Sydney Grammar School’s Preparatory campus at Edgecliff has a delightful choir named EDGECLIFF PREP SINGERS under the direction of Head of Music Robin Carter. This year they travelled to Port Macquarie once again to meet and share music and fun with Tacking Point’s prestigious Bel Canto choir. The two schools have been regular partners in performing arts programs either in Sydney or Port Macquarie, and these visits are eagerly anticipated by the children and the staff.
This year the young Australian composer James Madsen travelled with the children and worked on some of his compositions over the weekend. The Edgecliff choir performed a lovely program of Australian music in the Sunday concert along with some instrumental works played by some of the best young instrumentalists.
BEL CANTO performed a selection of their repertoire which was currently being prepared for the Festival of Choral Music in the Sydney Opera House in early September. They are a consistently fine choir with a rigorous rehearsal and performance regime under the choral direction of Robyn Ryan and Dayna Moritz.
Adding to this mix of beautiful young performers, the SATB adult mixed voice CANTORUS choir performed the wonderful Gloria by Francis Poulenc with Soprano soloist Rose Wilson.
A musically difficult but joyous composition, the Gloria presents many choral challenges with dissonant harmonies coupled with gorgeous melodies but is much loved by all singers.
This concert was performed by a smaller group - just a chamber choir - so it was quite an intimate sound; and this, augmented by Rose Wilson’s soaring melodies, created a cathedral-like atmosphere which was heavenly indeed.