Mozart’s Great Mass
Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jaime Martín.
Joyce DiDonato
Artists
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Carter conductor
Siobhan Stagg soprano
Samantha Clarke soprano
Matteo Desole tenor
David Greco baritone
MSO Chorus
Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus director
Mozart’s Great Mass
Thursday 18 September at 7:30pm
Saturday 20 September at 2:00pm
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Program
R.Strauss
Träumerei am Kamin (Dreaming by the Fireside) from Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo [8’]
Brahms
Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) [17’]
Interval [20’]
Mozart
Mass in C minor, K. 427 [60’]
Welcome from our Chorus Director
Welcome to this special concert given by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the MSO Chorus. Tonight is more than just a concert performance – it is a tribute to 60 years of music-making and the many singers who have shaped the Chorus over the years. Mozart’s Great C minor Mass is a wonderful large-scale choral masterpiece, a suitably powerful and majestic work that offers us the opportunity to celebrate this milestone.
Since its founding in 1965 as the Melbourne Chorale, the MSO Chorus has stood at the forefront of the Melbourne arts scene, attracting volunteer singers from all walks of life who share a passion for choral music, devoting their free time to rehearse and perform. Over the years, the Chorus has performed an extraordinary range of repertoire – from grand symphonic masterworks to intimate choral pieces – all with a great sense of commitment, dedication and enjoyment.
Choral music, in particular, has the extraordinary power to unite, inspire and transform. Alongside the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus continues to create special musical performances that inspire audiences.
We thank you for joining us today in marking this milestone and for supporting us on our journey. We invite you now to sit back and celebrate with us!
CONCERT EVENTS
Pre-concert talk: 6:45pm (Thursday) and 1:15pm (Saturday) Learn more about the concert with Dr John Gabriel in the Stalls Foyer (Level 2) at Hamer Hall.
Running time: 2 hours including interval. Timings listed are approximate.
Mozart’s Mass in C minor, K. 427, published by Bärenreiter Verlag, has been supplied by Clear Music Australia Pty Ltd as the exclusive hire agents in Australia.
OF OURS THIS CITY ONLY IN
Fed Square
Shrine of Remembrance
Yakimono
Queen Victoria Market
NGV International Metropolis
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is Australia’s preeminent orchestra, dedicated to creating meaningful experiences that transcend borders and connect communities. Through the shared language of music, the MSO delivers performances of the highest standard, enriching lives and inspiring audiences across the globe.
Woven into the cultural fabric of Victoria and with a history spanning more than a century, the MSO reaches five million people annually through performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts, as well as critically acclaimed recordings from its newly established recording label.
In 2025, Jaime Martín continues to lead the Orchestra as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor. Maestro Martín leads an Artistic Family that includes Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement Benjamin Northey, Cybec
Assistant Conductor Leonard Weiss, MSO Chorus Director Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Composer in Residence Liza Lim am, Artist in Residence James Ehnes, First Nations Creative Chair Deborah Cheetham Fraillon ao, Cybec Young Composer in Residence Klearhos Murphy, Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence James Henry, Artist in Residence, Learning & Engagement Karen Kyriakou, Young Artist in Association Christian Li, and Artistic Ambassadors Tan Dun, Lu Siqing and Xian Zhang.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations, on whose un‑ceded lands we honour the continuation of the oldest music practice in the world.
Acknowledging
In the first project of its kind in Australia, the MSO has developed a musical Acknowledgement of Country with music composed by Yorta Yorta composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon ao, featuring Indigenous languages from across Victoria.
Generously supported by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Commonwealth Government through the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the MSO is working in partnership with Short Black Opera and Indigenous language custodians who are generously sharing their cultural knowledge.
The Acknowledgement of Country allows us to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which we perform in the language of that country and in the orchestral language of music.
Country
About Long Time Living Here
As a Yorta Yorta/Yuin composer, the responsibility I carry to assist the MSO in delivering a respectful acknowledgement of country is a privilege which I take very seriously. I have a duty of care to my ancestors and to the ancestors on whose land the MSO works and performs. As the MSO continues to grow its knowledge and understanding of what it means to truly honour the First People of this land, the musical acknowledgement of country will serve to bring those on stage and those in the audience together in a moment of recognition as we celebrate the longest continuing cultures in the world.
—Deborah Cheetham Fraillon ao
Our musical Acknowledgement of Country, Long Time Living Here by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon ao, is performed at MSO concerts.
MSO Chorus
Celebrating 60 years of creating inspiring musical moments, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus gives voice to the Orchestra’s choral repertoire. The MSO Chorus has performed with the finest conductors including Jaime Martín, Sir Andrew Davis, Edward Gardner, Mark Wigglesworth, Bernard Labadie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Xian Zhang, Nodoko Okisawa and Simon Halsey.
Committed to developing and performing new Australian and international choral repertoire, the MSO Chorus has
Warren Trevelyan-Jones is regarded as one of the leading choral conductors and choir trainers in Australia. Chorus Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2017, last year he was also appointed Chorus Master of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. From 2008 to 2024 he was Head of Music at St James’, King Street in Sydney, and under his leadership, the Choir of St James’ gained an international reputation through its regular choral services, orchestral masses, concert series, recordings, and interstate and international touring, as well as commissioning new works.
Before relocating to Australia in 2008, he enjoyed an extensive career as a vocal soloist and ensemble singer in Europe,
commissioned works such as Brett Dean’s Katz und Spatz, Ross Edwards’ Mountain Chant, and Paul Stanhope’s Exile Lamentations, and its recordings have received critical acclaim. The Chorus has performed across Brazil and at the Cultura Inglese Festival in São Paolo, with the Australian Ballet and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, at the AFL Grand Final and at Anzac Day commemorative ceremonies.
Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus director
including nine years in the Choir of Westminster Abbey, and regular work with the Gabrieli Consort, Collegium Vocale (Ghent), the Kings Consort, Dunedin Consort, the Sixteen, the Tallis Scholars and the Taverner Choir, Consort and Players. He has appeared on more 60 recordings and numerous TV and radio broadcasts, and in many of the worlds’ leading music festivals and concert halls.
Warren is a co-founder of the Consort of Melbourne and, in 2001 with Dr Michael Noone, he founded the Gramophone Award-winning group Ensemble Plus Ultra. He is also an experienced singing teacher and qualified music therapist.
