Upcoming
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Penelope
25 + 26 October, Abbotsford Convent 8 November, Wesley of Warragul Presented by Alta Collective, with guest children's choirs Young Voices of Melbourne, Yarra Voices and Melbourne Youth Chorale “Home is where I’m going, but never coming” Penelope, by composer Sarah Kirkland Snider and playwright Ellen McLaughlin, fuses Greek myth, contemporary poetry, and a sound world spanning classical, folk and indie-rock. In this world-first choral arrangement by Juliana Kay, the work gains new theatricality, depth and power through the voices of Alta Collective, guest children’s choirs, and chamber ensemble. Music director, arranger and co-producer: Juliana Kay |
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Past
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Commission: Birds, Horses and Midnight Blues
Premiered 23 August, 2025 Geelong Library and Heritage Centre Ensemble NORTH, a group of senior choristers from NORTH Children’s Choir, brings the wonder of books to life through music in a special project with composer Juliana Kay. Through games, vocal improvisation, and collaborative composition, the young singers explore storytelling in a whole new way - turning words into melodies and imagination into song. Two brand-new pieces: Making Time and Paper Flowers Words and music by Juliana Kay, inspired by the singers of Ensemble NORTH |
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Celebration!
Sunday 8 December 2024, Melbourne Recital Centre Presented by Young Voices of Melbourne and Exaudi Under Mark O’Leary’s guidance, Young Voices of Melbourne has become one of Australia’s premier choral programs for young singers, celebrated for its passionate performances, diverse repertoire, and exceptional Kodály-based music education. Mark has taken the choir on over 40 tours across every state and territory in Australia, as well as to 17 countries worldwide. He has produced 12 CD recordings, performed at countless events, and ignited a love of choral music in hundreds of young singers. Celebrate the beauty of choral music, the talent of wonderful young singers, the emergence of new choral leaders, and Mark’s remarkable contributions to the world of choral music over the past 35 years. From 2025, Juliana will replace Mark as Director of Young Voices of Melbourne |
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2024 Commissions
Loreto Toorak - "One Hundred Years" for massed choir, piano and string quartet. Words inspired by workshops with students. Commissioned as part of the school's 2024 Centenary Celebrations. Premiere: Tue 6 August, Hamer Hall Brighton Grammar School, Borwick House Choir - "Bird to Bird" for treble choir and piano. An adaptation of the picture book Bird to Bird by Claire Saxby. Premiere: Tue 20 August, St Andrews Church, Brighton Camberwell Grammar School, Junior School choir - "Dear Editor" for treble voices, piano, electric bass and snare drum. Words inspired from and drawn from the school's archival material. Premiere: Mon 9 September, Hamer Hall St Kevin's College, Glendalough Choir - "Deep Blue Heart" for treble choir and piano. Inspired by the life and words of Sylvia Earle, oceanographer, explorer and ocean advocate. Premiere: Thu 15 August, Hamer Hall National Kodaly Conference - "Anchored by a Heart" for SSAB choir and guzheng. Words by Eileen Chong. Written in collaboration with Angela Tang, guzheng. Premiere: Wed 25 September, Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School. |
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Compassion: Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra + Choral Edge
Sunday 5 May 2024, Kensington Town Hall Presented by Choral Edge and Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra Compassion: Symphony of Songs was originally composed by Nigel Westlake and Lior for tenor soloist and orchestra, and has only ever been sung in concert by Lior. VYSO and Choral Edge are now bringing this powerful work to Melbourne audiences, to be heard for the first time with choir and youth orchestra. Revoiced for mixed choir by Juliana Kay |
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When the earth stands still
Saturday 11 November 2023, 7pm, The Oratory: Abbotsford Convent Presented by Alta Collective Premiere: Earth-Shaped Hearts Supported by the ABC Classic 2022 Composer Commissioning Fund The centrepiece of this concert is the world premiere of song cycle "Earth-Shaped Hearts", by Juliana Kay with Bridget Bourne (percussion), commissioned by the ABC Classic Commissioning Fund 2022. "Earth-Shaped Hearts" draws a thread from the minutiae of everyday life to the incomprehensibly vast geological timescales of our planet. The texts are drawn from several works by acclaimed Tasmanian poet Kristen Lang, whose words remind us how to be human on an ancient planet. |
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Shrewd Awakenings
