Gondwana Choirs comprises the most accomplished choral groups of young people in Australia. Founded by Artistic Director Lyn Williams OAM as Sydney Children’s Choir in 1989, the organisation has grown to now include Gondwana National Choirs and Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choirs. The organisation has commissioned over 200 works by leading Australian composers and performs a significant number of Australian compositions each year nationally and internationally.
The Gondwana Young Men’s Choir comprises around 30 singers from across Greater Sydney and is conducted by Sam Allchurch. Part of the internationally-acclaimed Sydney Children’s Choir, the choir formed in 2012 to provide specialised training for boys whose voices have changed or are changing. The choir features prominently in the annual Christmas concerts, Voices of Angels at the City Recital Hall and is increasingly engaged for performances and recordings around Sydney.
In 2015, the Young Men’s Choir joined the Senior Choir of Sydney Children’s Choir and the Royal Australian Navy Band to perform the premiere of Meeting the Sun by Elena Kats-Chernin. Commissioned by the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway in Concord, NSW, the work was broadcast on ABC Classic FM on ANZAC Day.
The Young Men’s Choir is conducted by Sam Allchurch, an alumnus of Sydney Children’s Choir and a graduate of Melbourne and Cambridge Universities. Its pianist is Jem Harding, who is a regular collaborator with Gondwana Choirs and performs regularly with leading Sydney ensembles.
Conductor: Sam Allchurch