Next week, 31 members of the Hamilton Civic Choir will be travelling to Melbourne to perform with Melbourne’s CHIME Choir. The two choirs connected whilst performing together in New York in April last year.  The programme will consist of Australian and New Zealand pieces.

Hamilton Civic Choir was selected to sing at Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) following a YouTube upload of the choir’s performance of a piece by Ola Gjeilo, who is one of DCINY’s Composers-in-Residence.  DCINY provides opportunities for choirs from around the world to sing en mass in the famous Carnegie Hall.   Last April, 35 choir members performed there in the concert entitled Dreamweaver. The choir also performed two concerts in St John the Divine and St Patrick’s Cathedrals in New York.

During DCINY rehearsals, Musical Director Timothy Carpenter connected with the Musical Director of CHIME who subsequently invited Hamilton Civic Choir to perform with them for their ANZAC concert this year.  Each choir will perform some pieces of their own and then combine.  Hamilton Civic Choir will also give a concert at St Andrew’s Church in Brighton.  The programme will consist of New Zealand and Australian works including David Hamilton’s In Flanders Fields,  Three Australian Bush Songs by Iain Grandage and a new composition by Hamilton Civic Choir bass, Joshua Dawson.

Hamilton Civic Choir was formed in 1946 at the request of the City Council as part of the post-war effort to improve the cultural and social life of the city.  Current members consist of singers from throughout the Waikato. They enjoy singing a variety of genres including substantial works of the classical repertoire such as Bach’s B minor mass, which the choir will perform later in the year.

Hamilton Civic Choir is proud to represent the Waikato and New Zealand, and has delighted national and international audiences with concerts of great choral music performed to the highest musical standards.  The choir hopes to continue touring in the future.