Choristers performing in this concert
Sopranos
Shirin Albert
Philippa Allen
Carolyn Archibald
Sheila Baker
Giselle Baulch
Eva Butcher
Aliz Cole
Gabrielle Connel
Samantha Davies
Keren Evans
Catherine Folley
Susan Fone
Carolyn Francis
Nicole Free
Kim Sue Hendry
Penny Huggett
Gwen Kennelly
Natasha Lambie
Katie Lewis
Judy Longbottom
Caitlin Noble
Julie O’Reilly
Karin Otto
Amanda Powell
Tanja Redl
Jo Robin
Elizabeth Rusli
Lesley Salvestrin Collins
Jodi Samartgis
Jillian Samuels
Kathryn Scully
Julienne Seal
Fiona Seers
Jemima Sim
Fiona Steffensen
Tracey Thorpe
Katy Turbitt
Ariane Vrisakis
Agnes Widjaja
Boya Yan
Altos
Ruth Anderson
Tes Benton
Catherine Bickell
Cecilia Björkegren
Kate Bramley
Jane Brodie
Jacqueline Cheng
Alexandra Chubaty
Juliarna Clark
Andrea Clifford-Jones
Mari Eleanor-Rapp
Nicola Eveleigh
Dionysia Evitaputri
Lisa Faulks
Claudia Funder
Jill Giese
Jillian Graham
Sophia Gyger
Kristine Hensel
Helen Hill
Natalie Lezhenko
Julie Lotherington
Helen MacLean
Christina McCowan
Rosemary McKelvie
Charlotte Midson
Sandy Nagy
Nicole Paterson
Natasha Pracejus
Alison Ralph
Helen Rommelaar
Kerry Roulston
Lisa Savige
Carol Silberberg
Melvin Tan
Libby Timcke
Jenny Vallins
Tenors
James Allen
Adam Birch
Kent Borchard
Steve Burnett
Peter Campbell
Allan Chiang
James Dal-Ben
James Dipnall
Lyndon Horsburgh
Fergus Inder
Lilijana Matičevska
Michael Mobach
Jean-Francois Ravat
Linton Roe
Colin Schultz
Cleve Schupp
Robert Simpson
Brad Warburton
Stewart Webb
Elliott Westbury
Basses
Richard Allison
Maurice Amor
Jose Miguel
Armijo Fidalgo
Kevin Barrell
Tharanga Basnayake
Stephen Bordignon
Roger Dargaville
Ted Davies
Simon Evans
James Fletcher
Elliott Gyger
Andrew Ham
John Hunt
Jordan Janssen
Gary Levy
Philip McCosker
Douglas McQueen-Thomson
Douglas Proctor
Matthew Toulmin
Caleb Triscari
Jiunn Yap
Raoul Zambelli
First Violins
Anne-Marie Johnson
Acting Assistant Concertmaster
David Horowicz*
Peter Edwards
Assistant Principal
Zoë Black
Peter Fellin
Deborah Goodall
Lorraine Hook
Jolene S Coultas*
Kirstin Kenny
Michelle Ruffolo
Anna Skálová
Jacqueline Edwards
Cameron Jamieson
Matthew Rigby
Jaso Sasaki
Marie-Louise Slaytor
Second Violins
Monica Curro
Assistant Principal
Dr Mary Jane Gething AO*
Mary Allison
Isin Cakmakçioglu
Freya Franzen
Cong Gu
Andrew Hall
Robert Macindoe
Philippa West
Andrew Dudgeon AM*
Patrick Wong
Cecilie Hall*
Roger Young
Shane Buggle and Rosie Callanan*
Jo Beaumont
Michael Loftus-Hills
Violas
Christopher Moore
Principal
Jenny Khafagi
Associate Principal
Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson*
Lauren Brigden
Katharine Brockman
Anthony Chataway
Peter T Kempen AM*
William Clark
Morris and Helen Margolis*
Gabrielle Halloran
Fiona Sargeant
Sophie Kesoglidis
Isabel Morse
Cellos
Rachael Tobin
Associate Principal
Rohan de Korte
Andrew Dudgeon AM*
Angela Sargeant
Caleb Wong
Michelle Wood
Andrew and Theresa Dyer*
Jonathan Chim
Heesoo Kim
Oliver Russell
Double Basses
Jonathon Coco Principal
Benjamin Hanlon
Acting Assistant Principal
Rohan Dasika
Suzanne Lee
Siyuan Vivian Qu
Caitlin Bass
Your MSO
Flutes
Wendy Clarke
Associate Principal
Sarah Beggs
Joolee Kim
MSO Academy
Piccolo
Andrew Macleod Principal
Oboes
Michael Pisani
Acting Associate Principal
Ann Blackburn
Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson*
Cor Anglais
Rachel Curkpatrick
Clarinets
Philip Arkinstall
Associate Principal
Craig Hill
Rosemary and the late Douglas Meagher*
Bass Clarinet
Jonathan Craven Principal
Bassoons
Tasman Compton
Guest Principal
Natasha Thomas
Patricia Nilsson*
Colin Batt Abrams
Contrabassoon
Brock Imison Principal
Horns
Peter Luff
Acting Associate Principal
Rachel Shaw
Gary McPherson*
Josiah Kop
Natalia Edwards
Mel Simpson
Ciara Wrede
Learn more about our musicians on the MSO website
* Position supported by
Trumpets
Shane Hooton
Associate Principal
Glenn Sedgwick*
Rosie Turner
Dr John and Diana Frew*
Sophie Spencer
Trombones
José Milton Vieira
Principal
Richard Shirley
Michael Lo
MSO Academy
Bass Trombone
James Littlewood
Tuba
Timothy Buzbee Principal
Timpani
Matthew Thomas Principal
Percussion
Shaun Trubiano Principal
John Arcaro
Tim and Lyn Edward*
Robert Cossom
Drs Rhyl Wade and Clem Gruen*
Robert Allan
Scott Weatherson
Harp
Yinuo Mu Principal
Pauline and David Lawton*
Piano & Celeste
Laurence Mattheson
Nicholas Carter, the newly appointed Music Director of the Staatsoper and Staatsorchester Stuttgart from the 2026/27 season, has emerged as one of the most riveting opera conductors, acclaimed for his arresting presence in the pit. His distinguished artistic versatility has earned him a reputation as a perceptive interpreter of opera, ranging from Mozart, Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss to Russian and French repertoire, and the music dramas of Benjamin Britten and contemporary composers such as Brett Dean. Equally sought-after in the concert hall, he conducts a wide breadth of symphonic repertoire and appears regularly as a guest with leading international orchestras.
In the 2025–26 season he returns to the Metropolitan Opera to conduct Strauss’s Arabella, followed by debuts with Semperoper Dresden in The Magic Flute and La traviata, as well as with Bayerische Staatsoper for L’elisir d’amore. He concludes the season with his return to the Glyndebourne Festival for Billy Budd. In previous seasons, he has worked with the Wiener Staatsoper, Oper Zürich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Oper Köln, Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Santa Fe Opera.
In addition to regular collaborations with Australia’s leading symphony orchestras, symphonic highlights include debuts with the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Brucknerorchester Linz, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Seoul and Hong Kong philharmonic orchestras.
Nicholas Carter previously held positions as Kapellmeister at both the Staatsoper Hamburg and Deutsche Oper Berlin, and served as the Principal Conductor at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (2016–2019), Chief Conductor at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and the Kärntner Sinfonieorchester (2018–2021), and most recently Chief Conductor and Co-Operndirektor at Bühnen Bern (2021–2025).
Nicholas Carter conductor PHOTO:
Siobhan Stagg soprano
Siobhan Stagg is one of the most exceptional young artists to have emerged from Australia in recent years. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, she began her career in the Salzburger Festspiele’s Young Singers Project and as a soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
She has sung the title role in Cendrillon for the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Pamina (The Magic Flute) and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro) for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) for the Opernhaus Zurich; Susanna for Komische Oper Berlin; Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) for Opera de Dijon and Victorian Opera (for which she received the Green Room Award for Best Female Lead in an Opera); Gilda (Rigoletto), Blonde (The Abduction from the Seraglio) and Cordelia in Aribert Reimann’s Lear for the Hamburgische Staatsoper; the title role in Mieczysław Weinberg’s Lady Magnesia and Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos) for the Bayerische Staatsoper; Blonde for the Dutch National Opera; staged performances of Mozart’s Requiem at the Festival d’Aix-enProvence; Woglinde (Wagner’s Ring) for the Deutsche Staatsoper; and Morgana (Alcina) and Marzelline (Fidelio) for the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
The 2024–25 concert season saw her revisit important relationships with major orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Müncher Rundfunkorchester, and the Tasmanian and Aalborg symphony orchestras. Other highlights included her debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orquesta y Coro de Radio Televisión Española and Freiburger Barockorchester.
Opera engagements for 2025–26 include Idomeneo on tour with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Angelica in a new production of Handel’s Orlando at the Théatre du Châtelet Paris, a revival of Lady Magnesia at the Bayerische Staatsoper, her role debut as Despina in Così fan tutte, and a new opera, Dark Side of the Moon by Unsuk Chin, for the Hamburgische Staatsoper.
In 2020, Siobhan Stagg became a Director of the Melba Opera Trust Board, their first scholarship alumna to be appointed, and their first International Director.
Samantha Clarke soprano
Australian-British soprano Samantha Clarke is the winner of the 2019 Guildhall Gold Medal and prize winner in the 2019 Grange International Festival Singing Competition. She studied under Mary Plazas at the Royal Northern College of Music, as a Sir John Fisher Foundation and Independent Opera Scholar. She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Opera School (Baroness de Turckheim Scholar, Help Musicians, Tait Memorial and Countess of Munster Trust Scholar) and studied with Yvonne Kenny.
In addition to the Guildhall Gold Medal, Samantha has received numerous awards, including the Leverhulme Royal Northern College of Music Award, the Dame Eva Turner Award and the Michael and Joyce Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss.
