It’s quite the coincidence that MSO Chorus Director Warren Trevelyan Jones and the Chorus itself are both turning 60 later this year. MSO audiences are in for a treat, with some lavish choral pieces planned as the icing on the cake.
“We have two celebratory performances in the diary. One is Mozart’s Great Mass, planned for September. The C Minor Mass is one of the great choral works, following in the tradition of Handel and Bach, and it sees Mozart combine church music and opera in a very grand style. It's large in terms of the orchestral and choral forces, and it lasts much longer than the church constraints would allow for a mass setting on a Sunday morning.”
“The Mass also has acquired a mystique because it's an unfinished piece, rather like Mozart’s ‘Requiem’. This intrigue has inspired editors to tidy it up and complete it. It’s an iconic piece that we haven't done in a long time,” muses Trevelyan-Jones.
“The other performance is on October 10th, around the time of the Chorus's 60th. I'll be directing this one in Iwaki - it’s very much a chorus-focused concert featuring Gabriel Jackson's To the Field of Stars, which the Chorus co-commissioned some years back. We have lots to look forward to!”
The MSO Chorus remains hugely popular, even after six decades, with its 190 members from all walks of Melbourne life.
“That's what makes it very special. If you selected 200 people off the street, you get a wide variety of people. We have that shown across the age ranges, with singers from age 18 up to 80 and a very even mix across those ages, all from different cultural backgrounds and with difficult musical experiences. Some have never had a singing lesson, some are trained singers and everything in between. This all makes it so rich, culturally speaking,” he notes.
“Melbourne has an extraordinary community-driven cultural scene. There are many community choirs, amateur choirs and singers, with the MSO Chorus representing the very top end of that. It offers the opportunity to work with not only one of the world's great orchestras, but top conductors and star soloists, with a wide-ranging repertoire and offering a lot of performance opportunities - it’s quite extraordinary.”
Trevelyan-Jones finds his role as Chorus Director continually enriching.
“I have a great job to do – I have to inspire and educate the Chorus members, and to make it enjoyable. They are making music at the highest professional level, but they're not professional singers. Being part of the Chorus is a unique opportunity to do something at the very highest level,” he says.
“It is so rewarding because all Chorus members are amateur - they really want to be there. They all put in an enormous investment in terms of time and commitment to attend rehearsals and learning the music, and inevitably make many sacrifices to be there. Their commitment is extraordinary and that should be acknowledged and appreciated.”
