I Heard The Owl
Call My Name:
Bach, Poulenc,William Byrd
Bach, Byrd, Britten includes
Britten- A Ceremony of Carols
Music From Heaven:
includes the Allegri Miserere, Bach, di Lasso
Kodaly Missa
Brevis:
Bach,Howells, Christopher Tye
I Can Tell The
World:
secular music; folk songs, spirituals, Purcell rounds
Beatus
Vir:
Monteverdi, Palestrina,Gesualdo, Gabrieli, Stanford
We Wish You A
Merry Christmas:
28 Christmas Carols
The
Twelve Days of Christmas:
24 carols and anthems (2002) Stephen McIntyre – piano, Rhys Boak - organ
The Choir of Ormond College Live: from 1985 – 2001 (2002) includes a complete Faure Requiem