Uncategorised Archives - Glen Eira City Choir

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28 September 2026

Celebrating 80 Years of the Glen Eira City Choir: The Eighth Decade (2016-2026)

The eighth decade has been an unusual one in the choir’s history. 70th Birthday celebrations,
which had begun in June 2016 with ‘The Music Lives On’ concert, concluded in December
with ‘Rejoice’, a programme of Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’, excerpts from Handel’s ‘Messiah’, and
Christmas carols. This concert opened with the audience and choir singing three carols
accompanied by Christopher Cook on the organ. The fourteen-piece chamber orchestra La
Fraternità di Solisti accompanied the choir in the Vivaldi and Handel. Artistic Director (and a
violinist) of La Fraternità, Gyula Cseszkó, had assumed, incorrectly, that he would be
conducting the entire performance. Jane, however, was firmly in control of all proceedings
and the orchestra had to adjust to a choral style of conducting…

Rear more about the eighth decade here.

28 September 2026

Celebrating 80 Years of the Glen Eira City Choir: The Seventh Decade (2006-2016)

The choir enjoyed a period of stability in its seventh decade under the expert eye and directorship of Jane Elton Brown, who had also at this time taken on the role of Music Director at MacRobertson Girls’ High School. Seventy-five choristers sang in the 60th Anniversary Concert at the Glen Eira Town Hall auditorium on July 9, 2006, performing eighteen separate items, the composers ranging from Thomas Morley, through Mozart, Sibelius, Carl Orff and César Franck, to John Rutter. Nine choir members sang solos. The concert was divided into three sections, each encompassing twenty-years of choir history and presented by John Dunham, Stuart Allen and Joanna Leslie in turn. The performance had opened with Parry’s ‘Jerusalem’ and finished with John Rutter’s arrangement of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’. It was followed by afternoon tea where choristers mingled with audience members….

Celebrating 80 Years of the Glen Eira City Choir: The Sixth Decade (1996-2006)

Caulfield City Choir Inc did not officially become Glen Eira City Choir Inc until July of 1996, and so the first concert to celebrate the choir’s 50th anniversary year, on the evening of June 3, was under the Caulfield name. This concert, titled ‘50 Golden Years’, was a collaboration with the South Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which was also celebrating fifty years of existence.

The choir’s contributions to the programme were Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria in D Major’, Schubert’s ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’, Brahms’ ‘O Schöne Nacht’, Fauré’s ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’, Verdi’s ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’, and Rutter’s ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ and ‘A Gaelic Blessing’. The orchestra opened the concert with Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ and performed Franz Schubert’s ‘Unfinished Symphony’, as well as accompanying the choir.

Guest soprano, Lisette Wesseling, sang two solos as well as taking the solo soprano role in the Vivaldi, alongside the alto soloist and new choir conductor, Jennifer Mathers.

December 2023

What a year! We farewelled choristers and welcomed new ones; performed three concerts – Haydn’s Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo and Rheinberger’s Stabat (Brighton and Bendigo), Birth of the Blues (Glen Eira Town Hall) and our Christmas Concert (St Andrew’s Brighton); enjoyed collaborating with Bendigo Chorale and Choral Studio Harmony Children’s Choir; and most importantly had fun! We look forward to resuming rehearsals in February 2024. We welcome new members. Please get in touch

25 October 2023

October 2023

Come and hear us at 2:30PM this Saturday 28 October at the Glen Eira City Auditorium, Caulfield MAP.

The program will included classics such as the Birth of the Blues, Sweet and Low, Rock’a my Soul, Home on the Range, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, Porgy and Bess medley, and I Got Rhythm.

Tickets: $25 for adults / children 15 and under free – available at the door or www.trybooking.com/CIMXO

Glen Eira City Choir- Birth of the Blues Concert Oct 2023 QR

8 August 2023

August 2023

Thanks to all who attended our Silent Movie fundraiser in mid-July. $400 was raised to assist with ongoing expenses of running the choir.

