ENSEMBLES 2015

Ascham Chamber Choir

Ascham School was founded in 1886 and is named after Roger Ascham, tutor to Queen Elizabeth I. The school overlooks Sydney Harbour and is located in Edgecliff, close to the CBD and coastal beaches, including Bondi Beach.

Ascham is a non-selective, non-denominational, day and boarding girls’ school with an enrollment of over 1100 students from Prep to Year 12. The school provides a strong academic program within a friendly, inclusive culture. Through its liberal arts curriculum, the Dalton Plan, and extensive co-curricular offerings, an Ascham girl is supported to develop into a confident, independent, compassionate young woman with a sense of purpose in the world. Ascham has a strong music tradition in choral, instrumental and classroom music. There are currently 13 choirs, 7 string ensembles, 5 bands, a symphony orchestra and many smaller instrumental ensembles and chamber groups who all perform regularly.

The Ascham Chamber Choir was established in 2012 as a way to offer the very dedicated and talented choristers within the school an opportunity to perform outside of the school environment. The choir is open to girls between the ages of 11 and 18 years (Years 6 to Year 12) by audition and offers a more in-depth and challenging choral experience. All members of Chamber Choir participate in the schools larger choral ensembles and positions for Chamber Choir are highly sought after. The ensemble performs regularly at school concerts and functions and represents the school at community events. Recently, the Choir has performed at Nursing Homes, Christmas Charity events and regularly participates in the Sydney Eisteddfod. In 2013, the choir toured to Melbourne to perform and participate in choral workshops with numerous schools. This will be the first overseas tour for the Ascham Chamber Choir. The tour will include performances in Salzburg, Prague and Vienna as well as many wonderful sight-seeing experiences for the group.

Catriona Turnbull

Conductor

Catriona Turnbull has taught classroom music, piano, and conducted many choirs at Ascham since 2001. She is passionate about choral music and the Kodaly approach to music education. In 2013 she took on the role of President of the NSW branch of the Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia and convened a highly successful National Conference for this organisation in 2014.

After completing a Bachelor of Music, studying piano with Max Olding and harpsichord with Huguette Brassine at the Queensland Conservatorium, Catriona moved to Sydney to pursue a Master of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium. Here she focused on her love of Early Music, studying fortepiano with Geoffrey Lancaster. During this time she began working for the Australian Youth Choir where she developed a strong interest in choral conducting. She has attended several Summer Schools run by the Australian Choral Conductors Education and Training organisation, studying with Graham Morton, Richard Gill and Rodney Eichenberger.

Catriona is inspired by the amount of high quality choral music being written by Australian composers, particularly for children’s choirs and is privileged to have been able to work with Paul Jarman on a number of commissions. She is pleased to be able to showcase some of these works with Ascham Chamber Choir on this tour, including a newly commissioned work by Sally Whitwell .

Competition Program

Additional Concerts Program