Young Tasmania Sings

Paul Jarman is a frequent guest to the Festival of Voices as a composer, conductor, clinician, presenter and MC extraordinaire! Over the years, the festival has commissioned and premiered several works written or co-written by Paul. He has touched the lives of thousands of festival goers with his boundless and infectious joy and enthusiasm for all things choral music.

Paul is most well known as a lyricist and composer of choral music, a world music multi instrumentalist, and a facilitator of community inspired collaborations. Paul has written over 200 commissioned works for ensembles, festivals and events including Gondwana Voices, Sydney Children’s Choir, Birralee Voices, The Song Company, Boston City Singers, Rafiki Youth Choir, The Australian Boy’s Choir, The Hunter singers, Department of Education, Woden Valley Youth Choir and many more. His unique blend of melody and timeless poetry celebrates the human endeavour and has captured the imagination of singers and audiences worldwide. He has been commissioned to write music about some of the most inspiring people of our time including Jessica Watson, Terry Fox, Helen Keller, Ernest Shackleton, Aung San Suu Kyi, Pemulwuy and Mary MacKillop among countless others.

Image credit: Kylee Bijou

Claire Preston has worked extensively in Australia and North America specialising in developing young singers.  She has been Assistant Conductor of the Toronto Children’s Chorus and Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, accompanist for Canada’s foremost professional choir, Elmer Iseler Singers and was Co-Founder of the award winning, Exaudi Youth Choir.

Claire returned to Australia as Head of Choral Studies at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School where she commissioned and recorded Australian music and collaborated regularly with the VCA Orchestra.

Claire maintains an active career as a choral conductor and is in demand as an adjudicator for choral festivals and eisteddfods including New Zealand Choral Federation The Big Sing; Festival of Voices, Australian Honours Ensemble Program and Voices of Birralee. She has been a regular guest conductor at Gondwana National Choral School and is delighted to be conducting in the 2023 season!

Claire is Head of Music at Hillcrest Christian College and in 2020 was awarded a scholarship through the National Excellence in School Leadership Institute. In 2021, Claire was honoured to receive a Leadership Award from the Australian Council for Educational Leaders.

Image credit: Norma Martiri

Sydney Children's Choir - Junior Performing Choir is in Christmas in July - 3 July | Young Tasmania Sings - 4 July | A Choral Soiree - 5 July | Australian Youth Choir Showcase - 6 July

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The Sydney Children’s Choir’s Junior Performing Choir brings together specially selected singers aged 9 – 14 who show strong musical aptitude, enabling them to extend their choral and musical skills in an intensive way. The choir is one of 16 ensembles adding up to over 400 young people that form the Sydney Children’s Choir’s renowned choral training program, founded by Lyn Williams AM in 1989. The choir have formed part of the children’s choruses for performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, including for the premiere of Colin Matthew’s The Pied Piper of Hamlin in 2016, and for Opera Australia productions including Turandot, King Roger and Tosca. The Junior Performing Choir has embarked on regional tours in NSW regularly over its history, giving performances and workshops with local singers: Bathurst (2017), Albury (2018) and Wagga Wagga (2019). In 2023, the choir are conducted by Elizabeth Scott and Lachlan Massey.

Image credit: Lyn Williams
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CONDUCTOR: LACHLAN MASSEY

Lachlan Massey is a young Australian conductor and composer. He conducts for the Sydney Children’s Choir, working under Lyn Williams AM and Sam Allchurch to prepare the choirs for concerts, recordings and major national events. Most recently he conducted the choir at The Sydney Energy Forum for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, acted as assistant conductor for dramatic work Hypnopompia with director Alexander Berlage, and assisted in preparing the choirs for the reopening of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall under Simone Young. Lachlan founded Musgrove Opera in 2018 to present contemporary opera for children and families. He composed & directed Pinocchio! (2018), which had its premiere at the Zenith Theatre, prior to a regional tour. His second children’s opera, an adaptation of Hansel & Gretel (2021), premiered at The Concourse. In 2022, Lachlan directed Sid the Serpent who Wanted to Sing and Heroes in the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room. Most recently, he worked with composer Aija Draguns, directing the premiere of her children’s opera, Max and Moritz. Recently, Lachlan appeared as a guest conductor for the RSCM Junior Schools’ Choral Festival. Lachlan is an alumnus of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and a former Young Ambassador for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Bel Canto is in Christmas in July - 3 July | Young Tasmania Sings - 5 July | Australian Youth Choir Showcase - 6 July

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The mission of the Choral Excellence Program at Hillcrest Christian College is to nurture and inspire students through quality music education and the pursuit of artistic excellence in choral performance.

The Choral Excellence Program fosters leadership, self-worth, teamwork and pride. We strive to build relationships within the local community and collaborate with other performance groups within and outside the College to reach a broader audience. We perform a diverse range of styles with a particular emphasis on Australian repertoire and prioritize commissioning new works and collaborating with Australian composers.

An important aspect of the Choral Excellence Program is the opportunity to tour regularly, and the choirs have represented Hillcrest Christian College throughout Queensland and Australia in two International Tours including 5th International World Vision Choir Festival, Seoul Korea in 2015 and Pacific International Festival, Oregon, United States of America in 2018.

Award-winning Bel Canto, the SSA premier choir, is delighted to be returning to Hobart, Tasmania following their successful participation in the Festival of Voices in 2016.