Rehearsals are underway for our Spring concert – Birth of the Blues – to be held on Saturday 28 October 2023 at 2:30PM at the Glen Eira City Auditorium, Caulfield MAP. We will once again be joined by the Choral Studio Harmony Children’s Choir.

The program will included classics such as the Birth of the Blues, Sweet and Low, Old Abram Brown, Rock’a my Soul, Home on the Range, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, Porgy and Bess medley, Gershwin in Love, and I Got Rhythm.

Want to join in the fun? – it is not too late to join the choir and sing in the Spring concert. Get in touch!

Tickets are now on sale: $25 for adults / children 15 and under free www.trybooking.com/CIMXO

18 June 2023

June 2023

What a wonderful first concert for 2023 was had at both St Andrew’s, Brighton and St Paul’s, Bendigo. With the coming together of two very compatible choirs whom blend so well vocally, conducted by Elena Varshavskaya supported beautifully by the soloists and organist, we put on a great concert … again! Thank you to all who attended and supported both choirs.

Monday 19 June starts our next rehearsal season, leading up to our Spring Concert on Saturday 28 October 2023 at the Glen Eira City Town Hall Auditorium . The music for this concert will feature excerpts from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and songs from around the world. The new rehearsal schedule has been distributed to choristers and is also available on the Choir Information page.

All are welcome to our annual fundraising Silent Movie Comedy Night to be held at 7 pm on Saturday 15 July 2023. This year the feature is Buster Keaton in The General. Ranked among the greatest American films ever made, The General was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The silent movie will be accompanied by renowned theatre organist David Johnston OAM on the Fincham pipe organ of Holy Trinity Balaclava and Elwood Anglican Church, 175 Chapel Street, St Kilda. Tickets are only $20 and are available now from www.trybooking.com/CINVH

16 May 2023

May 2023

Our May 27 concert is fast approaching – join us on Saturday 27 May at St Andrew’s Brighton where we will be joined by Bendgio Chorale. The program includes Haydn’s Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo; Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, No 2; Rutter’s Gaelic Blessing and Rheinberger’s Stabat Mater. Conductor: Elena Varsharvskaya – Organist: Hugh Fullarton – Soprano: Kate Amos.
Tickets are only $30 and are available from www.trybookingcom/1037440 OR at the door

And in other news… two of our choristers, Michael and Irene, have recently enjoyed rehearsing and performing Mozart’s Requiem in Carnegie Hall, New York with DCINY, a company that organises concerts with singers coming together from choirs around the world. Two more of our choristers, John and Kathy, will be travelling to New York later in the year to perform with DCINY in Handel’s Messiah.

24 April 2023

April 2023

Our website is up & running again. However, please keep viewing & sharing our Facebook page as a way of spreading our news.

We are in the final rehearsals for our 2 concerts on Saturday May 27 (St Andrew’s Brighton) & Sunday June 4 (St Paul’s, Bendigo). Tickets for the Brighton concert are available here.

Planning has started for our mid-year concert, as always lighter music. This time we will include music from Porgy & Bess & folk songs from around the world. Elena, our conductor’s children’s choir will join us again at the Glen Eira City Auditorium.

7 November 2022

November 2022

What a fantastic and successful Palette of Sound concert on Saturday 22 October at the Glen Eira City Auditorium

The following Monday, instead of rehearsal, we came together for a celebratory dinner at the East Bentleigh RSL. We particularly recognised four choir members who have not sung recently with us:
– Cathy Pearce (soprano), who passed away just over a year ago. Cathy had so much energy and ran our Christmas fundraising stall. Her husband Peter was also front of house for concerts
– Celia Nicholson (soprano) who had done much for the choir, and her husband, Max, for his work front of house
– Julie Denyer (alto) and her husband Tim, also front of house. Julie still assists the choir organising and buying the flowers for concerts
– Hazel Wilson (alto), our President for many years who we recognised with Life Membership of the choir her husband Max for his work front of house.

Rehearsals resume 7.30pm for 7.45pm on Monday 7 November in the Pioneer Chapel at St Andrew’s Anglican Church – entry from the car park 228 New St Brighton.