UNSW's 100-voice choir known as the Collegium Musicum Choir was founded in 1975 by Professor Roger Covell and Dr Patricia Brown and has a long tradition of performing choral-orchestral works and Christmas programs at UNSW to a semi-professional standard. For the past two decades, choral director, Sonia Maddock has led the ensemble's annual program. The choir's membership includes undergraduate students from across the university, as well as postgraduates, staff and members of the community - all are welcome

As we near Term 2, we chatted with Sonia Maddock about what’s coming up for the Collegium Musicum Choir.

How do you approach the task of selecting the repertoire for CMC?

Each year I embark on the tricky jigsaw puzzle of balancing works new to our repertoire with those which we haven’t done for a while, that are of a standard appropriate to our choirs, are achievable, use manageable accompaniment and soloists, and are of interest to me, which includes works representing a breadth of composers. And above all, works which are quality examples of choral repertoire. There are some works which are real staples of the repertoire that are great experiences for choral singers and need to be in the mix every few years, works like the Requiems of Mozart and Faure, oratorios of Handel, and orchestral masses of Haydn. It’s a challenging conundrum but there is always an abundance of music to choose from, and there’s always next year! The choir was founded in 1975, so after 50 years, we have a lot of programming experience to draw on and a lot of new music to bring into the mix.

Can you share any exciting upcoming projects or pieces that the choir will be working on next term?

In term 2, the Collegium Musicum Choir will be taking on the ‘Theresa’ mass, the fourth of Haydn’s six grand symphonic masses, and one we haven’t done for 10 years. It offers the choir some great musical challenges, accompanied by classical orchestra including clarinets and trumpets, which is always an invigorating performance element. Working with professional musicians is a rare and special experience we give our choristers which creates lifelong memories of their time in UNSW’s choir. We will also be working on the Miserere of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach, and himself an accomplished harpsichordist and composer. Much of his music was lost in WWII, however the Miserere in C minor of 1770 survived, and alternates choir and soloists across 12 movements in a style which bridges the Baroque and Classical periods. It is a work we have not previously performed, and an excellent companion piece to the Haydn Theresienmesse.

For any students or community members that may be on the fence about joining CMC, why do you think they should register? 

The Collegium Musicum Choir is a prime example of community on campus at UNSW, bringing together students from every faculty with staff and community to create something greater than the individual experience. For many, it is the ‘other’ thing that they do to round out their studies or work, bringing the life into the work-life balance. It is often challenging, engaging the brain in a different and energising way. We find that many who have been through our choirs over the years retain those memories with fondness as a key attachment to UNSW. There is no harm in giving it a go, stepping out of your comfort zone, and being part of music-making in an inclusive and welcoming community.

What are you looking forward to most for CMC next term?

I am definitely looking forward to sharing Haydn’s Theresa mass (which is definitely my favourite Haydn mass) with a group of singers whom have never experienced it before – exploring extraordinary music for the first time is exciting and enlivening, and I really enjoy being the facilitator of that experience for our choral community. Beyond that, the JCF Bach Miserere is a work I have not done before, so I am looking forward to learning a new work and all its intricacies, to get it off the page and onto the stage to a public audience.

What do you hope choir members take away from their experience singing with you at UNSW?

I hope that members of the choir gain something very personal and special from their time in the Collegium Musicum Choir, something that they reflect on in years to come. Each singer will value it for different reasons - for the variety and quality of the music, for the community connection, for the opportunity to tackle problems in a different way, for having to be brave and do something challenging, the reward of accomplishment, and a complex combination of all of those things. I hope that it helps them engage with music throughout their lives as participants and audiences, and that it is a colourful patch in the fabric of their experience.