Tickets https://www.trybooking.com/CDJFV
Note the early bird discount has been extended to 1st December!
Capture the spirit of Christmas with Victoria Chorale and the Art of Sound orchestra.
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The concert includes Saint-Saëns’ uplifting Christmas Oratorio, Christmas Day by Holst and a joyous collection of Australian and traditional Christmas carols.
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The choir’s Christmas concerts are renowned for their charm, distinctiveness and enthusiastic audience singing of carols, led by dynamic conductor Mario Dobernig!
Amanda Hargreaves - Soprano
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Amanda Hargreaves graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne in 2019 with First-Class Honours. During her time at the Conservatorium, Amanda worked with the finest teachers in the industry. Highlights include masterclasses with international opera director, Andrew Sinclair, vocologist Stephen Austin, and an online masterclass with Graham Johnson OBE during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has played the roles of Blanche (Poulenc, Dialogues des Carmelites) and Despina (Mozart, Così fan Tutte) in scene studies, and has studied the role of Beth (Adamo, Little Women) as part of her Master of Music (Opera Performance) course at the Conservatorium.
Amanda was a finalist in the MCM/Aria Competition (2020), OSA Aria Competition (2021) and 39th National Liederfest (2021), where she was the recipient of the Lynette Casey-Brenton and Ian Field Memorial Awards.
In 2021, she also covered the principle soprano role, “Olivia”, in Victorian Opera’s youth opera, “The Friends of Salamanca”.
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She is also studying acting at NIDA, as part of their year-long 'Actor's Studio' program (Melbourne).
Mario Dobernig - Conductor
Mario is the Artistic Director and Conductor for Victoria Chorale and the Art of Sound Orchestra. His dynamic conducting has delighted audiences and attracted many singers to the choir. Recent performances include Mozart vs Salieri at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Requiems by Gounod and Duruflé, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Brahms’s Requiem and Alto Rhapsody; Beethoven’s Mass in C, Symphony No. 1, Eroica and Pastoral Symphony.
Australian performances with other musical groups include conducting at Hobart’s MONA FOMA and festival appearances with Electronic Dance Music Producers. Mario’s international work includes conducting annually in Europe and leading the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra in Doha.
Bailey Monygomerie - Baritone
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Baritone Bailey Montgomerie is an alumnus of Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney with several years of classical training. Bailey is currently studying Classical Voice and Politics and International Relations at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Conservatorium.
Throughout his training, he has appeared in several Eisteddfods and recitals in Australia and abroad and has been invited to participate in masterclasses with singers such as Deborah Cheetham, Charlotte de Rothschild and Emma Matthews. Bailey has also been an auditioned member of ensembles such as Sydney Philharmonia Choir and Gondwana National Choirs and is currently a choral scholar with St Patrick's Cathedral Choir, and a member of Exaudi, and the Hamer Singers locally in Melbourne.
Syrah Torii - Mezzo-soprano
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Japanese-Australian mezzo-soprano Syrah Torii (she/her) graduated with a Master of Music (Opera Performance) from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in 2021. She is currently a Developing Artist in Melbourne Opera’s Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme.
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She has performed major roles in Little Women (Jo March), L’incoronazione di Poppea (Ottone), Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel), and Die Zauberflöte (Third Lady).
Syrah is regularly invited to sing the Japanese and Australian National Anthems at events hosted by the Japanese Consul-General in Melbourne.
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Syrah also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics and Spanish) and Diploma in Music (Classical Voice) from the University of Melbourne
Ben Glover - Tenor
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Tenor Ben Glover performs regularly in concerts, masses and operas around Melbourne. He completed a double degree in arts and music at Monash University in 2016, and 2017 marked the completion of his undergraduate studies with his attainment of a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the University of Melbourne. Ben completed his Master of Music (Opera Performance) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in 2021.
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As a concert singer Ben has various credits, most recently having performed Vaughan William’s Mass in G minor with The Geelong Chorale. In August 2022 Ben was a finalist in the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria Competition, where he was awarded the Conductor’s Encouragement Award. He was a soloist in the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music’s production of Handel’s Messiah in 2013, and in the same year he sang the tenor solo of Mozart’s Requiem for the Centre for Early Christian Studies (Australian Catholic University). Ben also sings regularly with the St Francis’ Choir on Lonsdale Street, where he cantors and performs as a soloist in selected masses and motets.
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Ben is equally at home on the operatic stage as on the concert. He has played roles in various operas including Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Laurie in Adamo’s Little Women, and the title role in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. Ben has also performed for Victorian Opera in their Youth Opera production of Die Freude von Salamanka in 2021, covering the roles of Alonso and Diego.