Rehearsals

Tuesday evenings from 7.15-9.15pm at the Cynthia Poulton Hall, St Peters Cathedral, 27 King William Road, North Adelaide. Additional rehearsals may be required prior to performances.

Membership

The Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus is one of South Australia's top auditioned choirs with over 60 members who are reauditioned every two to three years. The choir also has a program to develop choristers through to solo and ensemble singing.

Please Contact > the Vice President if you are interested in auditioning for the choir.

Music Director 

Aldis Sils

Aldis Sils has been Music Director of the Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus since 2007. He is a graduate of the Elder Conservatorium of the University of Adelaide where he received an Honours degree in Musicology. Aldis has sung with the State Opera of SA Chorus, Adelaide Chamber Singers and other choirs in Adelaide and overseas. He has taught at Marryatville High School’s Special Interest Music Centre for over 20 years and is currently Head of Music and Deputy Principal.

Aldis has led Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus in many choral concerts including: Puccini’s Messa de Gloria, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Stainer’s Crucifixion, Gounod’s Mass for St Cecilia and the Australian premières of Karl Jenkins’ Stella Natalis and James Mulholland’s Missa Romantica.

Other performances include the Rutter Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle and Australian premieres of Karl Jenkins' Stella Natalis and James Mulholland's Missa Romantica. On April 24, 2013 Aldis conducted the choir and a 40 piece orchestra in an Adelaide performance of Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace to a standing ovation.

Aldis has taken the choir on three international tours: in 2013 to New York to sing Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man in Carnegie Hall as part of a massed choir of 180; in 2014 to Kochi, Japan to perform with the Ino Mixed Chorus in the second Friendship Concert, the first being held in Elder Hall in 2011; and in 2018 to Bedford, UK to sing Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man with Bedford’s Eagle chorus and the Ino Mixed Chorus.

History

The Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus came into being in 1997 following a name change from The Adelaide Chorus.  The Adelaide Chorus was formed in 1980 after two prominent Adelaide choirs, the Adelaide Choral Society and the Adelaide Philharmonic Choir disbanded in 1979. The choir is committed to performing large scale choral works, singing a wide range of music from classical to contemporary works. Additionally, the choir promotes local talent by supporting new and established artists to perform as accompanists or soloists in its concerts

In December 2015, the choir was joined by soprano Greta Bradman for a performance of Handel’s Messiah in a sold out performance at St Peter’s Cathedral. Other established and emerging soloists who have performed with the choir include Robert Macfarlane (tenor), Joshua van Konkelenberg (organ), Louisa Perfect (soprano), Guila Tiver (mezzo soprano), Emma Borgas (soprano), Bethany Ide (mezzo soprano), Andrew Linn (tenor), Blake Parham (bass), Branko Lovrinov (tenor) and Lachlan Scott (bass).

With over 60 members, the choir performs three or four music events of its own each year, and receives contract employment with other performing organisations and festivals. It has collaborated with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Art Orchestra, the Band of the South Australian Police, the SA Army Band, the State Opera of South Australia, and the Australian Youth Orchestra. The choir has also performed at Carols by Candlelight at Elder Park.

In 2015 members of the choir travelled to Hobart for the annual Festival of Voices where they performed as an ensemble group, joined a massed choir of voices to sing in the Festival finale concert and participated in the Festival fire ceremony with German a cappella metal band Van Canto.

Other performance highlights include Faure Requiem with the Australian Ballet, the world premiere of Ross Edwards' Symphony No.4 "Star Chant" (released on CD by ABC Classics, and winning an award in 2007), Messiah  and Coronation Anthems with Handel specialist Graham Abbott, as well as several performances with legendary Australian actor and singer, the late Keith Michell.  

The Chorus also featured in the first three award winning Music on the Murray events at Waikerie. 

Previous Music Directors of the Chorus have been Jonathon Draper, Elizabeth Silsbury, Graham Abbott, Russell Larkin, Timothy Sexton and Timothy Marks.