Choirs
Australian Girls Choir
The Australian Girls Choir has developed a reputation for inspirational performances to audiences around the world, through national and international tours, television appearances, and thousands of public events. Founded in 1984, the AGC now has 6,000 choristers in training in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The founding philosophy of the AGC is that all girls can learn to sing with encouragement and training and the choir’s developmental classroom teaching is built on a strong foundation of Kodály-based music education.
Regularly seen at major events from the cricket to the Australian Open and much loved at Carols by Candlelight and Carols in the Domain, the choir is perhaps best known for its advertising campaigns for Qantas over the last 28 years. The AGC has shared the stage with a long list of professional artists including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, André Rieu, Celtic Woman and Hugh Jackman, and has been honoured to perform for Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, President Obama and the Dalai Lama.
Elder Conservatorium Chorale
Founded by Carl Crossin in 2002, the Elder Conservatorium Chorale draws its membership from the Elder Conservatorium, the greater Adelaide University student body and from the wider community.
The Chorale presents a variety of public performances each year with programs that include a wide range of unaccompanied choral music, as well as major choral/orchestral works in collaboration withthe Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.
Such collaborations have included Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, Britten’s War Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s oratorios Israel in Egypt and Messiah, Bach’s Johannes Passion and Matthäus Passion, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time and Requiems by Brahms, Verdi, Mozart, Fauré and Duruflé, as well as contemporary works such as . Ian Grandage’s ANZAC memorial work Towards First Light and Eric Whitacre’s powerful The Sacred Veil.
The Chorale has also performed to critical acclaim at national conferences of the Australian National Choral Association and the Australian Society for Music Education.
Highlights of 2025 included a performance in St. Peter’s Cathedral North Adelaide, of Maurice Durufle’s Requiem Op. 47 with the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carl Crossin and an intensive residency and closing concert with ensemble coach Timothy Wayne-Wright – ex-member of The Kings Singers and international ensemble coach.
The current year (2026) has included a collaboration with Adelaide’s Graduate Singers (under the direction of Karl Geiger)in Semester 1, while the second half of the year features concerts in both Adelaide and Sydney in collaboration with Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Choir (conductor, Paul Stanhope), performance as part of the Kodaly National Conference and the South Australian Honour Choir’s Voices of Adelaide weekend in September; and the continuation of Chorale’s much loved Christmas concerts.
South Australian Public Primary Schools (SAPPS) Choir
The South Australian Public Primary Schools (SAPPS) Choir is the showcase choir for the Primary Schools Music Festival (PSMF) and the SA Department for Education. Comprised of talented students from Years 5, 6 and 7, the auditioned members rehearse each week. The aim of The SAPPS Choir is to provide a choral extension program that will develop ability and knowledge in upper primary school students who demonstrate a high level of musicianship. Repertoire is generally challenging and includes a wide range of genres and styles.
The choir performs on 10-12 occasions each year at community events, corporate functions and they enjoy a variety of collaborations with other musicians – all in prestigious locations in Adelaide. It is the principal recording choir for the program repertoire that is distributed to schools throughout South Australia.
The Adelaide Choral Ambassadors
Adelaide Choral Ambassadors is a South Australian choir now in its third year, young in age, but already making its mark on the international choral stage. Founded by Princess Galicia, Gil Costes, Larry Parane, and Ron Abelita, ACA brings together a diverse ensemble of singers united by a shared passion for choral excellence.
Under the music direction of Princess Galicia, Ron Abelita, and Pauline Wong, the choir’s rehearsal philosophy is deeply rooted in Kodály principles, a methodology that builds genuine musicianship from the ground up. Princess Galicia, Pauline Wong, and Larry Parane have each carried this approach from their long involvement with the Kodály Society of the Philippines, and continue to apply it through their work with Kodály South Australia. For a young choir still developing its musical foundation, these methods have proven transformative.
In 2024, ACA was awarded Gold at the World Choir Games, and later claimed Gold at the Australian International Music Festival in Sydney, where the choir had the privilege of performing at the Sydney Opera House.
ACA’s repertoire reflects its identity as a bridge between cultures, drawing on Filipino a cappella traditions, Southeast Asian choral heritage, and the wider landscape of Australian and international choral music.
In November 2026, ACA invites audiences to witness the next chapter. OVERTURE: The Beginning of Act Three takes place on 21 November at Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, a concert that marks not just another performance, but a declaration of where this choir is headed.
The Festival Statesmen Chorus
The Festival Statesmen Chorus is an internationally multi-award winning dynamic male voiced a cappella vocal group based in Adelaide, South Australia. Formed in 2009 by Jonathan Bligh, their repertoire ranges from Contemporary to Classical.
In 2024, the Festival Statesmen Chorus represented Australia in Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand at the World Choir Games – the world’s largest choir competition and won two Championship trophies. The Festival Statesmen have previously won two Australian national titles in the AUS-ACA National A Cappella Competitions and Barbershop Harmony Australia National Chorus Competition (with the highest score in the history of the competition).
