The Contemporary Singers of Australia were a chamber choir based in Sydney, New South Wales, dedicated to the choral music of the 20th century. The group was formed in late 1986 by visiting Canadian compose
David Colwell
with assistance from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and the NSW State Conservatorium of Music. Colwell directed the Singers for their first year, passing the leadership t
Antony Walker
an
Elliott Gyger
who directed the Singers until 1999. Many of the original members were composition students of

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighbouring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigi ...

includin
Stephen AdamsMatthew Hindson
and Canadian compose
Jana Skarecky
The Contemporary Singers varied in size between 12 and 30 voices, and developed a repertoire of over 70 works by about 55 different composers, giving Australian premiere performances of many significant works for chamber choir. Some members also sang with the

Sydney Chamber Choir Sydney Chamber Choir is a choir from Sydney formed as the Sydney University Chamber Choir in 1975. History The Sydney Chamber choir was founded in 1975 with Nicholas Routley as its director. It became involved in Renaissance music, especially ...

and subsequently with Walker's professional choi
Cantillation
The Singers' first recording
''Sydney Dreaming''
(ABC Classics 454 510–2, 1996) showcased

Anne Boyd Anne Elizabeth Boyd AM (born 10 April 1946) is an Australian composer and emeritus professor of music at the University of Sydney. Early life Boyd was born in Sydney to James Boyd and Annie Freda Deason Boyd (née Osborn). Her father died when ...

's ''As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams''Contemporary Singers, Anthony Walker, conductor, "As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams," by Anne Boyd, on ''Women of Note'', various artists, ABC Classics 481 7995, 2019, 2 CD's. and ''Veni sancte spiritus--veni creator'' by Jennifer Fowler. They are featured in

Raffaele Marcellino Raffaele Marcellino (born 1964) is an Australian composer. Education Raffaele Marcellino graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with merit in 1985. His teachers included Richard Vella, Richard Toop, Gillian Whitehead, Martin Wes ...

's commission for the Sydney Olympic Games
''Heart of Fire''
(ABC 465 948–2, 2000). Their recording of

Nigel Butterley Nigel Henry Cockburn Butterley (13 May 1935 – 19 February 2022) was an Australian composer and pianist. Life and career Butterley was born in Sydney and learned to play the piano at the age of five. He attended Sydney Grammar School, but mus ...

's ''The True Samaritan'' o
''There Came a Wind Like a Bugle''
(''Tall Poppies'' TD142, 2001) won the APRA Award for Best Vocal or Choral Work of the Year in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Awards and nominations

APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards

The APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards are presented annually by

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) and

Australian Music Centre The Australian Music Centre (AMC), founded as Australia Music Centre in 1974 and known as Sounds Australian in the 1990s, is a national organisation promoting and supporting art music in Australia. It operates mainly as a service organisation, a ...

(AMC). , - ,

, , ''The True Samaritan'' (

) – The Contemporary Singers , , Vocal or Choral Work of the Year , ,

References

* CD booklet notes, ''Sydney Dreaming'' by The Contemporary Singers and Antony Walker, ABC Classics 454 510–2.

Awards and nominations

APRA-AMC Classical Music Awards

References

External links