The Choir of Trinity College, at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

within the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, is a collegiate chapel choir modelled on the choirs at Cambridge and Oxford universities. The choir consists of 27 choral scholars (either residents or non-residents of the college). Under the supervision of the director of music, the choir and organ scholars provide music for regular services of

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

worship in the college chapel as well as a schedule of public concert performances and recordings for

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History

In 1934, the chaplain of the college, T. M. Robinson, with advice from the then organist of

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. ...

, A. E. Floyd, reorganised the college's existing Glee Club as a chapel choir. Among the choir's early conductors was the historian

A. G. L. Shaw Alan George Lewers Shaw (3 February 1916 – 5 April 2012) was an Australian historian and author of several text books and historiographies on Australian and Victorian history. He taught at the University of Melbourne and the University ...

, later to be dean of the college. Students and staff continued to provide music for services in the chapel — with the number and quality varying along with the interest or skill of those directing them — until the 1970s when the college determined that a professional director of music was to be appointed to give continuity and coherence to the musical program and also to maintain high standards through a system of auditions and scholarships. The first holder of this position was Peter Dennison, Professor of Music at Melbourne University, who began a new and continuing choir in 1976 and inaugurated the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. The choir have recorded for and given live broadcasts on BBC Radio 4, US Public Radio, ABC-FM and 3MBS-FM. They were invited to present a concert of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

cantatas during the "Bach 2000"

Melbourne International Arts Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

and also participated in the Melbourne Federation Festival in 2001. The choir have performed concerts for the Melbourne International Festival of Choirs and the Melbourne Autumn Music Festival as well as festivals in regional Australia (including the Port Fairy and Apollo Bay festivals) and overseas (including those in Ludlow, Lichfield and Cheltenham). At the

Llangollen International Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from arou ...

in 2001 the choir were placed fourth in the chamber choir division. They have also undertaken invited residencies at

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...

, and presented '' Daily Service'' on BBC Radio 4 on three separate occasions. In 2009, the choir were invited to participate in the Melbourne season of concerts by the

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) is an Australian period instrument orchestra specialising in the performance of baroque and classical music. Founders The orchestra's founder and artistic director is Paul Dyer. In 2013 Dyer was a ...

at the

Melbourne Recital Centre Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in Melbourne and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classi ...

. During university term, the choir sings full

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which beca ...

in the college chapel at 5:45 pm each Thursday evening and 5.00 pm each Sunday evening. The choir's service for All Saint's Day was broadcast nationally on

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on 26 October 2008 in the series ''Hymns of Glory''.ABC website

Discography

* ''O Clap Your Hands'' (Cherubic, 1998) after

Psalm 47 Psalm 47 is the 47th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O clap your hands". The Book of Psalms is the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly diff ...

* ''Rejoice: Sacred Choral Music through the Ages'' (ABC Classics 472 310-2, 2002) * ''My Spirit Sang All Day'' (Cherubic, 2004) * ''O Blessed Light: In Praise of the Holy Trinity'' (ABC Classics 476 294-2, 2004) * ''The Children's Hospitals Hush Collection: Volume 5'' (HUSH 005, 2005) * ''Abide with Me: A Treasury of Classic Hymns'' (ABC Classics 476 5682, 2006) * ''Southern Star: Music of Christopher Willcock and Benjamin Britten'' (ABC Classics 476 6349, 2007) * ''Mystical Songs: Choral Music of Vaughan Williams'' (ABC Classics 476 6906, 2008) * ''Choral Spectacular: The Greatest Choral Music of All Time'' - eight tracks by Trinity (ABC Classics, 3 CDs, 476 5706, 2009) * ''Angel Songs'' (ABC Classics 476 3769, 2010)

References

External links

Trinity College website
{{authority control Australian choirs University of Melbourne

Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Victori ...

Musical groups established in 1934 1934 establishments in Australia Music in Melbourne