Performance highlights for the group have included headlining the 1st Gyeongnam International Choral Festival, Changwon, South Korea, and the 80th Anniversary of Youngnak Church, Youngnak International Sacred Choral Festival in Seoul, South Korea. Local performance highlights include the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, and performances with Voces8, the Gesualdo Six, Adele, and Timothy Wayne-Wright formerly of the King Singers.
Young Adelaide Voices
First Concert Choir
Young Adelaide Voices First Concert Choir (YAV 1CC) is the flagship youth choir of Young Adelaide Voices: an exceptional ensemble celebrated for artistry, teamwork and a vibrant commitment to Australian music for youth choirs. With a reputation for musical excellence, generosity and spirit, YAV 1CC is a dynamic presence in South Australia’s cultural life, performing at concerts, major events and professional collaborations. Led by Artistic Director Christie Anderson from 2010–2025, the choir now welcomes Michaela Eaton into the conductor’s role.
Internationally acclaimed, YAV 1CC has completed ten overseas tours to Canada, Europe, the UK, USA, China, Hong Kong and Japan. In July 2024, the choir toured France and Italy, competing in the International Choir Competition in Provence, where they won 1st place in the Youth Choir category and placed 2nd overall in the Grand Prix final by just 0.8 points. Christie Anderson received the Juror’s Special Award for Most Creative Performance, recognising imaginative programming and staging.
The choir’s international success is longstanding. Highlights include the 2016 European tour, with performances at youth music festivals in Salzburg, Bratislava and Verona. In Bratislava, YAV 1CC won three gold medals, and Christie Anderson was named Best Conductor of the Festival.
At home, 1CC continues to shine as one of Australia’s leading youth choirs. In 2022, they travelled to Hobart for Festival of Voices, representing South Australia and collaborating with outstanding Australian choirs. They are also the on-call youth choir for professional ensemble work with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Australian Ballet and Adelaide Festival, most recently appearing in with flamenco guitarist Paco Peña at the final Adelaide Guitar Festival in 2024 and in The Chronicles with Stephanie Lake Company in the 2026 Festival.
Aurora Vocal Ensemble
Aurora Vocal Ensemble is a dynamic upper-voice ensemble directed by award-winning singer and conductor Christie Anderson. Celebrated for its expressive artistry, precision and joyful performance, Aurora brings warmth, vitality and emotional depth to every performance while championing Australian contemporary choral music. The ensemble’s strength lies not only in its technical excellence, but in its ability to draw audiences into the emotional world of each work – creating performances that are vivid, disciplined and deeply human.
Aurora has performed on national and international stages, most recently touring South Korea and Dubai with The Pulse, a groundbreaking collaboration with acclaimed acrobatic company Gravity & Other Myths. The ensemble was the ABC’s Champion Choir in South Australia for two consecutive years and is regularly featured in high-profile professional projects, including The Djari Project with Netanela Mizrahi and Mr. Gurriwiwi, for which Christie Anderson and the ensemble received a National Indigenous Music Award.
Recently invited to perform at National Choralfest in Geelong, Aurora continues to collaborate with leading artists and organisations. Highlights of its 2026 season include a collaboration with the First Nations Inarma Choir from Titjikala in the Northern Territory and a performance with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra as part of its 90th anniversary celebrations, performing the ethereal, wordless chorus from Neptune in Gustav Holst’s The Planets.
Emerging from the renowned Young Adelaide Voices choir school, Aurora’s singers are proud choir nerds, silent disco aficionados and passionate advocates for the power of vocal music to inspire, connect and move audiences.
“Anderson’s choir had stolen the show. Barnaby Smith, VOCES8’s countertenor and artistic director, came to the stage and just said, ‘Wow.’”
— Graham Strahle, InDaily, reviewing the UKARIA A Cappella Academy, June 2024
Young Voices of Melbourne
Young Voices of Melbourne is one of Australia’s finest choral programs for young singers, renowned for its passionate performances, engaging repertoire and outstanding Kodály-based music education program. Under the direction of Juliana Kay, YVM trains singers from age 0 to 30 across six choirs and an early childhood program.
Young Voices of Melbourne was founded in 1990 by Mark O’Leary and has a proud history of performing, recording and touring. Aside from hosting regular concerts in Melbourne, its choirs have performed at major events and festivals, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (Melbourne), National Folk Festival (Canberra), Festival of Voices (Hobart) and three concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2024. The choir has released 13 CD recordings of Australian and international children’s choral music.
YVM has a long history of touring, having undertaken 22 Australian tours to all corners of the country, and 11 international tours to Europe, South Africa, Canada, the USA, Singapore, Thailand, Samoa, New Zealand and Japan.
Concerts
Details coming soon…