Concert #3
Luminescence Chamber Singers
Luminescence Chamber Singers is a vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal and Nambri country [Canberra, Australia]. Luminescence gives voice to human experiences of all kinds, and performs a wide range of repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century. We frequently premiere new music by Australian composers, including composers within our own ranks. Luminescence is also the umbrella organisation for the Luminescence Children's Choir.
Since 2015, Luminescence has performed extensively in Canberra and the surrounding regions, presenting an annual concert program as well as appearing for a range of festivals, collaborations and special events. Highlights have included performances at the High Court of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, and Parliament House, as well as appearances for the Performing the Jewish Archives Festival (Sydney, 2017) Enlighten Festival (2018), Four Winds Festival (Bermagui, 2019; 2020).
Image© Hilary Wardhaugh - Luminescence with Roland Peelman
For further info visit:
www.luminescence.org.au
Since 2017, Luminescence has appeared annually at the Canberra International Music Festival, performing in over 10 festival programs including the world premiere performance of the 2017 Opening Gala Betty Beaver commission, alongside William Barton and Clive Birch. Festival appearances have included collaborations with Ensemble Offspring, the Song Company, and Bach Akademie Australia. In 2018, Luminescence Chamber Singers joined Amelia Farrugia and Tamara Anna Cislowska in DIVA! at the City Recital Hall (Sydney) as well as at the National Gallery of Australia for the Flowers of War production, ‘The Lost Jewels’. In 2020, Luminescence joined forces with the Canberra International Music Festival to present 'A Luminous Christmas' - three days of music for the festive season, including new arrangements of well-known carols and Britten's Ceremony of Carols.
In 2021, Luminescence Chamber Singers' engagements have included performances of David Lang's Little Match Girl Passion, Gordon Hamilton's Mozart Recomposed, and salon concerts for Musica Viva. Luminescence Children's Choir appeared at multiple performances of the National Gallery of Australia's Every Heart Sings project performing the world premiere of Jess Green's 'We Are The Skywhales', as well as in the Flowers of War premier of Vietnam Requiem.
Image © Hilary Wardhaugh
AJ America
Artistic Director / Mezzo Soprano
AJ is a performer, conductor and creative producer. She is the Artistic Director and founder of Luminescence Chamber Singers and Children's Choir, and currently serves as Deputy Chair of the Minister’s Creative Council.
AJ grew up in Sydney as a member of the Sydney Children’s Choir and Gondwana Voices and has toured nationally as well as across the USA, Canada, China and New Zealand. She has recorded for a number of Australian film soundtracks, including as a soloist for PJ Hogan’s Mental and Baz Luhrman’s Australia. AJ performs regularly as a soloist and a consort singer in Sydney and Canberra, appearing with the Luminescence Chamber Singers, the Choir of St James’ King St, Cantillation, Pinchgut Opera and Vox Plexus (Melbourne).
She is a regular collaborator with pianist Ella Luhtasaari and guitarist Minh Le Hoang, and a member of Ampleya, a multimedia collaboration with pianist and composer Rasa Daukis and visual artist Genevieve Swifte.
In recent years, AJ has also served as the Musical Director of Canberra Community Chorale, the ANU School of Music H-Course Vocal Ensemble, and Director of Choirs at Radford College. In her spare time, AJ is a casual academic with strong ties to the Australian National University. In 2017, AJ completed her PhB with Honours in History. She has taught 20th Century European History at the ANU, is a contributor to the recently published Cambridge University Press NSW Year 9-10 History Textbook, and has worked as a research assistant for a number of pre-eminent historians and social scientists, including Rosanne Kennedy and Joy Damousi.
Veronica Milroy - Soprano / Pianist
An experienced consort singer, Veronica performs with Luminescence Chamber Singers, Coro, and the Choir of St James’ King Street. Veronica has toured both nationally and internationally across the UK & Europe, the USA, and New Zealand.
Veronica has been an educator for over a decade and has worked as a singing tutor, accompanist and director with many organisations across Canberra & Central Western NSW, as well as the Rhapsody Rotorua Festival (New Zealand).
She is currently the Associate Artistic Director of the Luminescence Children’s Choir, and teaches privately from her studio in Canberra.
Image © Hilary Wardhaugh
Image © Hilary Wardhaugh
Rachel Mink - Soprano
Rachel Mink, soprano, is a versatile artist interested in music that inspires connection. A singer-songwriter turned opera singer, Rachel enjoys genre-bending work and is committed to accessibility in classical music.
