Sydney Philharmonia Choirs to Perform at BBC Proms in First UK Tour in 15 Years

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will return to the international spotlight in 2026 with an appearance at the BBC Proms, performing at London's Royal Albert Hall as part of an ambitious UK tour celebrating the enduring power of British choral music, alongside UK and world premieres from Australian composers Alice Chance and Joseph Twist.

Under the direction of Artistic and Music Director Brett Weymark OAM, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (VOX, Chamber Singers and Symphony Chorus) will join the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Chorus and Orchestra on Sunday 26 July for a Proms performance of John Adams' monumental Harmonium, returning to the world's greatest classical music festival once more after making history as the first Australian choir to perform there in 2002.

Beyond the Proms, the UK tour is shaped by the idea of bringing British choral music “home”. Many of the great anthems and hymns of the English cathedral tradition, works by Parry, Harris, Ireland, Britten, Gardiner and Vaughan Williams, have long formed the backbone of the Choirs' repertoire in Australia, resonating powerfully in the ‘cathedral-like' Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and regional churches across New South Wales.

Now, they bring these works back to the places and spaces that inspired them, embarking on their first UK tour in 15 years, performing in Ely Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral, Oxford Town Hall, Australia House in London, and at the historic Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral, one of the world's oldest classical music festivals.

At the heart of the program is Faire is the Heaven, named for Sir William Harris's radiant setting of Edmund Spenser's text, alongside world premieres of works by Australian composers Alice Chance and Joseph Twist, offering UK audiences a fresh perspective on the sacred choral tradition as it continues to evolve in Australia.

Sydney audiences can be among the first to hear this program at an International Tour Preview concert at St Andrew's Cathedral on Sunday 12 July, a rare opportunity to experience these iconic works before the Choirs take them “home” to the UK and the world-famous stage of the BBC Proms.

Brett Weymark, Artistic Director and conductor, says: “When you take a choir on tour, something miraculous happens. New friendships are forged, new audiences are found but most importantly, the choir comes back with a sense of how they fit into the wider world of classical music and as my predecessor and teacher Mats Nilsson used to say, they come back a better choir for the experience. For two weeks they become full-time musicians working at the top of their game. I cannot wait.”

Tour Dates

International Tour Preview Concert
St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney
Sunday 12 July, 3pm

Evensong
Coventry Cathedral
Thursday 23 July, 5.15pm

BBC Proms
Royal Albert Hall, London
Sunday 26 July, 7.30pm

Concert – Faire is the Heaven
Ely Cathedral
Wednesday 29 July, 1pm

Concert – Faire is the Heaven
Oxford Town Hall
Wednesday 30 July, 5pm