Sydney Chamber Choir presents three inspired programs in 2019, exploring how stories inform who we are as both individuals and members of a community. It’s also the first season to be led by new Music Director Sam Allchurch, long associated with the Choir and a fixture of Sydney’s choral scene.

Sydney Chamber Choir with Music Director Sam Allchurch in centre. Photo © Pedro Greig

Described by Allchurch as a concert of “music about music”, the season begins with a wide-ranging program stretching from Josquin des Prez to Australian composer Paul Stanhope. A lament for Josquin’s teacher, Johannes Ockeghem, the richly expansive Nymphes des bois is programmed alongside Stanhope’s touching Cherubic Hymn. Another Australian on the bill is Joseph Twist, with his ruminative How Shall We Sing in a Strange Land paired with likely influence Quomodo cantabimus by Byrd. Howells’ joyful Hymn for St Cecilia is complemented by Tippet’s dazzling, madrigal-inspired Dance, Clarion Air, while James MacMillan’s A New Song is fittingly programmed alongside Bach’s Singet dem Herrn, among other intriguing works.

Then in June, Sydney Chamber Choir celebrates music linked to royal occasions, featuring works by two Masters of the Queen’s Music. The...