We’d love for you to join us for our final and most festive concert of the year!
In the glorious setting of the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, we combine forces with The Windfire Choir for a magnificent performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Presented by Music at the Basilica, this grand event features distinguished soloists and orchestra, bringing to life Handel’s immortal masterpiece.
Come and experience the majesty and timeless beauty of Messiah — from the stirring“Hallelujah Chorus” to the radiant “For Unto Us a Child Is Born.”
A joyful celebration of music, hope, and the spirit of the season — this is a concert not to be missed!
As part of this year’s 75th anniversary celebrations, The Geelong Chorale presents Song of Australia – a special concert that journeys through 200 years of Australian choral music. Commencing with some of the earliest colonial music from the 1800s, this dynamic and diverse program highlights the depth and vitality of Australia’s musical landscape. Works by renowned composers including Isaac Nathan (considered to be the father of Australian music), Percy Grainger, Stephen Leek, and Claire MacLean will be featured. The concert also shines a light on the talent in our own community, with works by John Ingram, Martin Greet and acclaimed Geelong-based Australian composer, Michael Hannan.
Join us for an afternoon of inspiring music that celebrates Australia’s choral heritage and the enduring spirit of community music-making.
To celebrate our 75th anniversary we present a selection of cherished repertoire from our archives, featuring madrigals, sacred music, opera choruses, art songs, folksongs, spirituals, jazz and contemporary pieces.
Something for everyone to enjoy.
We invite you to pop some corks with us after the performance for a celebratory supper.
As we step into our 75th year, The Geelong Chorale extends our warmest wishes to all our followers for a happy, healthy, and harmonious New Year. This milestone is not only a celebration of the years we’ve spent making music together but also an opportunity to reflect on our rich and diverse history.
The roots of The Geelong Chorale stretch back to the late 19th century, with the establishment of the Geelong Choral Society in the 1890s. In the 1950s, under the leadership of George Logie-Smith OBE, who conducted both The GAMA Orchestra and The Geelong Choral Society, a smaller auditioned madrigal group was formed—The Geelong Madrigal Choir. This ensemble focused on performing madrigals and other works suited to a more intimate setting.
In the 1960s, the choir adopted the name The GAMA Singers to better reflect its association with GAMA and its expanding repertoire. In the 1990s, the choir embraced its current identity—The Geelong Chorale—signifying the broader and more diverse nature of our musical journey.
As we celebrate this significant anniversary, we would love to connect with you, our loyal community, by sharing more of the stories and passions that have shaped our choir over the years. If you have any anecdotes, memories, or historical insights to share, we would be honoured to include them as part of our ongoing narrative.
Please feel free to send us a private message with any stories or information you’d like to contribute. Together, we can celebrate the enduring spirit of The Geelong Chorale and its many years of musical passion.
We will update you with our superb 2025 concert series shortly.
In the lead up to Christmas, the Geelong Chorale presents a selection of music from the extraordinary wealth of choral repertoire inspired by the Virgin Mary.
Ever since the early centuries of Christian history, the Virgin Mary has played a significant role in worship. Over time, feast days dedicated to her began to appear in the church calendar, and to celebrate such feasts, more and more elaborate Marian music was composed. The 13th & 14th centuries saw a period of especially intense devotion to Mary and she became a popular subject of paintings and poetry, too, often being likened to a rose. The Reformation in England brought a pause to the singing of Marian music but in other catholic and orthodox countries, she continued to be honoured. Popular devotion to the Virgin was also given new impetus by a number of miraculous apparitions during the 19th century. Mary has provided a marvellous legacy of music. In reality, we know so little about her but she has given inspiration and solace to many.
The Geelong Chorale will present Marian music from the past five centuries, including works by Palestrina, Victoria, Rachmaninov, Bruckner, Howells, Lauridsen and Biebl.
We are thrilled to present Requiem by Karl Jenkins in its original version with full orchestral accompaniment. Over the centuries many composers have composed Requiems (think Victoria, Mozart, Verdi to name three) but Jenkins, in his usual fashion, creates a completely distinctive, contemporary composition.
In this deeply moving work, he combines the traditional Latin movements of the Mass for the Dead with five Japanese haiku: in this case, poems concerned with nature and the water cycle, which the Japanese view as being synonymous with life. In this journey of life and death, Jenkins utilises a wide palette of orchestral colours and rhythms (including hip-hop) whilst referencing other settings of the Requiem by Fauré, Duruflé and Lloyd-Webber.
Since October 1883, when the Orient Express made its inaugural journey, there have been numerous trains and several different routes. But the magic and romance of this luxurious train, which completely redefined long-distance travel, have remained constant. As you journey with us on the original route of this iconic train, we travel from Istanbul to Paris, pulling in at each station to enjoy musical delights from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany, finally arriving refreshed and rejuvenated in France.
