They have performed around the world and throughout the region.
They have performed in school halls and the world’s largest cathedral.
They have sung music ranging from Mozart’s Requiem to ABBA’s Dancing Queen.
Music is at the centre of every emotive human moment, and the Oriana Choir has been central to bringing magnificent musical moments to the lives of many for the past two decades.
On Sunday, 2 November, the Oriana Choir celebrates 20 years of bringing the magic of music, not just to the region and Queensland but to the world.
During the years the choir has grown from 30 performing in the Uniting Church Hall at Nambour, up to 80 with three international performance tours to their credit.
Those tours have included Great Britain, France and Belgium in 2012, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Austria and Czech Republic in 2016, and Italy – from Rome to Venice – in 2019.
The 2012 tour saw the choir achieve second place in the world in the mixed choir division of the acclaimed Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, one of the bastions of choral singing.
That tour also saw a performance at the Menin Gate, a site that holds special significance with Australians during World War One.
The Menin Gate commemorates by name more than 54,000 officers and enlisted men of the British Empire who died in the Ypres Salient with no known war grave.
These names, carved into monumental stone panels, represent men from five Commonwealth nations: Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Undivided India, and South Africa.
One of the greatest performances in Oriana’s recent years was their collaboratinon with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra to present The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace at Brisbane City Hall on November 11, 2018.
They performed Karl Jenkins’s epic work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end to the First World War.
“The growth in size and ability of the choir means it is now able to tackle some of the great choral masterpieces,” Oriana president Dr Melissa Innes said.
“We are about to present two massive movements and favourites from Mozart’s Requiem as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations – and that is such a honour – it’s just a magnificent work and quite challenging.
“One of the great privileges of being an Oriana singer is that we get to bring to life choral works that have been written hundreds of years ago.
“You can hear the moments in human history captured in the music, and without organisations such as Oriana and the other committed major choirs in Australia and around the world, these works would go unheard in our time.”
Singing at the Menin Gate at Ypres in Belgium was very moving for the choir.
Presenting the Australian national anthem and Lead Kindly Light was a powerful moment remembering the great loss and commitment of Australians and New Zealanders during the war.
It was also an incredible privilege and honour to be able to be a part of such a significant ceremony. On one occasion in February 1915, Lead, Kindly Light was sung by a group of British troops at services held before going into the trenches the following day to the accompaniment of nearby artillery fire.
“As a choral singer, there are some works that you are really surprised by,” Dr Innes said. “There are times you are rehearsing a major work where the choir is contributing only to the choral parts of that work and it’s only when the work comes together that the impact is realised..
“This was the situation with The Armed Man which features several soloists and the most surreal moment where a mosque official performs a Muslim call to prayer – a haunting call in the middle of the performance that included the Christian prayer Kyrie, and the song Benedictus,
“It’s one of those moments that you never forget. It embraced everything to do with that performance and why that music had been written.”
Another moment that struck a deep emotional chord with singers was a performance of Prayer for the Children, presented during their Central Europe tour in 2016.
This piece was written to honour the children who had their lives ruined by the Balkans War. It has subsequently been sung in memory of the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.
The words to Even When He Is Silent, performed by the choir in 2019 throughout Italy, were found written on a prison wall after World War Two.
Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen built on the phrase “I believe in love,” embodying the intense and conflicting emotions of holding onto to it in difficult times.
Another fine performance was that of the men’s chorus with Find the Cost of Freedom, written by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1970 in response to the shooting of students at Kent State University in Ohio by National Guardsmen.
“When we bring music to life – with an orchestra, a string quartet, a band or the uniqueness of a harpsichord – it is always a phenomenal moment and a sensation as a chorister,” Dr Innes said.
“It is one thing to work together as a choir for three months of rehearsal bringing sometimes very challenging music together but when you add that final touch of live instrumentalist professionals it lifts the music to a whole new level, and you know that your audience is in for a very special treat.
“The same sensation happens when we are truly fortunate to take our choir to some magnificent venues, be it St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane or one of the many magnificent churches and cathedrals in Europe – from St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
“When you bring music to life in those venues it’s quite unlike any other experience.
“On the other hand Anzac Day in the Buderim Central Park is very special – it’s so moving to sing as the sun is rising over the ocean and the silhouette of the horses are in the foreground.
“Then to have a beautiful hymn ringing out over the tranquil setting and the sun rising over the ocean – that has been a special moment every year.
“We are lucky enough to perform at places such as The J in Noosa and St Patrick’s Church in Gympie.”
Anniversaries such as this encourage the choir to look back over the experience as a whole.
Right from the start under founding music director Daniel Calder, it was clear that the bar for the choir’s musical ambitions were set high.
“In the planning for this concert we have had some pretty good laughs, and even tears, reflecting on the choir’s journey – all we’ve achieved and the loved ones we’ve lost over two decades,” Dr Innes said.
“As president, I’m extraordinarily proud of every member of Oriana and the commitment they make to ensuring every music experience we deliver is the best we can do.
“What I can honestly say, when I look over many years, is that our organisation’s culture and the commitment of our volunteers – some who have been on committee from the start – is one of the healthiest I think many of us have been fortunate to be a part of.
“We all share the same vision – to bring magnificent choral music to life to improve the lives of not only our members – but of the many grateful people in our community who experience so much joy from attending our concerts.
“There’s nothing like standing outside an Oriana concert as our supportive patrons leave – and witnessing tears, laughter – and always great happiness at having shared in the beautiful music we aspire to bring to life.
“It’s a great pleasure for all of us – and we all feel so lucky to be a part of something so special.”
FAST FACTS
WHAT: Oriana Choir 20th Anniversary Gala Concert
WHEN: Sunday, 2 November, 2pm
WHERE: 114, Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina
For bookings and information, go to www.oriana.org.au
