- City of Dunedin Choir
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The City of Dunedin Choir (trading name of the Dunedin Choral Society Incorporated) is a community choir in Dunedin, New Zealand. It accepts singers of all age groups from the wider Dunedin community and performs large-scale classical choral works. In 2009 the choir's membership was around 140[citation needed].
Contents
Repertoire
The choir's repertoire encompasses Baroque, Classical and Romantic orchestral works, and includes contemporary New Zealand choral music. The choir is usually involved in four or five concerts a year, and regularly performs with the Southern Sinfonia. Weekly rehearsals are held in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral on the Octagon in central Dunedin.
History
In 1863 the Dunedin Choral Society was formed. The following year this choir was absorbed into the Dunedin Philharmonic Society with George West as conductor. The Philharmonic Society gave its last concert in 1867. A new Dunedin Choral Society was formed in 1871, again with West as conductor. This group collapsed in 1888 and it was not until 1897 that the third Dunedin Choral Society was formed with James Coombs as conductor. The existence of the choir has since been continuous. Notable past conductors include Sidney Wolf (1914–1922), Victor Galway (1922–1925) and Jack Speirs (1966–1973).
The Choral Society changed its name to Schola Cantorum in 1967, upon merging with the University Union Choir, and then to City of Dunedin Choir in 1993, the year it celebrated 130 years of existence. However, through all these "trading name" changes, the legal entity has remained Dunedin Choral Society Incorporated.
The Choir's immediate past patron was the then Governor General of New Zealand, Dame Silvia Cartwright. The current conductor is David Burchell.
References
- Campbell, Margaret. Music in Dunedin. Dunedin: Charles Begg and Co., 1945, pp. 40–43.
- "A 'Cheery Kid' [Sidney Wolf]", Otago Daily Times, 24 May 2008, p. 46.
- "Choir has Long and Proud History", Star (Dunedin), 28 November 2002, pp. 20–21.
- Cyclopedia of New Zealand, vol. 4 (Otago and Southland). Dunedin: Cyclopedia Co., 1905, pp. 215–216.
- "Dunedin Choral Society. Seventy-fifth anniversary. Varied and interesting history", Otago Daily Times, 2 August 1938, p. 6.
- Thomson, John M. Oxford History of New Zealand Music. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 91, 111-112.
The archives of the Dunedin Choral Society Incorporated are held by the Hocken Collections, Dunedin, under the reference number MS-2086.
External links
Categories:- Dunedin culture
- New Zealand choirs
- Vocal music
- 1897 establishments
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