Her operatic roles include Violetta (La traviata), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Helena (Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Pamina (The Magic Flute), the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro), Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) and the title role in Theodora
In 2024 she made her Opera Australia debut singing Violetta. Other recent and future engagements include the Countess at Garsington; Fiordiligi with English National Opera, the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Japan, Grange Festival and Opera Queensland; Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) and Theodora for Pinchgut Opera; Woglinde (Das Rheingold), Marzelline (Fidelio) and Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Simone Young; Violetta with the Grange Festival and West Australian Opera; a US tour with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra; Messiah and Britten’s War Requiem with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; and Les Illuminations with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner.
Samantha Clarke features on the Resonus recording Samuel Barber: The Complete Songs with accompanist Dylan Perez.
David Greco baritone
Matteo Desole was born in Sassari, Italy, and studied singing with Raina Kabaivanska in Modena. An early concert highlight, at the age of 18, was the tenor solo in Schnittke’s Requiem. Following his role debut as Malcolm in Macbeth at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, conducted by Roberto Abbado, he rapidly took on the main tenor roles: the Duke in Rigoletto (AsLiCo), Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Savona, Tamino in The Magic Flute for Circuito Marchigiano, and Alfredo in La traviata, appearing in both Sofia Coppola’s staging for Rome Opera and the Tiroler Festpiele production in Erl, Austria.
This led to engagements with major opera houses in Italy and beyond, especially in his signature role of Alfredo, appearing in La Fenice, Florence, Prague, and for his London debut at Holland Park and Tokyo debut at NNTT. He also sang Edgardo in Cagliari and Prague, and took part in numerous productions of La bohéme (Erl Festival, Circuito Marchigiano, Modena, Klagenfurt, Cagliari , Prague, Savona, Copenhagen, Turin and Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari). He has sung Ruggero in La Rondine (Florence), Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Modena and Piacenza, Ferrara), Simon Boccanegra (Carlo Felice in Genova), I Masnadieri (La Scala and on tour in Savonlinna), Donizetti’s Requiem (Modena), Un ballo in maschera and Rigoletto (Klagenfurt), Ernani (Vilnius and Rome) and Tosca (Savona and Prague), and he made his La Scala debut in David Pountney’s production of Francesca da Rimini conducted by Fabio Luisi.
In 2023 he made his Glyndebourne Festival debut as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, returning in 2024 to sing Alfredo. Other recent engagement highlights include La traviata for Opera Holland Park and Norwegian Opera, L’elisir d’amore in Prague and Nancy, Lucia di Lammermoor in Bologna, and Manrico in Il trovatore in Ljubljana, conducted by Zubin Mehta.
These concerts are part of an Australian tour that includes a Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra gala and Verdi’s Requiem with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Internationally recognised for his interpretations of Schubert Lieder and the works of J.S. Bach, baritone David Greco has sung on some of the finest stages across Europe and has appeared as a principal in opera festivals such as Glyndebourne and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. He was the first Australian appointed to the Sistine Chapel Choir in Vatican City.
An acclaimed interpreter of oratorio and concert repertoire, he appears regularly with Australia’s leading orchestras, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Haydn Ensemble, and the Melbourne, Sydney and West Australian symphony orchestras.
He has become closely associated with Britten’s War Requiem, making his debut in this work with the WASO in 2022 and performing it again in 2023 with the MSO. That same year he appeared as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House, and made his debut with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Recent concert highlights include Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the WASO, the Duruflé’s Requiem with the SSO and Handel’s Messiah with the MSO. His performances in 2017 of Bach’s solo cantata Ich habe genug with the SSO earned a Helpmann Award
On the operatic stage he has been a principal artist with Opera Australia in The Eighth Wonder, The Love for Three Oranges, and most recently, in the role of Valens in the 2024 concert production of Handel’s Theodora. He is a frequent guest with Pinchgut Opera, with his performances of Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea and Momus in Platée receiving critical acclaim; in 2024 he returned to sing Aeneas.
David Greco is also an active researcher into the historical performance of 19th-century vocal music and he holds a doctorate from the University of Melbourne. His PhD led to the first Australian recordings of historically informed performances with duo partner Erin Helyard of Schubert’s song cycles: Winterreise, Die schöne Müllerin (receiving an ARIA nomination for Best Classical Album in 2020) and Schwanengesang. His impressive recording catalogue also includes Jack Body’s Poems of Love and War, and Solo Bass Cantatas of J.S. Bach with the Netherlands-based Luthers Bach Ensemble.
In 2025, David Greco sings Papageno (The Magic Flute) with State Opera South Australia, and makes major appearances in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, Dunedin and The Netherlands.
Matteo Desole tenor
PHOTO: LISA MADIGAN
We hope you enjoy this performance of Mozart’s Great C minor Mass. We are incredibly fortunate to have our own Chorus and we invite you to help us honour their dedication and artistry as we celebrate their 60th anniversary.
Please donate today to ensure the MSO Chorus flourishes for many years to come. Scan the QR code to show your support. We thank you for your generosity.
Please email philanthropy@mso.com.au for more information
From Humble Beginnings to International Acclaim
What began as a teacher’s dream in a small Victorian town has blossomed into one of Australia’s most celebrated choirs. The MSO Chorus, which began as the Melbourne Chorale, has been acclaimed as ‘Victoria’s finest choral group’ and ‘the country’s best vocal group, with a growing international reputation’. In 2025, the Chorus celebrates six decades filled with glorious music, both old and new, and prestigious collaborations.
The story begins in the former township of Yallourn, built to house workers at the coal power station. There, high-school English teacher Val Pyers discovered a calling beyond the classroom. Pyers founded the Yallourn Madrigal Singers in 1956, a decision that would reshape Victoria’s choral landscape. He moved to Melbourne in 1965, determined to increase his experience and expand his success. His talent was quickly recognised, and his reputation flourished at the helm of both the Melbourne University Choral Society and Heidelberg City Choir. Yet the ambition to create a choir of his own remained.
Splendid Melbourne Debut
In December 1965, Pyers presented his new 18-voice Melbourne Chorale in a festive Carols program at the Assembly Hall in Collins Street. This first foray onto the stage heralded a bright future – a full concert schedule in 1966 and regional tours across Victoria, a sweep of three wins at the 1967 Adelaide Eisteddfod, and an invitation to perform in an ABC studio broadcast of Vivaldi’s Gloria with the then ABC Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Artistic Expansion
That first broadcast in 1966 sparked an enduring partnership between the Chorale and the MSO, enabling it to attract new singers, establish its own subscription series, and seek funding from the state government, Australian Council for the Arts and Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The Chorale’s first mainstage ABC concert – Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor in 1969 – further established it as a serious artistic force.
The years that followed saw an impressive expansion of ambitions, an unwavering commitment to taking music to regional communities, a tour to Sydney, and the commissioning of new choral works that enriched Australia’s musical heritage.
By 1975, the Chorale had matured into an incorporated entity with a dedicated committee supporting Pyers, who had become its full-time director and administrator. From its home at the Isabella Younger Ross Memorial Hall in Carlton, the organisation flourished, introducing a 16-voice Chamber Singers and creating an Occasional Choir for large-scale performances.
One such was the MSO’s ambitious 1987 Australian premiere of Schoenberg’s vast and complex Gurrelieder under the MSO’s then chief conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki.
Ringing in Melbourne’s Festive Season
The Chorale had started with a Christmas concert and presented one in most years, but the 1980s saw it become an indispensable part of Melbourne’s festive celebrations, with Carol Concerts at the Melbourne Concert Hall sponsored by The Age. An even more cherished tradition began in 1987 when the Chorus first joined the MSO for their much-beloved Messiah concerts in 1987 – an annual event that continues to this day.
New Leadership, New Horizons
The 1993 Messiah performance introduced audiences to the Chorale’s new music director and conductor, Graham Abbott, fresh from leading the Adelaide Chorus and newly appointed as the MSO’s Assistant Conductor. As director, Abbott brought new ideas and new growth. Working with the Chorale’s committee and future general manager Nick Bailey, he restructured the three choirs into one large, flexible ensemble capable of adapting to a variety of projects. Abbott reinvigorated the Chorale’s commitment to commissioning and performing Australian works while also attracting prestigious corporate sponsors such as Deutsche Bank.
