Outback Choir is a new ABC documentary about the community outreach project Moorambilla Voices, which will be nationally broadcast on November 30. It documents the development of a concert in 2013 which included new works by Sydney composer Alice Chance, written for a specially assembled choir comprised of children from remote areas of rural NSW. Moorambilla has been running for 9 years, work shopping and performing new works by talented emerging Australian composers with a choir that is made up of school-aged children and young adults from country towns in western NSW.

The brain-child of conductor and director Michelle Leonard, Moorambilla has been a significant personal development initiative for the young people living in areas such as Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina and Grawin.  In August each year, they come to Baradine Hall to develop a new work with a composer during an intensive two week period during which the new compositions are built from scratch. The choir come together again in September for another week to rehearse the new works and prepare them for their world premiere.

moorambilla voices

Some of Australia’s most respected composers have contributed new works to the project. The list reads like a whos-who of Aussie composing talent: Gerard Brophy, Elena Kats-Chernin, Paul Stanhope, Andrew Howes, Luke Byrne, Will Brown,...