Brisbane Concert Choir members perform a cappella Christmas favourites.

Brookside Shopping Centre at Mitchelton
Session Times:      
5.00 - 8.00pm        Thu 9 December
11am - 2.00pm      Sun 12 December
6.00 - 9.00pm        Mon 20 December
6.00 - 9.00pm        Wed 22 December
 

Toowong Village Shopping Centre
Session Times:      
10.30am - 1.30pm  Sat 11 December
5.30 - 8.30pm        Thu 16 December
10.30am - 1.30pm  Sat 18 December
6.00 - 9.00pm        Thu 23 December

Haydn: Mass in Time of War - Concert at Lyceum Hall, Esk  1 August 2009

Brisbane Concert Choir, soloists Laura Coall, soprano, Elizabeth Lewis, mezzo-soprano,
Robert Shearer, tenor, Jon Maskell, bass, accompanist John Woods and conductor
Debra Shearer-Dirié joined forces to perform this work on a beautiful Saturday afternoon
in the Brisbane Valley town of Esk. The concert was hosted by Esk Community Choir lead
by conductor Alexis Fitzgerald. Both choirs performed, separately and then together in a very
enjoyable afternoon of music making.


(L to R) Jon Maskell, Robert Shearer, John Woods (keyboard), Elizabeth Lewis, Laura Coall rehearse with
Debra Shearer-Dirié and Brisbane Concert Choir in Lyceum Hall, Esk.


Alexis Fitzgerald conducts one of the combined choir pieces.

Haydn: Mass in Time of War - Workshop and Concert 18 July 2009

An enthusiastic group of guest singers joined with Brisbane Concert Choir, the Sinfonia of St Andrew's led by
Chen Yang, soloists Laura Coall, soprano, Robert Shearer, tenor, Jon Maskell, bass, rehearsal accompanist
John Woods and conductor Debra Shearer-Dirié to rehearse and perform this work at the seventh annual
Come and Sing 'from scratch' event.

BCC perform as Guest Choir at QPAC with the Australian Youth Choir - Concert 16 July 2009

We were very pleased to accept the invitation from the Australian Youth Choir to perform with them at the
Concert Hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. We hope that many of the young choristers enjoyed
our contribution, both solo and in combination with them. And we further hope that our example might convince
many of them to continue with choral singing for the rest of their lives.

We really enjoyed ourselves, performing repertoire as diverse as Rheinberger's sacred motet Abendlied,
Moses Hogan's spiritual arrangement I Got a Robe and Ian Maurer's humorous piece A Choral Menagerie.

Northwest Girlchoir - Three Choirs in Concert 4 July 2009

Brisbane Concert Choir and Vox Pacifica were delighted to host the Northwest Girlchoir from Seattle. Brisbane
marked the final stopover in their Australian tour. The girls had a busy time here, with a workshop conducted by
Debra Shearer-Dirié, the concert, a visit to the beach, singing at Sunday Service for the congregation of
St Andrew's, an aboriginal experience and an end-of-tour dinner.

From R to L: Rev. Ray Herrmann from St Andrew's Uniting Church thanks Debra Shearer-Dirié (BCC and Vox Pacifica
Musical Director), Andrew Seifert (NWGC accompanist), Sara Boos (NWGC Artistic Director), Ian Maurer (BCC Chairman) and
the combined choirs at the conclusion of the 4th July concert.     Photography by Mia Schack

The girls also established a Brisbane Concert Choir record for the consumption
of the Chairman's pull-apart Spinach Dip - 5 minutes exactly!
   9.55am ... Now you see it


   10.00am ... And now you don't!

Haydn: The Seasons - Concert 10 May 2009

Brisbane Concert Choir, together with the Sinfonia of St Andrew's lead by Chen Yang, soloists Monique Latemore, soprano,
Brett Goulding, tenor, Shaun Brown, baritone, and continuo player John Woods, all conducted by Debra Shearer-Dirié, presented
this, Haydn's last major work. While not as well known as his other oratorio (The Creation), it nonetheless contains much joyful music.
Video highlights of this performance are being gradually added to YouTube as time permits.


L to R at front: Debra Shearer-Dirié, Shaun Brown, Monique Latemore, Brett Goulding.  Photography by Mia Schack

The Armed Man - Concert 25 April 2009

Our third performance of The Armed Man (repeated by popular demand from 2008) again played
to a large audience who were captivated by this amazing work. See below for audience comments.
 

	The Armed Man performance about to begin in the heritage-listed St Andrew's Uniting Church, Brisbane. Can you find yourself in the audience? Click on the photo for a larger version.
	Brisbane Concert Choir members relax before the third annual performance of The Armed Man Click on the photo for a larger version.