The late 1990s brought further innovations, including the creation of a 50-voice professional-standard Ensemble managed by the Chorale. Supported by funding from the City of Melbourne, Arts Victoria and the Australia Council, the Chorale expanded its collaborations with the State Orchestra of Victoria (later Orchestra Victoria) and the Australian Ballet, and strengthened its ties with the MSO.
International and interstate stages beckoned with tours to Brazil, Kuala Lumpur and Perth. Landmark performances included participation in Mahler’s Symphony No.8 (Symphony of a Thousand) at both the Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney in 2000 and a Centenary of Federation commemoration at the Royal Exhibition Building in 2001.
Meanwhile, the Chorale’s commitment to the local community and to Australian music never waned. Annual Anzac Day ceremonies at the Shrine of Remembrance became a deeply moving tradition for the singers, while new works were commissioned from Australia’s foremost composers, including Brett Dean, Ross Edwards and Paul Stanhope, as well as from English composer Gabriel Jackson.
Merging of Musical Powerhouses
Given the decades-long close relationship between the MSO and the Melbourne Chorale, a merger was probably a natural artistic and administrative evolution. After formal approval at a general meeting, the members of the Melbourne Chorale became the new MSO Chorus on 1 January 2008.
Victoria’s then Minister for the Arts, Lynne Kosky, captured the significance of this union, celebrating how the integration would deliver the best possible musical experiences for audiences while ensuring the future stability, growth and profile of both the Chorus and the Orchestra.
Rising to Modern Challenges
Warren Trevelyan-Jones was engaged as chorus director in 2017. His leadership proved crucial during the challenges of COVID-19 lockdowns: he guided the Chorus through remote rehearsals and created a series of highly popular online performances. The resilience and creativity shown by the choir set the stage for new triumphs. In 2024, the Chorus embarked on a self-funded journey to Singapore, joining MSO Chief Conductor Jaime Martín, the MSO and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for an acclaimed side-by-side performance of Carmina Burana
A Choral Legacy
Today’s MSO Chorus is a finely woven network of experience, commitment and enthusiasm. Some singers carry memories of the Val Pyers era, while others bring fresh energy straight from school. This diversity creates a vibrant community that embodies the passion carried across six decades of musical excellence.
Behind every performance lies the dedicated work of chorus masters, accompanists, language coaches and office personnel whose constant care is deserving of our deep gratitude. Their collective efforts ensure that this extraordinary musical legacy continues to flourish and inspire.
From a small-town teacher’s dream to an internationally acclaimed Chorale, the MSO Chorus story is one of vision, perseverance and the transformative power of music. Here’s to another 60 years!
WORDS: Dr Peter Campbell and MSO Staff Writers
Peter Campbell is a singer and historian who joined the Chorus in 2000
September 1967
First Melbourne Chorale collaboration with the (ABC) Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, performing Vivaldi’s Gloria with conductor Leonard Dommett in a studio broadcast
23, 24 July 1969
The Chorale’s first mainstage MSO concerts, performing Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, conducted by Gary Bertini; the Chorale ‘sang splendidly’
1987
The Chorale takes over from the Melbourne Philharmonic Society for the MSO’s annual Messiah performances
1965
Val J Pyers founds the Melbourne Chorale (18 singers), with a debut concert on 21 December
20 December 1966
Handel’s Messiah concludes the Melbourne Chorale’s first subscription series
1974
A Victorian Government grant enables Pyers to work full-time as director and administrator and the Chorale expands to include the Chamber Singers and Occasional Choir
September 1993
The ABC assigns new assistant conductor Graham Abbott to Chorale for Walton’s Feast with Vernon 1994 Graham Abbott appointed Director of the Melbourne Chorale (1994–98)
20, 22, 23 July 1974
Brittens’s War Requiem with the MSO and Hiroyuki Iwaki
4 March 1971
Orff’s Carmina Burana with the MSO in a Prom Concert conducted by John Hopkins
29, 31 July 1972
3 July 1982
Beethoven Nine with the MSO and Sergiu Commissiona for the ABC’s 50th Anniversary Concert in the new Melbourne Concert Hall (now Hamer Hall)
6 November 1982
Handel’s Coronation Anthem ‘The King Shall Rejoice’ for the official opening of the Melbourne Concert Hall.
Highlights from Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with the MSO conducted by Fritz Rieger, revealing a ‘disciplined, efficient and youthfully enthusiastic singing body’ (The Australian Jewish News)
3 June Mozart’s Mass in with the conducted Graham
26, 28, 29 September 1987
The first Australian performances of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the MSO conducted by Hiroyuki Iwaki
Val J Pyers oam
milestones and musical highlights
MELBOURNE CHORALE . MSO CHORUS
1993 new MSO conductor prepare the Walton’s Belshazzar’s Handley Abbott is Director Melbourne (1994–98)
1997
John Dingle is invited to form a chamber choir, the Melbourne Chorale Ensemble
2003
1 January 2008
The Chorale integrates with the MSO to become the MSO Chorus
3 April 2008
The MSO Chorus gives its inaugural performance: Verdi’s Requiem with Oleg Caetani and the London Bach Choir (nearly 300 singers in total)
The Chorale has emerged as ‘the country’s best vocal group, with a growing international reputation’ (The Age, 16 December)
2015
The MSO Chorus celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding as Melbourne Chorale
2017
Warren Trevelyan-Jones is appointed MSO Chorus Director
1995
Mozart’s Great C minor MSO conducted by Abbott
2006
Beethoven Nine with the MSO and Oleg Caetani to celebrate the MSO’s centenary
16 September 2000
Mahler Eight with the SSO and Edo de Waart for the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival
12, 13 May 2001
Mahler Eight with the MSO and Markus Stenz for the Centenary of Federation
1 October 2011
MSO Chorus walks onto the MCG to sing the team songs for the AFL Grand Final
7 October 2015
Mozart’s Requiem conducted by Benjamin Northey, with Warren Trevelyan-Jones conducting music by Brahms, Stanford and Joe Twist for the MSO Chorus’s 50th Anniversary concert
29 March 2025
First MSO Chorus performance of the complete Coronation Anthems of Handel, conducted by Warren Trevelyan-Jones
15, 16 March 2024
MSO Chorus tenors and basses join the SSO for performances of Gurrelieder, conducted by Simone Young
August 2024
Carmina Burana in Singapore with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Jaime Martín
20–22 February 2020
Beethoven Nine with Circa Contemporary Circus, and the premiere of Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Dutala – Star Filled Sky
Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Program Notes and Texts
Träumerei am Kamin (Dreaming by the Fireside), No. 2 from Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo
The opera Intermezzo was completed in 1923, but it could easily be a creation of 2023 – not so different from The Good Wife or Elena Kats-Chernin’s TV opera The Divorce. The subject matter is domestic, almost prosaic; the characters are thinly disguised celebrities; the comedy emerges from (in)fidelity and misunderstandings. Intermezzo was, in the composer’s words, a ‘bourgeois comedy’.
Like Mozart before him, Richard Strauss had set aside the grand opera staples of gods, heroes and high tragedy in favour of naturalism and real-life inspiration. But he took matters one step further by basing Intermezzo on a scandalous incident from his own life (see ‘Gossip Column’ below).
Strauss’s audiences found the musical and dramatic innovations of Intermezzo astonishingly modern. We might find it modern, too, but for the fact that Intermezzo has never been produced in Australia. The opera has been described as cinematic, with brief, open-ended scenes that are more concerned with conversation, with dialogue, than with the lyricism we expect from opera. So much so that Strauss considered it an ‘antiopera’ as well as a ‘conversation piece’.
But Intermezzo isn’t entirely devoid of lyricism. The composer has simply entrusted it to the orchestra rather than his singers. Even more than usual for Strauss, the orchestra is central to the drama – building character, intensifying emotion and providing subtext, as well as fulfilling more prosaic functions such as covering scene changes (interludes, or literal intermezzos). The clue is in the opera’s subtitle: A bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes.
Gossip Column
In 1903 when he was away on tour, Strauss received, seemingly out of the blue, a divorce letter from his wife Pauline. Opening her husband’s mail, she had found a compromising note from a young woman, Mitze Mücke:
Sorry, but I waited in vain for you yesterday at the Union Bar. Would you thus be so friendly and make available a pair of tickets for Monday or Wednesday of this week?