Saturday 14 October 2023, Brighton Town Hall Innovative chamber ensembles Choral Edge and WHACKollective combine forces in a dazzling interplay of voice and percussion. "Shrewd Awakenings" dances around themes of enlightenment, consciousness, life and death, and the eruption of dormant ideas. Working with a vast palette of vocal and instrumental tone colours, the two ensembles conjure up a technicolour world and mind-state that screams AWAKE! Directed by Juliana Kay Produced by Choral Edge Featuring WHACKollective |
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On This Earth We Dance
Sunday 20 November 2022, 4pm, St Ambrose Hall Brunswick Presented by the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra Premiere: Henhouse by Juliana Kay Pairing the music of dance from across cultures and time with new compositions that embody the spirit and climate of our time, in this program we trace the music of dance from the polka, to Czech and Irish folk music, to ballet and Broadway. Celebrate the rich expression of our human experience, with a showcase of four new works by Melbourne composers, commissioned by VYSO and made possible with the City of Melbourne Triennial Arts grant. |
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Minimal
Saturday 5 November 2022, 8pm, Tempo Rubato Presented by Alta Collective and Tempo Rubato Premiere: Bush Chant I by Juliana Kay PART 4 of the MINIMAL concert series. Celebrating 50 years of Minimalism in music. Curated by Renee Heron and Alta Collective Music of Phillip Glass, Elena Kats-Chernin, Nico Muhly, Meredith Monk and more… |
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Melbourne Fringe Festival 2022 : Private Parts
A choral / comedy collaboration with Choral Edge and Pink Flappy Bits October 15 - 23 Created by: Juliana Kay, Tara Dowler and Lou Mapleston Pink Flappy Bits and Choral Edge invite you to witness an hour of musical comedy unlike anything you’ll see this Fringe. PRIVATE PARTS is a new collaboration featuring a bold and satisfying blend of traditional choral music and raucous feminist cabaret (with a dash of choralography thrown in for good measure). ...Dowler provided acoustic guitar backing, and her voice combined well with Mapleston’s. Having the choir in the mix gave more colours to play with, and these were blended expertly by Musical Director Juliana Kay... Choral Edge certainly threw themselves into their role in this “raucous feminist cabaret” (an apt description), vigorously participating in the promised “choralography” for good comedic effect. - Jason Whyte, Australian Arts Review |
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Premiere: Mass for Tiny Voices
Sunday June 5, 2022, Collingwood Town Hall Music and concept by Juliana Kay, piano accompaniment by Tim Mallis Presented The Yarra Voices and Choral Edge Mass for Tiny Voices elevates the words, voices and wisdom of children in a playful take on the traditional Latin mass. Quotes from anonymous children, sourced from the popular "Live from Snacktime" Twitter feed, are paired in contrasting and complementary ways with the five movements of the traditional mass text. From the repentance of the Kyrie (Lord have mercy/”I have ten friends but I hate one of them”) to the message of peace in the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God/”Hold my hand. Much better”), Mass for Tiny Voices highlights the elements of human emotional experience that transcend time, age and creed. |
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The Human Voice
4 - 13 March 2021, Meat Market Stables Presented Periscope Productions and Choral Edge Director: Benjamin Sheen Musical director: Juliana Kay Original compositions by Juliana Kay and David Keeffe A sextuple bill of new works from six of Australia's most exciting young playwrights and a choir! A showcase of humanity’s strangest phone-based quirks: connection to strangers when a wrong number is dialed, the awkwardness of phone-sex, and the imperfect possibilities of true connection via the phone. From the ritual of the family phone call to the uncertain menace of surveillance and privacy, THE HUMAN VOICE is a unique theatrical collaboration that will change the way you think about your phone. |
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I(solace)ion - 360° Virtual Choir Video
Released 4 May 2020 Music and words by Juliana Kay and the members of Exaudi youth choir Mix and video production: Kade Neale Presented by Exaudi When Exaudi was forced to move rehearsals online, we responded by writing and recording a piece about our experiences in isolation. Choir members contributed text and musical ideas via the Zoom chat box and break out rooms, and assistant conductor Juliana Kay compiled their ideas into this piece. |
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"1 + 1 = 3" Choral Edge with Tim Mallis