Audience Comments on this 2009 performance

The performance was outstanding and very inspirational. Sincere congratulations on an afternoon of truly
beautiful music. ... Alexis F.

Christmas Carolling 2008
Toowong Village Shopping Centre

Brisbane Concert Choir members perform a cappella Christmas favourites.

It's a great place to sing - and a great place to shop ... one of Brisbane's
most relaxed shopping venues. Why not give it a try!

Session Times:      
5.30 - 8.30pm        Thu 11 December
10am - 1.00pm       Sat 13 December
12 noon - 3.00pm   Sun 14 December
5.30 - 8.30pm        Thu 18 December
10am - 1.00pm       Sat 20 December
12 noon - 3.00pm   Sun 21 December
5.30 - 8.30pm        Tue 23 December

Tour to Prague, Salzburg and Vienna  -   26 November to 10 December 2008
A few highlights .... (roll your mouse pointer over the picture to pause the show)
 

Our New CD Radiance is Launched -   1 November 2008


Radiance: Aspects of Light, to give it its full title, was launched in front of over 200 supporters
at a fundraising evening titled A Little Night Music, kindly hosted by Andrea Hall Brown. Early
feedback from those who have bought the CD is very positive. One enthusiastic music lover
has played it daily since then! The CD appeals to a wide audience, as it encompasses a diverse
range of musical styles and periods with light as the unifying theme. For details, please go to our
Sounds page, where you can listen to selected tracks from Radiance and purchase the CD online.

At just over 12 months since our first recording session for this project, and 7 months since we
finished our last session, we can't be accused of rushing the launch of this CD. The amount of
work involved in editing, mastering, licensing, booklet design and proofing before sending it off
for production was considerable. As we were also heavily involved in planning for our European
trip, something had to give, and so the launch date moved out. I hope that you will agree that it
was worth waiting for.

Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem - 'from scratch'   16 August 2008
 

We had a great time staging our 6th Annual Come and Sing 'from scratch' event.

With almost 200 singers, 30+ orchestral players in the Sinfonia of St Andrew's,
soloists Anita Parakh-Morgan and Shaun Brown, rehearsal accompanist John Woods
and musical director Debra Shearer-Dirié, we worked right up to the bell to master the
lush harmonies of Brahms's German Requiem (in German, for an added challenge),
and then enjoyed the fruits of our labours in the evening performance.

We didn't quite make our ambitious target of performing the entire 70 minute work,
omitting movement three for the performance, but we were able to enjoy listening
to Shaun Brown singing the solo part of this movement in rehearsal.

Our thanks to everyone who came along, from as far away as Yeppoon and Charleville.
There was even a singer from London, but she had to admit that she didn't travel to
Australia specially for our event.

We look forward to offering our 7th such event in July 2009.

Click images to enlarge.  (Photography by Ian Maurer)

Handel's Messiah - Concert 13 July 2008

Following a preview performance with organ in Nambour on 5 July, kindly hosted by Buderim Male Choir, our
complete performance of this work with orchestra, soloists and harpsichord was presented in St Andrew's to
a moderate-sized but enthusiastic audience.

Video excerpts from this performance are available on YouTube. You will find detailed links to them on our
Sounds page. Or go directly to Hallelujah Chorus and then find the rest on YouTube.

Three Choirs in Concert - 1 June 2008

We were happy to share this concert with two fine youth choirs from Brisbane schools - Sr Mary Céline Chorale
from All Hallows School, conducted by Tim Sherlock, and The Big Brotherhood from St Laurence's College,
conducted by Anthony Young. The combined choir was conducted by Debra Shearer-Dirié.

Click images to enlarge.  (Photography by Ian Maurer)

The Armed Man - Concert 25 April 2008

Our second performance of The Armed Man (repeated by popular demand from 2007) again played
to a packed church who were captivated by this amazing work. See below for audience comments.



Audience Comments on this 2008 performance

Spectacular may I say. Even better than last time - Liz, Conductor of Senior School Choir

I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Well done to your singers and Debra. It was great to hear the choir again.
It was wonderful to see all those heads up out of the scores looking at the conductor and singers really getting involved
in the music and sharing their passion with the audience. Once again, well done to you all - Amanda H.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing "The Armed Man" and I would ask now to be put on your mailing list for future performances - Madeleine H.

I just want to congratulate you all on a great performance of the Armed Man ... really spine tingling in parts. Simone M.

Review of 2008 performance by Richard Kitchen, Editor of SALT (St Andrew's Uniting Church Magazine) and choral singer.

Review of 2007 performance by Mansel Jones, OAM, retired choral conductor.