As it turned out, the note was intended for another conductor, Josef Stránský, whose friends called him ‘Straussky’. He had met Mitze in a bar, promised her a free ticket, and promptly forgotten all about it. Wanting to remind him, she’d looked up ‘Straussky’ in the telephone directory and had found only Richard Strauss…
With some persuasion and the concerted efforts of a mutual friend, the jealous Pauline eventually admitted her error. Meanwhile, the event became the kernel of the Intermezzo libretto, with Robert Storch (a conductor!) and his wife Christine standing in for Richard and Pauline.
By all accounts, Pauline had no idea until the premiere of Intermezzo that this domestic squabble was to be enacted on the public stage!
Unlike Der Rosenkavalier, which had enjoyed a triumphant premiere in 1911 and has remained Strauss’s most popular opera ever since, Intermezzo failed to secure a foothold in the repertoire. Audiences of the time seem to have been both discomforted by the opera’s novelties and dismissive of the almost nostalgic romanticism of the musical style. But it’s thanks to that romanticism that Intermezzo survives at all.
In 1933, nearly ten years after the 1924 premiere in Dresden, Strauss drew on the symphonic interludes from Intermezzo, combining and developing his favourite moments to create a four-movement suite. And it’s in the concert hall that Intermezzo has enjoyed currency. The MSO first performed two of the interludes in 1935, when the opera was still new and topical. The complete set turned up more recently in concerts with Renée Fleming and Sir Andrew Davis in 2015. (This performance was subsequently released as the MSO’s second recording of the work; the first was with Michael Halász in 1996.)
The second interlude – a fireside reverie – is the height of lyricism; the orchestra truly ‘sings’ in this rapturous movement. Imagine on stage the lonely wife, in a moment of disarming candour, thinking of the attractive baron she has met while genuinely longing for her husband, ‘so good and faithful’. Strauss captures to perfection the tenderness, the fond regard and the anguished solitude of the scene. You can hear it in the sumptuous harmonies, the lustrous instrumental colours and the soaring, impassioned melodic lines, and you can hear it in the quietly affectionate conclusion.
Yvonne Frindle © 2025
Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), Op. 54
MSO Chorus
For a short work that rates among Brahms’s most nakedly emotional utterances, the Schicksalslied or Song of Destiny had decidedly protracted origins. It began in the summer of 1868 (the time of his German Requiem), when the composer was staying with his friends the Dietrichs in Bonn. His hosts found him one morning in the library, visibly moved after reading Friedrich Hölderlin’s great poem, the Song of Destiny. In the poem, Hölderlin – in two contrasting sections – describes the pleasures of heaven and then the torments of mortal, earthly existence. Soon afterwards, when his hosts took the distracted Brahms to the beach, they witnessed him a long way distant, all by himself, sketching the first few phrases of what would become the Schicksalslied. But it would be three years before the finished work would see the light of day and Brahms would agonise over the ending.
In January 1871, the German states were united under Bismarck, and Brahms – who kept the politician’s bust in his study just beneath that of Beethoven – was thrilled. He ended up composing the Song of Triumph, a brash, sabre-rattling piece which is the direct opposite of the Song of Destiny’s hushed, hymn-like qualities. But whatever their differences, the one work seemed to inspire the other and by the May of that year the Schicksalslied was at last completed in Baden-Baden, where Brahms would work on the manuscript by day and listen to Johann Strauss’s dance band in the Kurpark at night.
The Schicksalslied begins with one of the great moments in all Brahms’s music, hushed, mystical, with muted strings and a heartbeat on the timpani as the E flat major tonic gives way now and again to the minor. The choir enters with the altos first, their
Schicksalslied
Ihr wandelt droben im Licht
Auf weichem Boden, selige Genien!
Glänzende Götterlüfte
Rühren Euch leicht, Wie die Finger der Künstlerin
Heilige Saiten.
Schicksallos, wie der schlafende Säugling, atmen die Himmlischen; Keusch bewahrt
In bescheidner Knospe
Blühet ewig
Ihnen der Geist, Und die seligen Augen
Blicken in stiller, Ewiger Klarheit.
Doch uns ist gegeben
Auf keiner Stätte zu ruhn; Es schwinden, es fallen
Die leidenden Menschen
Blindlings von einer Stunde zur andern, Wie Wasser von Klippe
Zu Klippe geworfen, Jahrlang ins Ungewisse hinab.
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843)
word-painting conjuring up a glorious vision of the sensual joy of heaven. The hymn unfolds as the full choir enters, with music of an intense beauty unrivalled since Beethoven and Bach.
Then, almost as if there is too much sublimity to bear, we’re plunged back to earth with rushing quavers in the strings and a violent lunge from the key of C minor into D minor. Here is Hölderlin’s worldly place of suffering where there can be no rest and where the end of every endeavour is simply exhaustion.
Where to go from here? That was the problem which, over literally years, Brahms confronted as he attempted to end the work. Should he leave the listener in despair? Should he repeat the sublime opening? Should he make the chorus look again to the heavens? Sketch after sketch reveal that Brahms himself didn’t know the answer.
In the end Brahms consulted his friend Hermann Levi, whose orchestra would give the premiere in October 1871. On Levi’s advice, Brahms removed the choir altogether from the conclusion and threw the whole thing into the key of C major –something of an innovation in an age when such pieces were meant to conclude in their original key.
The ending, then, is ambiguous, with the timpani still prominent, the opening prelude revisited, and neither hope nor despair triumphant. ‘Here’s the receipt for my heart’s blood,’ Brahms wrote to his publisher on receiving his fee for the work. ‘Also, my thanks for the purchase of the poor little piece of my soul.’
Martin Buzacott © 2000
Song of Destiny
You wander above in the light on soft ground, blessed spirits! Shining breezes of the gods touch you lightly, as the fingers of the artist touch sacred strings.
Free of fate, like the sleeping infant, breathe the heavenly ones; chastely guarded in modest bud, their spirit blossoms eternally, and their blessed eyes gaze in hushed, eternal clarity.
But to us it is given to rest in no place; suffering humanity fades, falls blindly from one hour to the next, as water thrown from crag to crag, downward into the unknown, year after year.
Translation by Natalie Shea Symphony Australia © 2005
Handel’s Messiah
Celebrate the season with the MSO, conductor Sofi Jeannin and a star ensemble of vocalists. Filled with joy, Handel’s Messiah is a tradition that will have you singing “Hallelujah!” all the way home.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Mass in C minor, K. 427
(Edited by Ulrich Leisinger)
Siobhan Stagg soprano
Samantha Clarke soprano
Matteo Desole tenor
David Greco baritone
MSO Chorus
If Mozart had completed this Mass in C minor, it would have been his longest. Why he didn’t has remained a puzzle. The Requiem – cut short by his death – was soon completed by his pupil Süssmayr, and ever since has been one of the most performed and celebrated of all Mozart’s works. This grand torso of a mass setting, composed in 1783, ranks with the Requiem at the summit of late 18th-century church music, but it was scarcely known until the mid-1900s, largely because the missing sections made it unsuitable for liturgical use in church. (There is no Agnus Dei, for example, and this would have been essential in a divine service.)
In 1901, the movements Mozart had composed were completed by Alois Schmitt, but it was the 1956 revision and reconstruction by H.C. Robbins Landon that really brought the Mass in C minor into regular performance, at least in the concert hall.
For many listeners, this music was a wonderful discovery –Mozart’s most impressive mass setting. The very opening of the Kyrie, serious and expressive of deep feeling, is memorable in its anguished plea to God for mercy. What follows is church music on the grandest scale. Especially in the Qui tollis and the fugue Cum sancto spiritu sections, Mozart joins hands with great baroque masters, re-imagining in his Viennese classical style the choral idioms of Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s Israel in Egypt.
