Sydney Chamber Choir Will Perform CARMINA BURANA in March

Sydney Chamber Choir will follow up its sensational 50th anniversary season of sold-out, critically acclaimed local & international concerts, with a blockbuster choral event to launch 2026.

Few works command such instant recognition as Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. 
From the powerful opening ‘O Fortuna' to moments of shimmering tenderness, this choral masterpiece celebrates the passions, fortunes and follies of life with irresistible energy. Performed in the striking version Orff created for two pianos and percussion, the work's rhythmic drive and dramatic contrasts come vividly to life.

Balancing the journey to Orff's Medieval Germany are two powerful contemporary Australian works: Nardi Simpson's Dharriwaa – Narran Lakes Dreaming and Paul Stanhope's I am Martuwarra, both of which celebrate, in language and song, deep connections to Country. Completing the program is David Conte's radiant Invocation and Dance, a work of lyrical beauty and rhythmic vitality that perfectly complements the concert's celebration of renewal and joy.

In addition to featuring three outstanding soloists, this concert also features a collaboration with the renowned Sydney Children's Choir, whose youthful voices will bring a fresh and luminous colour to Orff's timeless score and perform the significant children's choir role in Stanhope's ‘I am Martuwarra'

Sydney Chamber Choir director Sam Allchurch said this would be a nostalgic return to Orff's iconic work. “The choir last performed Carmina Burana a decade ago in 2016 in a sold-out concert conducted by the late, much-loved Richard Gill, a mentor of mine and so many in the choir. I am delighted to bring together the Sydney Chamber Choir and the Sydney Children's Choir for this program and I know Richard would share in this delight.”

Join the choir for an afternoon of exhilarating music-making, where driving rhythm and expressive beauty meet in a celebration of choral sound at its most powerful and inspiring. 

Performance Details

Sydney Chamber Choir
Sam Allchurch, director
Carmina Burana
Sunday,  22 March 3:00 pm
City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney 

Simon Meadows, Baritone | Celeste Lazarenko, Soprano | Louis Hurley, Tenor | Luke Byrne, Piano 
Jem Harding, Piano | Jess Ciampa, Percussion | Sydney Children's Choir