Rachel joined Luminescence Chamber Singers in 2021. In addition to performing with Luminescence, Rachel is a 2021 Pacific Opera Young Artist, and a chorus member of Victorian Opera.
Her 2021 engagements include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Marzelline in Fidelio, Despina in Cosí fan tutte, and Spirit in Gustav Holst's Savitri. In June, she was a soloist for Flowers of War's Vietnam Requiem in Canberra, where she premiered a new work by Elena Katz-Chernin. Last season, Rachel sang the role of Émilie in Peabody's “Now Hear This” presentation of Kaija Saariaho's Émilie. Highlights of her previous operatic credits include Colin in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s opera Le Devin du Village, Belinda and the First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and Zirphile (cover) in the American premiere of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Sympathy with Victory Hall Opera. As an active opera chorus member with Charlottesville Opera, she performed in La Traviata and Amahl and the Night Visitors.
In concert, Rachel has performed as a soloist with the University of Virginia University Singers, University Chamber Singers, and Oratorio Society of Virginia. In February 2020, Rachel had the distinct pleasure of premiering two new vocal works in concert: the song cycle “Breach” by B.K. Zervigon for piano and voice and “The Moon” by Aaron Mencher for voice and string quartet.
In masterclasses, Rachel has had the honor of working with Renée Fleming, Karita Mattila, Danielle Talamantes, and Rachelle Fleming. Rachel is a multi-year finalist in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competitions in the state of Virginia; in 2018, she won her division.
Originally hailing from the USA, Rachel is a dual master’s candidate in Vocal Performance and Musicology at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland studying in the studio of Ah Young Hong. She earned her BA from the University of Virginia with a double major in music and arts administration, where she studied with Pamela Beasley. While an undergraduate, Rachel studied vocal performance in Vienna, Austria and Florence, Italy, and was an active member of many ensembles, including the University Singers and Hoos in Treble, an all-female a cappella group. In addition to performance, she has worked as an arts administrator for Charlottesville Opera, Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Delaware Arts Alliance, Salon Schräg, and the UVA Architecture School.
Outside of classical music, Rachel is a certified yoga teacher and avid library-goer. In her spare time, she works as a fundraising professional for the Boulanger Initiative, a non-profit committed to promoting music composed by women.
Dan Walker – Tenor
Composer, conductor and performer Dan Walker is one of Australia’s most in-demand choral specialists. He has had works commissioned by the Sydney Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Gondwana Choirs and Halcyon.
As a performer, Dan is a member of numerous professional vocal ensembles, including Luminescence Chamber Singers, The Consort of Melbourne, Cantillation, Pinchgut Opera, and the Song Company. He was a founding member of early music ensemble ‘The Parson’s Affayre’.
He is a keenly sought-after conductor, appearing as chorus-master for Canberra Choral Society, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Choruses, and is Artistic Director of Oriana Chorale, as well as Canberra Community Chorale.
Image © Hilary Wardhaugh
Alasdair Stretch – Bass
Alasdair grew up immersed in the choral world, and his love for music started as a chorister at eight. Drawing from a wealth of experience from various corners of the musical world, including opera, vocal ensembles, oratorio and choirs, Alasdair is a sought-after choral director.
He is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, where he directs a professional quartet as Associate Director of Music at St John's, Camberwell. He also has a regular international and national touring schedule, including USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, UK and Spain.
Recent engagements include concerts and services at St Paul's Cathedral, London; St Giles' Cathedral Edinburgh; St Martin in the Fields, London; St John the Divine Cathedral, New York; St Thomas' Church 5th Avenue, New York; Trinity Church, Boston; St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and St John the Divine Cathedral, Brisbane.
His concert engagements include solo work with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Genesis Baroque, Opera Scholars Australia, the Australian Festival Orchestra and as a member of Vocalis, an operatic duet specialising in reimagining opera for today's busy world.
Image © Keith Saunders
Hayden Barrington - Tenor
After honing his skills at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Hayden discovered his love for consort singing, oratorios, and music education. He has worked with renowned musical groups such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Brandenburg Choir and is a proud member of The Song Company.
As a soloist, Hayden has performed across Greater Sydney and Canberra in numerous oratorios. In addition to his performance accomplishments, Hayden is also a voice teacher and has inspired countless musicians through his work as a community choral director over the past eight years.
Currently residing in Wollongong, he has taken on a new challenge as the Choral Director of the WollCon Chamber Choir at the Wollongong Conservatorium, where he will bring his passion and expertise to establish a new era of choral excellence.
Image © Keith Saunders