High hopes and a ‘half mass’
In May 1781, Mozart had been dismissed from the musical staff of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg – not entirely against his will. So he was no longer obliged to compose church music, and yet he began a large-scale mass setting. The usual explanation is based on a letter from Mozart to his father Leopold on 4 January 1783: he had ‘promised in his heart’ that, when he brought Constanze to Salzburg as his wife, he would perform a newly composed mass there. He mentioned ‘as proof that I really made the promise – the score of half a mass for which I still have high hopes’. This ‘half mass’ was performed in Salzburg later in 1783, with Constanze among the soloists, singing music that seems to have been custom-made for her voice: the range and some unusually low notes for a soprano match what is known about her singing. (It’s assumed that music from earlier, complete Mozart masses may have been used for the parts of the text that Mozart hadn’t set.)
Mozart had struggled to win Leopold’s approval for his marriage to Constanze Weber, and many recent scholars speculate that Mozart’s ‘vow’ may been a gambit to persuade his father –showing Constanze off to his family, and to Salzburg – and the music may have in fact been an adventitious repurposing of an ambitious setting he’d begun for a performance in Vienna that had subsequently fallen through. This would account for the music being on such a large scale (the choir divides into an eight-part double chorus in the Qui tollis and the Sanctus) and in a style new for him.
In this mass, Mozart revived the archaic form of the baroque ‘cantata mass’ – choruses and solos alternating, as separate, distinct movements, as in Bach’s Mass in B minor. (In 1766, Joseph Haydn’s St Cecilia Mass had taken this cantata-mass form; by contrast, in Haydn’s later ‘symphonic’ masses, the Gloria and Credo are continuous movements.) Influential in this
choice was Mozart’s recent encounter with the music of Bach and Handel through copies owned by Baron Gottfried van Swieten of the Imperial Court in Vienna. Mozart was fascinated. His in-depth study of these scores greatly enriched his contrapuntal writing, and for a brief period, this baroque influence was dominant in much of his music. (Later Mozart would reserve baroque idioms for moments of high seriousness, as in The Magic Flute’s chorale for two men in armour.) This ‘Bach-inspired crisis’, as musicologist Alfred Einstein termed it, ended while he was composing the Mass in C minor. Perhaps Mozart no longer wished to continue as he had set out, but more likely, there was no performance opportunity motivating him to complete the music.
Performing editions
The sheer number of published editions of the Mass in C minor suggests motivation in plenty. These fall into three categories: 1. those that include only what they believe is from Mozart (André and Spitta in the first Complete Bach Edition); 2. those that complete what is missing in the sections that Mozart did set, seeking to fill out the composer’s evident intentions to create a performing edition for the concert hall (Robbins Landon, Franz Beyer in 1989, Richard Maunder in 1990, and now Ulrich Leisinger); and 3. those that aim to create an edition suitable for liturgical use, drawing on other music by Mozart for the texts that he left unset: the missing sections of the Credo and the Agnus Dei (Alois Schmitt in 1901, Philip Wilby in 2004 and Robert Levin in 2005).
All take as a starting point Mozart’s autograph score, which passed from his widow Constanze to the publisher André, who in 1840 published an edition based on it. In addition to the autograph, there are trombone and organ parts that had been made by Salzburg copyists. More recently, a handwritten version from around 1800 was discovered – this had been made by an Augsburg choirmaster, Matthäus Fischer, as an arrangement for performance with a smaller ensemble, and it offers helpful insights, especially for the Sanctus and Benedictus
Ulrich Leisinger’s 2019 edition for Bärenreiter takes into account the latest findings of scholarship, while making the practical additions to Mozart’s autograph necessary for concert performance.
Listening Guide
The incomparable Kyrie is sombre and rigorously developed; the Christe brings a completely contrasting soprano solo in the relative major key.
The opening of the Gloria recalls Handel’s ceremonial manner. Italian-style coloratura writing marks the aria Laudamus te for the second soprano. (This was likely sung by the castrato Francesco Ceccarelli in the 1783 performance.) In Gratias agimus tibi, the chorus, divided into five parts, sings with tense emotion, and awe at the majesty of God. The two sopranos in Domine Deus illustrate God’s duality in unity, Father and Son.
In the first double chorus, Qui tollis, double-dotted rhythms and a passacaglia treatment derived from Handel and Bach represent the Saviour, under whiplashes, bearing his Cross. In the concerto-like trio for soloists, Quoniam, the two sopranos
‘duel’ with overlapping parts – one of the highlights that make this Mass entertaining as well as impressively moving. A brilliant double fugue setting of the Cum sancto spiritu concludes the Gloria section.
Mozart’s setting of the Credo is incomplete, with just two movements taking him as far as the Et incarnatus est. For the opening of the proclamation of faith, Credo in unum Deum, the choir alternates unified declamation and freer imitative patterns, undergirded by rather martial orchestral writing. Although omitted from Mozart’s draft score, trumpets and drums would certainly have been intended, in keeping with 18th-century practice, and Leisinger has reconstructed these parts.
The Et incarnatus est, in total contrast, is a virtuoso aria for soprano with obbligato solos for flute, oboe and bassoon –culminating in an elaborate cadenza for all of them. For this movement, Leisinger turns to a parallel Mozart work for clues. The soprano aria ‘Deh veni non tardar’ from The Marriage of Figaro, which is in the same key and also features flute, oboe and bassoon solos, offers a reliable model for a stylish completion of the string accompaniment. For this reason, unlike other editors, Leisinger does not add horns. Einstein likened this
KYRIE
Soprano 1 and chorus
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
GLORIA
Chorus
Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Soprano 2 Laudamus te, Benedicimus te, Adoramus te, Glorificamus te.
Chorus
Gratias agimus tibi
Propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Sopranos 1 & 2
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite
Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Double chorus
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Miserere nobis.
Sopranos 1 & 2, Tenor Quoniam tu solus sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, Tu solus Altissimus.
Chorus
Jesu Christe, Cum Sancto Spiritu In gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
ravishingly beautiful music to Italian Christmas music: a nativity song for an angel.
The Sanctus is another grand double-chorus, coloured by the solemn sound of horns and trombones and equal in grandeur and scale to Bach’s B minor Mass. Its Osanna is a double fugue full of brilliant running figuration for voices and strings. Mozart left the Sanctus almost complete: the second choir’s part was missing but can be reconstructed from the orchestral parts.
The Benedictus is the only time in this Mass when the four solo voices sing together. The reprise of the Osanna concludes, if not Mozart’s greatest church work, at least the work containing his greatest choral writing.
David Garrett © 2025
In the following text and translation, words for the missing sections are shown in purple type.
Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy
Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, Goodwill to all mankind.
We praise Thee, We bless Thee, We worship Thee, We glorify Thee.
We give thanks to Thee For Thy great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, Almighty God and Father. Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, Receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, Have mercy on us.
For Thou only are holy, Thou only art the Lord, Thou only art the Most High.
Jesus Christ, With the Holy Spirit In the Glory of God the Father. Amen.
CREDO
Mozart left the Credo incomplete, with just the following fragments: Credo in unum Deum (116 bars for 5 part choir); Et incarnatus est (119 bars for soprano solo); Crucifixus to the end (missing)
Chorus
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Factorem coeli et terrae, Visibilium omnium et invisibilium, Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, Et ex Patre natum, Ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, Genitum, non factum, Consubstantialem Patri, Per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines Et propter nostram salutem Descendit de coelis.
Soprano 1
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
Ex Maria Virgine, Et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis; sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos; cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum et verificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
SANCTUS
Mozart left the Sanctus almost complete
Double chorus
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis.
BENEDICTUS
Soloist quartet
Benedictus qui venit In nomine Domini.
Double chorus
Osanna in excelsis.
AGNUS DEI
This section of the mass is missing from Mozart’s manuscript
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
I believe in one God, The Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things, seen and unseen; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Only begotten Son of God, And born of the Father Before all worlds.
God from God, light from light, True God from True God, Begotten, not made, Of one being with the Father, By whom all things were made. Who for us and for our salvation Came down from heaven.
And who was incarnate of the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, And became human.
