Melbourne University Choral Society (MUCS) is a 120-voice choir in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia.The choir is affiliated with 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 no ...

, but is also open to non-students who are willing and able to perform to the choirs standards. MUCS is one of the founding choirs of the

Intervarsity Choral Festival (Australia) The Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival is an annual event in which members of university choirs from all state capitals of Australia and the national capital Canberra meet for two weeks to rehearse, socialise and perform combined conce ...

, although it has not been a member since 2012. It is also an affiliated member of the Australian National Choral Association.

History

MUCS was established in 1939 when the

male and female glee clubs merged. The first conductor of this new combined choir was Dan Hardy from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. This new mixed choir flourished under Hardy, and within a few years the choir had grown to more than 100 members. In 1945, the choir began to present radio performances of madrigals and Christmas carols. Dan Hardy eventually resigned in 1948. In the following eleven years the choir appointed a number of conductors, none of whom had the longevity of Hardy. In 1959 the choir would appoint George Logie-Smith as conductor. Logie-Smith envisioned a much more active and influential choir and as a result, MUCS began to perform larger works more regularly. Throughout the previous two decades MUCS had typically presented a single yearly concert of small and medium-sized works. However, in 1961, under the baton of Logie-Smith, MUCS gave three large concerts, including Handel's "Messiah" and Brahms's "A German Requiem". In the following years, MUCS performed Bach's

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

, Monteverdi's L’Orfeo, Orff's

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

, Purcell's

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

, and Beethoven's Mass in C major. In 1993 MUCS, appointed its current conductor,

Andrew Wailes Andrew Keith Wailes (born 7 September 1971) is an Australian conductor and music director. Winner of the Australasian International Choral Conducting Competition in Brisbane in 1999, he is the current artistic director and Chief Conductor of th ...

. Following this appointment MUCS established a strong working relationship with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, of which Wailes is also Musical Director and Conductor. The two choirs and orchestra regularly perform joint concerts. Recent such performances include Vaughan Williams'

A Sea Symphony ''A Sea Symphony'' is an hour-long work for soprano, baritone, chorus and large orchestra written by Ralph Vaughan Williams between 1903 and 1909. The first and longest of his nine symphonies, it was first performed at the Leeds Festival in ...

in 2016 and Orff's

in 2015

References

External links

* {{authority control Performing arts in Melbourne Australian choirs Musical groups established in 1939 Victoria (state) musical groups Music in Melbourne