Conductors: Ms Claire Preston and Dr. Robert Stewart

The Tasmanian Youth Orchestra is in Young Tasmania Sings, 4 and 5 July
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The Tasmanian Youth Orchestra is TYO’s flagship ensemble, providing exceptional development opportunities and outstanding performance experiences under the inspirational leadership of TYO Chief Conductor Christopher Bearman, OAM. The accomplished young musicians in this orchestra range in age from 14 to 25 and represent some of Tasmania's finest young musical talent. Musicians in this orchestra have the opportunity to rehearse weekly with their musical peers, perform challenging symphonic repertoire at least three times per year; and collaborate annually with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra through TSO's 'Big Rehearsal’. The Tasmanian Youth Orchestra are excited to return to perform within the Festival of Voices in 2023.

Image credit: Alastair Bett

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CHIEF CONDUCTOR: JACK MACHIN

Jack Machin has worked as a professional musician, teacher and conductor for the past 21 years. Throughout this time Jack has performed with the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland Symphony Orchestras. During 2003 to 2009 Jack served as Principal Trombone for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, performed with Opera Australia and the Griffin Ensemble. Jack has conducted a number of youth ensembles and has held the position of conductor and Director of Bands for Canberra Youth Orchestra Society. In 2012, Jack founded the Newcastle Youth Orchestra where he served as Artistic Director and Chief conductor for five years before taking a place on the board for a further three years. Since moving to Hobart in 2020, Jack has been privileged to work with many young local musicians and is the Director of Music at St Virgil’s College. This year, Jack began as conductor of TYO’s Chamber Orchestra where he enjoys working with some of Hobart’s most talented and committed young musicians. Jack is thrilled to be conducting the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra for 'Tasmania Sings’ at the Festival of Voices.

The Yarra Voices is in Voices @ 5 - 3 July | Young Tasmania Sings - 4 July | Australian Youth Choir Showcase - 6 July

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Founded in 2018 by our artistic director Renee Heron, The Yarra Voices is becoming recognised as one of Naarm/Melbourne's best children and youth choirs. The vision and purpose of The Yarra Voices is to foster excellence in performance as well as our students receiving an outstanding music education that is child focused as well as joyous.

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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: RENEE HERON

A dynamic music educator and choral conductor, Renee is currently a primary music teacher and choral director at Caulfield Grammar, Malvern Campus and has enjoyed stints working with the Australian Boys Choir, Xavier College and Methodist Ladies College. Renee is one of Melbourne’s leading practitioners of the Kodály music education philosophy and in 2016-17 had the privilege of attending Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary. She is a musicianship and methodology course lecturer for the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia, where she serves as President of the Victorian Branch and acts as a regular adjudicator and workshop presenter. Renee is a talented musician in her own right, holding a Bachelor of Music from the University of Queensland, and an AMusA in Violin. She also holds a Master of Teaching from the University of Melbourne. Renee is a core member of Melbourne based chamber choir, Polyphonic Voices & Artistic Director of the treble vocal ensemble, Alta Collective.

Southern Voices is in Young Tasmania Sings - 5 July | A Cappella Spectacular - 7 July

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Southern Voices is a mixed voice choir from Melbourne of talented, dedicated young musicians, whose aim is to provide beautiful music for all occasions. Southern Voices performs a wide range of music from opera to alternative, music theatre to contemporary, and major works to choral classics. A passion for choral music and storytelling through song is what inspires Southern Voices to share their musical journey with audiences wherever they perform.

Southern Voices is directed by Sharon Batterham and accompanied by Kate Denmead.

Image credit: Kerry Bennett

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MUSICAL DIRECTOR: SHARON BATTERHAM

Sharon Batterham is a choral music and vocal specialist, with several years’ experience as a soloist, chorister and conductor. She completed tertiary music studies at the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Music in composition and voice, and a Bachelor of Music Education. Sharon studied voice with Kevin Casey and Hartley Newnham and performed regularly with the Faculty of Music Choir and Chamber Singers.

As a child Sharon sang with the Australian Children's Choir, and performed at several venues throughout Melbourne, regional Victoria and South Australia. Sharon participated in the ACC’s first international tours to Hong Kong and the United Kingdom and worked with various conductors and musical groups during that time. Sharon has also sung with the Royal Philharmonic Choir, Faye Dumont Singers, CHIME Choir and the Australian Youth Choir.

Conducting became a particular interest when Sharon commenced tutoring the training groups of the Victorian Boys' Choir, and she continued developing her skills with positions in the Australian Girls' Choir and the CHIME Choirs. Training in choral pedagogy followed, with Rodney Eichenberger, Andre de Quadros and Doreen Rao, and Sharon was selected from conductors around the world to attend the 3rd Choral Symposium held by the Toronto Children’s Chorus with Jean Ashworth-Bartle.

After a break to raise her family, Sharon is now the Director of Southern Voices, a mixed voice choir of talented and dedicated young musicians. She is in demand as a presenter at choral workshops for all age groups and as an adjudicator at eisteddfods across the country. Sharon is currently developing a conductor and accompanist education program within the structure of Southern Voices, which she hopes will inspire a new generation of choral conductors to pursue the craft. Sharon is the Director of Cantabella, the award-winning choir of Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College; she teaches voice at Killester College and Our Lady of Sacred Heart Bentleigh and is the current Vice President of the Australian National Choral Association’s Victoria/Tasmania branch.