And was crucified also for us. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, And ascended into heaven. And sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: Whose kingdom shall have no end. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified. Who spake by the Prophets. I believe in one Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes In the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
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Sophie Oh
Phillip Prendergast Q
Ralph and Ruth Renard
Jan and Keith Richards
Dr Rosemary Ayton and Professor Sam Ricketson AM
Gillian Ruan Q
The Kate and Stephen Shelmerdine Family Foundation Q
Helen Silver AO and Harrison Young
Brian Snape AM
Dr Michael Soon
Gai and David Taylor
P & E Turner
The Upotipotpon Foundation Q
Mary Waldron
Janet Whiting AM and Phil Lukies Q
Kee Wong and Wai Tang Q
Dawna Wright and Peter Riedel ♡
Peter Yunghanns Q
Igor Zambelli
Shirley and Jeffrey Zajac
Anonymous (4)
Associate Patrons ($2,500+)
Barry and Margaret Amond
Carolyn Baker
Marlyn Bancroft and Peter Bancroft OAM
Janet H Bell
Allen and Kathryn Bloom
Drs Alan and Jennifer Breschkin
Stuart Brown
Lynne Burgess
Dr Lynda Campbell
Oliver Carton
Caroline Davies
Leo de Lange
Sandra Dent
Rodney Dux
Diane and Stephen Fisher
Martin Foley Q
Barry Fradkin OAM and Dr Pam Fradkin
Anthony Garvey and Estelle O’Callaghan
Janette Gill
R Goldberg and Family Goldschlager Family Charitable Foundation
Colin Golvan AM KC and Dr Deborah Golvan
Miss Catherine Gray
Marshall Grosby and Margie Bromilow
Susan and Gary Hearst
Amy and Paul Jasper
Sandy Jenkins
Sue Johnston
Melissa Tonkin & George Kokkinos
Dr Jenny Lewis
David R Lloyd
Andrew Lockwood
Margaret and John Mason OAM
Lisa and Brad Matthews
Dr Paul Nisselle AM
Simon O’Brien
Roger Parker and Ruth Parker
Alan and Dorothy Pattison
Liz and Graham Pratt
James Ring
Tom and Elizabeth Romanowski
Dr Ronald and Elizabeth Rosanove
Christopher Menz and Peter Rose
Meredith Schilling SC
Marshall Segan in memory of Berek Segan OBE AM and Marysia Segan
Steinicke Family
Jenny Tatchell
Christina Turner
Timothy Walker CBE AM
Bob Weis
Anonymous (5)
Player Patrons ($1,000+)
Dr Sally Adams
Don Adamson
Jessica Agoston Cleary ∞
Don Adamson
Helena Anderson
Applebay Pty Ltd
Margaret Astbury
Geoffrey and Vivienne Baker
Mr Robin Batterham
Peter Berry and Amanda Quirk
Rick Berry
Richard Bolitho
Boncal Family Foundation
Michael Bowles and Alma Gill
Joyce Bown
Drs John D L Brookes and Lucy V Hanlon
Elizabeth Brown
Roger and Coll Buckle
Jill and Christopher Buckley
Ronald Burnstein
Daniel Bushaway and Tess Hamilton
Alexandra Champion de Crespigny ∞
John Chapman and Elisabeth Murphy
Kaye Cleary
Warren and Margaret Collins
Sue Dahn
Mrs Nola Daley
Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das
Michael Davies and Drina Staples
Rick and Sue Deering
John and Anne Duncan
Jane Edmanson OAM
Christopher R Fraser
Miles George
David I Gibbs AM and Susie O’Neill
Sonia Gilderdale
Dr Celia Godfrey
Dr Marged Goode
Fred and Alexandra Grimwade Q
Hilary Hall, in memory of Wilma Collie
David Hardy
Cathy Henry
Gwenda Henry
Anthony and Karen Ho
Anna Holdsworth
Rod Home
Lorraine Hook
Doug Hooley
Katherine Horwood
Penelope Hughes
Shyama Jayaswal
Basil and Rita Jenkins
Jane Jenkins
Wendy Johnson
Dr Gint Kalpokas and Dr Michael Uspon
Angela Kayser
Drs Bruce and Natalie Kellett
Dr Anne Kennedy
Akira Kikkawa ∞
Dr Richard Knafelc and Mr Grevis Beard
Tim Knaggs
Dr Jerry Koliha and Marlene Krelle
Jane Kunstler
Ann Lahore
Wilson Lai and Anita Wong Q
Kerry Landman
Janet and Ross Lapworth
Rex Lau
Bryan Lawrence
Phil Lewis
Elizabeth H Loftus
David Loggia
Chris and Anna Long
Elena Lovu
Wayne McDonald and Kay Schroer
Andrea McCall
Lesley McMullin Foundation
Dr Eric Meadows
Ian Merrylees
Sylvia Miller
Ian Morrey and Geoffrey Minter
Susan Morgan ∞
Anthony and Anna Morton
Dr Judith S Nimmo
George Pappas AO, in memory of Jillian Pappas
Bruce Parncutt AO
Ian Penboss
Peter Priest
Professor Charles Qin OAM and Kate Ritchie
Eli and Lorraine Raskin
Michael Riordan and Geoffrey Bush
Cathy Rogers OAM and Dr Peter Rogers AM
Guy Ross ☼
Marie Rowland
Liliane Rusek and Alexander Ushakoff
Viorica Samson
Martin and Susan Shirley
P Shore
Kieran Sladen
Janet and Alex Starr
Dr Peter Strickland
Bernard Sweeney
Russell Taylor and Tara Obeyesekere
Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher
Margaret Toomey
Andrew and Penny Torok
Chris and Helen Trueman
Ann and Larry Turner
Dr Elsa Underhill and Professor Malcolm Rimmer
Nicholas and Faith Vann
Jayde Walker ∞
Edward and Paddy White
Willcock Family
Dr Kelly and Dr Heathcote Wright
Demetrio Zema ∞
Anonymous (19)
Overture Patrons ($500+)
Margaret Abbey PSM
Jane Allan and Mark Redmond
Jenny Anderson
Doris Au
Lyn Bailey
Robbie Barker
Dr William Birch AM
Anne M Bowden
Caroline Bowler
Stephen and Caroline Brain
Robert Bridgart
Miranda Brockman
Dr Robert Brook
Christine Brown
Phillip Brown
Patricia Buchanan
Ian Carson AM
Jungpin Chen
Robert and Katherine Coco
Dr John Collins
Gregory Crew
Sue Cummings
Dr Catherine Duncan
Dr Matthew Dunn
Brian Florence
Nadine Fogale
Elizabeth Foster
Chris Freelance
M C Friday
Simon Gaites
Nikki Gaskell
Lili Gearon
Dr Julia Gellatly
David and Geraldine Glenny
Hugo and Diane Goetze
The late George Hampel AM KC and Felicity Hampel AM SC
Geoff Hayes
Alison Heard
Dr Jennifer Henry
C M Herd Endowment
Carole and Kenneth Hinchliff
William Holder
Peter and Jenny Hordern
Gillian Horwood
Oliver Hutton and Weiyang Li
Rob Jackson
Ian Jamieson
Karen Johnson
Linda Jones
Leonora Kearney
Jennifer Kearney
John Keys
Lesley King
Dr Judith Kinnear
Katherine Kirby
Heather Law
Peter Letts
Halina Lewenberg Charitable Foundation
Sarah and Andrew Lindsay
Dr Helen MacLean
Sandra Masel in memory of Leigh Masel
Janice Mayfield
Dr James McComish
Gail McKay
Jennifer McKean
Shirley A McKenzie
Richard McNeill
Marie Misiurak
Professor Heather Mitchell
Joan Mullumby
Rebecca-Kate Nayton
Adrian and Louise Nelson
Marian Neumann
Ed Newbigin
Valerie Newman
Amanda O’Brien
Rosemary O’Connor
Brendan O’Donnell
Phil Parker
Sarah Patterson
The Hon Chris Pearce and Andrea Pearce
Jason Peart
William Ramirez
Geoffrey Ravenscroft
Dr Christopher Rees
Fred and Patricia Russell
Carolyn Sanders
Julia Schlapp
Irene Sutton
Tom Sykes
Allison Taylor
Hugh and Elizabeth Taylor
Lily Tell
Serey Thir
Geoffrey Thomlinson
Mely Tjandra
Noel and Jenny Turnbull
Rosemary Warnock
Amanda Wasilewski
Amanda Watson
Michael Whishaw
Deborah and Dr Kevin Whithear OAM
Adrian Wigney
David Willersdorf AM and Linda Willersdorf
Charles and Jill Wright
Richard Ye Anonymous (13)
MSO Guardians
Jenny Anderson
