About the Choir
Director of Music: Michael Leighton Jones
the Choir of Trinity College has built a reputation
for its fine
singing of music of the Anglican Cathedral tradition, from the
Renaissance to the modern day. Its major weekly commitment is the
singing of Evensong, a wonderful Anglican service of praise and reflection through music, at 6.00pm in the College Chapel every
Sunday during term. the Choir records, broadcasts and tours regularly nationally and internationally.
The Director of Music is Michael Leighton Jones, a former member of the Choirs of King's College, Cambridge and Westminster Abbey. He brings a wealth of choral and solo singing expertise as well as teaching experience to the position.
Two Organ Scholarships and up to twenty-four Choral Scholarships are awarded each year, for which auditions are held in the first two weeks of December. Residence in College is desirable, but not a pre-requisite, for being a Choral Scholar.
the Choir has recorded for and given live broadcasts on BBC Radio 4, US Public Radio, ABC-FM and 3MBS-FM. It sang in Bach 2000 for the Melbourne Festival and also participated in the Melbourne Federation Festival in 2001. It has also performed concerts for the Melbourne International Festival of Choirs and Melbourne Autumn Music Festival, as well as festivals in Australia and overseas.
the Choir has also toured the United Kingdom (1998, 2001 & 2003), singing the Daily Service on BBC Radio, as well as lunchtime concerts and Evensongs in major cathedrals throughout England and in Oxford and Cambridge college chapels. A début tour of the USA (2004) – San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, New York, Boston and Quebec City – met with critical acclaim.
In 2005 the Choir was involved in two recording projects – one of folksongs and lullabies as part of the 'Hush' Collection for the Royal Children’s Hospital, and the other, of favourite hymns, for ABC Classics.
the Choir toured the East Coast of Australia in 2006 (Wangaratta, Canberra, Goulburn, Sydney, Buderim and Brisbane), sang at two state funerals in St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, recorded a program for the ABC 'Hymns of Glory' series (October), and performed on ABC-FM's 'Sunday Live' program (December).
the Choir's 2007 international tour was to Malaysia and Singapore, and in June/July 2008 it sang in New Zealand en route to the USA (Boston, Hyannisport, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC).
the Choir records regularly for ABC Classics, contributing at least one CD per year to the catalogue. Recent discs have included Southern Star - including Christopher Willcock's songs for choir and harp (Marshall McGuire) with texts by Michael Leunig, and Mystical Songs: The Choral Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams - featuring the 'Five Mystical Songs' in what is believed to be the first recording of the version for solo baritone, piano quintet and chorus. the Choir's next album for ABC Classics will appear in late 2009 - a miscellany of choral music inspired by angels.