Scotch College

Old Boys Choral Achievements

Whilst the numbers of boys involved in Scotch's choral program continue to grow annually, until now there has not been any formal group to cater for the needs of skilled choral singers when they have moved on from their time at Scotch.

Concordis is a group of 32 young men and women aged 18-24, who have been singing together for almost five years. The group was formed by a small but dedicated of school leavers in 1998 and has gradually grown into the accomplished group of singers that it is now. As with most groups, members have come and gone over the years as situations change, but Concordis has steadily grown to its now ideal size of 32.

Traditionally choirs tend to find it harder to attract male members more than female, however Concordis is one of the very few mixed choirs in Australia to have more men than women (although only just!). This is due mostly to the fact that all gentlemen new to the choir since 1999 have been old Scotch Collegians who have wanted to continue their singing careers after leaving school. They have also brought with them (in the best Scotch tradition!) several past students from schools such as PLC, CAGGS and St Catherines, whom they met during school choir collaborations, to create a balanced and highly talented group of young singers.

Whilst Concordis perform an extensive repertoire of music, ranging from Renaissance choral works, to spirituals, popular standards and folk songs, the choir has a particular focus on performing music by Australian composers. The group specialises in a cappella singing and regularly performs works in 8 or more parts.

The choir has had remarkable success at choral competitions over the last three years, winning open choral sections annually at all major Victorian eisteddfods. The most recent achievement has been their travel to Sydney in July to give a concert in North Sydney, and compete in one of the world's largest eisteddfods, the McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge (Formerly City of Sydney Eisteddfod), Award for Open Choirs. It was their first time participating in this competition and so it was a great surprise to find that they were selected as one of only four choirs, against 15 others, representing universities, performing arts organisations and other adult community groups, to appear in the finals on the following weekend in the Sydney Town Hall. This performance was a highlight for all members and they were very proud to be awarded third place against the best choirs of their kind in Australia!

Concordis is proud to be one of the first musical groups to become officially affiliated with OSCA. The choir is presently saving up to put together its first CD and would welcome any assistance in funding this project!

Andrew Hunter
Head of Choral Music, Scotch College & Director of Concordis

Old Boys in Concordis are: Adam Braithwaite (00), Nicholas Buc (99), Benjamin Burton (99), Alexander Davie (01), Andrew Moffat (02), Gareth Roberts (02), Julian Sheriff (01), Emil Stojanovski (99), Igor Stojanovski (99) and James Worladge (00).