David Angelovich
Lesley Bawden
Peter Berry and Amanda Quirk
Tarna Bibron
Joyce Bown
Patricia A Breslin
B J Brown
Jannie Brown
Jenny Brukner and the late John Brukner
Sarah Bullen
Georgie Burg
Peter A Caldwell
Peter Cameron and Craig Moffatt
Luci and Ron Chambers
Roger Chao
Sandra Dent
James Dipnall
Sophie E Dougall in memory of
Libby Harold
Alan Egan JP
Gunta Eglite
Marguerite Garnon-Williams
Dr Clem Gruen and Dr Rhyl Wade
Louis J Hamon OAM
Charles Hardman and Julianne Bambacas
Carol Hay
Dr Jennifer Henry
Graham Hogarth
Rod Home
David Horowicz
Lyndon Horsburgh
Katherine Horwood
Tony Howe
Lindsay Wynne Jacombs
Michael Christopher Scott Jacombs
John Jones
Merv Keehn and Sue Harlow
Pauline and David Lawton
Robyn and Maurice Lichter
Christopher Menz and Peter Rose
Dr Helen MacLean
Cameron Mowat
Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James
David Orr
Matthew O’Sullivan
Rosia Pasteur
Kerryn Pratchett
Penny Rawlins
Margaret Riches
Anne Roussac-Hoyne and Neil Roussac
Michael Ryan and Wendy Mead
Anne Kieni Serpell and Andrew Serpell
Jennifer Shepherd
Suzette Sherazee
Professors Gabriela and George Stephenson
Pamela Swansson
Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher
Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock
Christina Helen Turner
Michael Ullmer AO
The Hon Rosemary Varty
Francis Vergona
Mr Steve Vertigan and Ms Yolande van Oosten
Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman
Robert Weiss and Jacqueline Orian
Terry Wills Cooke OAM and the late Marian Wills Cooke
Mark Young
Anonymous (18)
The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Estates
Norma Ruth Atwell
Angela Beagley
Barbara Bobbe
Michael Francois Boyt
Christine Mary Bridgart
Margaret Anne Brien
Ken Bullen
Deidre and Malcolm Carkeek
Elizabeth Ann Cousins
The Cuming Bequest
Margaret Davies
Blair Doig Dixon
Neilma Gantner
Angela Felicity Glover
The Hon Dr Alan Goldberg AO QC
Derek John Grantham
Delina Victoria Schembri-Hardy
Enid Florence Hookey
Gwen Hunt
Family and Friends of James Jacoby
Audrey Jenkins
Joan Jones
Pauline Marie Johnston
George and Grace Kass
Christine Mary Kellam
C P Kemp
Jennifer Selina Laurent
Sylvia Rose Lavelle
Dr Elizabeth Ann Lewis AM
Peter Forbes MacLaren
Joan Winsome Maslen
Lorraine Maxine Meldrum
Professor Andrew McCredie
Jean Moore
Joan P Robinson
Maxwell and Jill Schultz
Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE
Marion A I H M Spence
Molly Stephens
Gwennyth St John
Halinka Tarczynska-Fiddian
Jennifer May Teague
Elisabeth Turner
Albert Henry Ullin
Cecilia Edith Umber
Jean Tweedie
Herta and Fred B Vogel
Dorothy Wood
Joyce Winsome Woodroffe
The MSO honours the memory of Life Members
The late Marc Besen AC and the late Eva Besen AO
John Brockman OAM
The Hon Alan Goldberg AO QC
Harold Mitchell AC
Roger Riordan AM
Ila Vanrenen
Listing current as of 9 September 2025
The MSO relies on the generosity of our community to help us enrich lives through music, foster artistic excellence, and reach new audiences. Thank you for your support.
♡ Chair Sponsors – supporting the beating heart of the MSO.
Q 2025 Europe Tour Circle patrons –elevating the MSO on the world stage.
☼ First Nations Circle patrons –supporting First Nations artist development and performance initiatives.
♫ Commissioning Circle patrons –contributing to the evolution of our beloved art form.
∞ Future MSO patrons – the next generation of giving.
The MSO welcomes support at any level. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.
MSO Board
Chair
EdgarMyer
Co-DeputyChairs
MartinFoley
FarrelMeltzer
BoardDirectors
ShaneBuggle
TonyGrybowksi
LorraineHook
ChrisHowlett
JoelMcGuinness
GaryMcPherson
LisaMitchell
MeredithSchillingSC
MaryWaldron
CompanySecretary
RandalWilliams
MSOArtisticFamily
JaimeMartín
ChiefConductorandArtisticAdvisor
BenjaminNorthey
PrincipalConductorand ArtisticAdvisor –Learningand Engagement
LeonardWeissCF CybecAssistantConductor
SirAndrewDavisCBE †
ConductorLaureate(2013–2024)
HiroyukiIwaki †
ConductorLaureate(1974–2006)
WarrenTrevelyan-Jones
MSOChorusDirector
JamesEhnes ArtistinResidence
KarenKyriakou
ArtistinResidence –Learningand Engagement
ChristianLi YoungArtistinAssociation
LizaLimAM ComposerinResidence
KlearhosMurphy
CybecYoungComposerinResidence
JamesHenry
CybecFirstNationsComposerin Residence
DeborahCheethamFraillonAOFirst NationsCreativeChair
XianZhang,LuSiqing,TanDun ArtisticAmbassadors
MSO Family
MSO Staff
Richard Wigley
Chief Executive Officer
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Simonette Turner
Director of Orchestra & Operations
Meg Bowker
Orchestra Manager
Ffion Edwards
Orchestra Manager
Callum Moncrieff
Head of Operations
Brenton Burley
Production Manager
Renn Picard
Production Coordinator
Andrew Robinson
Production Coordinator
Nicholas Cooper
Operations Coordinator
Katharine Bartholomeusz-Plows
Head of Artistic Planning
Keturah Haisman
Artistic & Engagement Manager
Veronika Reeves
Artistic Administrator
Julia Potter
Artistic Coordinator
Jennifer Collins
Principal Librarian
Glynn Davies
Orchestra Librarian
Meg Baker
Chorus Administrator
Nicholas Bochner
Head of Learning & Engagement
Erica Dawkins
Learning & Engagement Lead
Fergus Inder
Jams Program Coordinator
Erika Noguchi
Executive Producer, MSO Presents
Kate Weston
Associate Producer, MSO Presents
DEVELOPMENT & REACH
Suzanne Dembo
Chief Operating Officer
Caroline Buckley
Head of Strategic Priorities
Christina Chiam
Head of Development
Charlotte Crocker
Philanthropy Programs Lead
KeithClancy
DonorLiaison
NellieMcLean
HeadofPartnerships
NinaDubecki
Events&PartnershipsLead
JaydeWalker
DirectorofBrand&Communications
PhilPaschke
SeniorManager,Content&Digital
SamanthaMeuleman
DigitalContentLead
PrueBassett
PublicityManager
DylanStewart
DirectorofMarketing&Sales
ShannonToyne
HeadofMarketing&Sales
SallyHern
SeniorManager,CampaignMarketing
ClaudiaBiaggini
SeniorMarketingCoordinator
AlisonKearney
CustomerExperienceManager
NicoleRees
CRM&insightsManager
SamHarvey
CRM&DataSpecialist
MartaArquero
Ticketing&CustomerExperience Coordinator
BoxOfficeAttendants
Angela,Ashley,Bec,Ben,Bradd, Christine,Emil,Grace,Jessica,Josh,Kara, Kez,Leah,Lucy,Maeve,Sasha,Stephanie
FINANCE&PEOPLEANDCULTURE
AlistairMytton
ChiefFinancialOfficer
SoniaYakub
SeniorManagementAccountant
LynnTejano Accountant
LilianKaridza
AssistantAccountant
MatthewBagi
ProjectOfficer
HollyWighton
People&CultureLead
AileenEyou
People&CultureAdministrationOfficer
Thank You to Our Partners
Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund
Estate of the late Blanch Brooke Hutchings
Perpetual Foundation –Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment
