Adelaide Chamber Singers Crowned Choir of the World

The acclaimed Adelaide Chamber Singers (ACS) was crowned Choir of the World 2013 on Saturday 13 July at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales.

The official title of the award is 'Llangollen Eisteddfod Choir of the World champion 2013' for which they received the Pavarotti Trophy. Their winning performance included Australian composer Stephen Leek's Kondalilla, which has imitations of Australian birds and wildlife.

It is the second time the ACS has won the prestigious Choir of the World award; the first was in Canada in 2006.

Whilst the Pavarotti Trophy is the pinnacle of their achievements on their current three week European and UK tour, the ACS also won multiple prizes in the Musica Sacra a Roma (in Italy) including first place in the Contemporary Sacred section, first place in Mixed Chamber Choirs, best performance of the set piece and winner of the Grand Prize for best choir overall.

They were the only Australian Choir to perform at both the Rome and Wales events.

In London the ACS performed at Australia House and they are currently off to Graz, Austria, to participate in the Choir Games.

Nineteen singers are on the tour which left Adelaide on 1 July. Their next Adelaide performances are with guitarist Alex Tsiboulski on 27-29 September at Elder Hall and the Church of The Epiphany in Crafers ; the concert program is entitled Procession.

Adelaide Chamber Singers and Artistic Director & Conductor Carl Crossin: Adelaide Chamber Singers has been an innovative and passionate contributor to music making in Adelaide for over twenty-seven years. Formed in 1985 by its Artistic Director and Conductor Carl Crossin, the ensemble comprises some of Adelaide's best and most experienced ensemble singers, some of whom are also soloists, emerging artists and/or conductors in their own right. Adelaide Chamber Singers has built a substantial reputation wherever it has performed and is widely regarded as one of Australia's leading chamber choirs. Adelaide Chamber Singers was awarded the 2011 Ruby Award for "sustained contribution by an organisation". The Ruby Awards are SA's premier Arts awards and ACS is immensely proud of this recognition and honour.

Adelaide Chamber Singers has toured within Australia on several occasions and has performed at a number of Australia's major festivals including the Barossa International Music Festival, the Melbourne International Festival, the Perth International Festival and the Australian National Choral Association's Choralfest. ACS has also participated (in various capacities) in almost every Adelaide Festival of Arts since 1994. Regional festivals also feature in the ACS itinerary: the ensemble has performed at the Bundaleer Festival, the Promenade of Sacred Music in Hamilton, Victoria, the Coonawarra Festival, many of the Coriole Festivals over the past 12 years, and the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. ACS also made its debut at the Musica Viva Huntington Estate Festival in NSW in November 2011 and returned to the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival in October in 2012.

Adelaide Chamber Singers has undertaken six international tours: Britain and Norway (1996), Britain (1999), Singapore (2001), the USA (2002), Japan (2004), and Canada, the USA and England (2006). Adelaide Chamber Singers has given highly acclaimed performances at the 2004 Tokyo International Performing Arts Festival, 1999 Norfolk and Norwich Festival; the 10th Annual National Convention of the Association of British Choral Directors (1996); the International Choral Kathaumixw in British Columbia, Canada (2006); International Choral Festival in Missoula in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, USA (2006), the Cambridge Summer Music Festival (2006) and was Australia's representatives at both the Asia South Pacific Symposium on Choral Music in Singapore in 2001 and at the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music in the USA in 2002. In 2006, Adelaide Chamber Singers won the award of "Choir of the World at Kathaumixw 2006" at the prestigious International Choral Kathaumixw in Canada.

In addition to its own Adelaide based annual subscription concert series, ACS has established a highly successful relationship with both the Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and has taken part in major performances of works as diverse as Jonathan Mills'Sandakan Threnody, Ross Edwards' Symphony No. 4 "Star Chant", and Peter Sculthorpe's Requiem. The ABC Classics CD recording of Peter Sculthorpe's Requiem for choir, didgeridoo and orchestra with Adelaide Chamber Singers, William Barton and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arvo Volmer was selected as one of the Editor's Choices in the July 2007 edition of Gramophone magazine. The ACS recording (with the ASO conducted by Richard Mills) of Ross Edwards' Symphony No. 4 "Star Chant" was awarded the "Best Choral/Orchestral Recording of 2008" by the Australian Music Centre.

Adelaide Chamber Singers has performed a wide range of chamber choral and vocal music over its 27 year history thus far, including a significant body of Australian choral music - some of which it has commissioned. ACS has also given the Adelaide premières of most of the choral works of Arvo Pärt including, most recently, the Australian premiere of Pärt's Adam's Lament with the ASO in November 2012. A highlight of ACS Pärt performances over the years was the collaboration with the Theatre of Voices and internationally recognised Pärt specialist Paul Hillier to perform Arvo Pärt's Passio as part of the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival.

Adelaide Chamber Singers made its film debut in 2003 in Paul Cox's "Human Touch". Adelaide Chamber Singers is proud of its on-going association with Neville Clark and Disk Edits, and gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Music Board of the Australia Council - the Commonwealth Government's Arts funding and advisory body - and the South Australian Government through Arts SA. Adelaide Chamber Singers also acknowledges the support of the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide. www.adelaidechambersingers.com

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