University of Newcastle Chamber Choir

Echology - The University of Newcastle Chamber Choir

Director: Dr Philip Matthias

Winner of the Channel 7's "Battle Of The Choirs" in 2008 and winners at the 2010 World Choir Games , held in Shaoxing China, the University of Newcastle Chamber Choir is made up of students and community members who share a love of singing and performing a challenging and varied repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance to more contemporary music, especially modern Australian works.

The Chamber Choir's many successes include major national competitions, performing in many of the world's great venues, and the release of five compact disc recordings.

In July 2010 the Chamber Choir was named overall winner in the Mixed Choir and Contemporary Music sections at the Sixth World Choir Games in Shaoxing, China, and also also received a Gold Diploma in the Folklore Singing category.

In addition to its successes in the Battle of the Choirs and the World Choir Games , the choir was the winner of the 2006 ABC "Choir Of The Year - Adult Choir" , and has also had major successes at the McDonald's Performing Arts Challenge from 2007 to 2010 inclusive, including wins in the John Lamble Open Choral prize, the City of Sydney Chamber Choir Award, and the Sacred Music Award . At the National Eisteddfod held in Canberra in August 2007 the Choir also won all three of the divisions entered and the inaugural Australian Open Choir Championship.

In 2008 the Choir travelled to Tasmania as a guest choir at the Festival of Voices in Hobart, and also presented the first Australian performance of Gabriel Jackson's 40 part motet, 'Sanctum est Verum Lumen', in conjunction with the Sydney Chamber Choir for 'Musica Viva' .

The Choir has toured internationally five times: China in 2010, the UK in 2007 and 2000, UK and France in 2002 and South Korea in 2004.

In July 2010 the Choir undertook a three week concert tour of China that included performances at Beijing Institute of Technology, Huazhong Normal University, the East China University of Science & Technology, and the Australian Embassy in Beijing. The tour culminated with the Choir's wins at the World Choir Games in Shaoxing. During the 2004 South Korean tour the Choir was hosted by five Universities and performed to its largest and most exuberant audiences ever at concerts and church services across the region.

The Choir has performed in St Paul's Cathedral, London on many occasions and has also performed in Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, and the cathedrals of Winchester, Liverpool and Chelmsford, the Temple Church, London, St Asaph Cathedral, Wales, and in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.

You can follow the Choir on Facebook or on Twitter . You can also read about the Choir's tours on our blog .