15 March 2020, Tempo Rubato Presented by Choral Edge, directed by Juliana Kay “1+1=3” is a concert experience that is more than the sum of its parts. Combining the talents of pianist Tim Mallis and innovative chamber choir Choral Edge, “1+1=3” brings piano and choir together as equals in a dynamic mix of the old and the new. Hear Debussy and Rachmaninoff alongside Whitwell and Shank, and find out what happens when worlds collide and music becomes more than just music. |
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Festival de Flautas de Peñalolén
(Flute Festival of Peñalolén, Santiago, Chile) Produced by Centro Cultural Chimkowe and The Global Leaders Program 13 - 17 January, 2020 The Peñalolén Flute Festival offers some 50 flute students from the Santiago metropolitan region the opportunity to extend their skills with a group of international artists from The Global Leaders Program, experts in working for social change through music and artistic excellence. The event takes a collaborative and innovative approach to topics in flute study including solo and orchestral repertoire, technique for beginners to advanced students, flute ensemble and fun musical activities. The festival also welcomes special guest Juliana Kay, singer and choral director from The Global Leaders Program, who will run pedagogical, technical and artistic workshops for flute students through choral music. |
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#Millennials
26 October 2019, Skydeck @ The Space, South Yarra Presented by by Choral Edge, directed by Juliana Kay Premiere: "We Will Go No More" by Juliana Kay You’ve seen the headlines: Millennials Don’t Want Jobs! Millennials Can’t Read Clocks! Millennials Are Killing Disney! Millennials Are Ruining Golf! You won’t believe what they’re doing to choral music! #Millennials is a feast of choral music by millennial composers (born between 1980 and 2000), local and global, served over brunch at the deluxe Skydeck on Chapel Street. Discover what our young artists are up to and decide for yourself: is this indeed the “lost generation”? |
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"Picture Book" Tour: Ireland and Scotland
Presented by Malcolm Dalglish and Exaudi Conducted by Mark O'Leary and Juliana Kay 1 - 12 July, 2019 Synopsis: Picture Book is a collection of vocal music that reimagines traditional Scots-Irish roots through works of contemporary American composer Malcolm Dalglish in collaboration with celebrated Australian choir director Mark O’Leary. Picture Book pulls us into the awe of the natural world with mythical creatures, birds, trees, and wild things. Expect settings of old time American fiddle tunes, Kentucky writer Wendell Berry’s nature poetry, and instructional hip-hopperettas on the making of pie or an over-the-top peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Picture Book is a boldly optimistic feast of song with soaring melodies, transcendent harmonies, imaginative vocalese and plenty of fun. Destinations: Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Broadford, Portnalong, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Belfast, Galway, Kill |
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Play Me A Poem // Fun Yener Zayt Lid
3 March, 2019, National Theatre St Kilda Produced by Kadimah Includes two original pieces by Juliana Kay, performed by Choral Edge Synopsis: World-renowned Australian musicians including Deborah Conway, Paul Grabowsky and Lior will spearhead the world premiere of Kadimah’s latest sizzling show. Yiddish poetry will be brought to life in new original songs penned by a stunning line-up of songwriters, including Willy Zygier, Josh Abrahams, Simon Starr, Adam Starr, Tomi Kalinski, Jess Cornish and Juliana Kay. For one night only, these incredible stars will come together for an absolutely unmissable show, with traditional and modern Yiddish verse transformed by contemporary music genres such as rock, funk, pop, reggae, electronic, folk and more. Co-directed by Galit Klas and Evelyn Krape, the show will be in Yiddish and English with English surtitles. |
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Stories from the Choir: Melbourne Fringe Festival
15-29 September, 2018, Lithuanian Club, North Melbourne Creative Director: Juliana Kay. Performed by Choral Edge Presented at the Melbourne Fringe Festival Synopsis: What does it mean to be in choir? Why is it so hard to find a good tenor? What really goes on in the back row? What happens when you let a choir loose in a theatre? Part theatre, part journalism, part concert, Stories from the Choir presents the human narratives behind one of the world’s oldest forms of music-making. Interviews collected from choristers around Australia are staged and set to a live choral soundtrack in a touching production that speaks larger truths about community and connection in the modern world. Nominated for Melbourne Fringe Festival Best in Category: Music 5 stars: "Led by the ethereal conducting of Juliana Kay, the choir weaves their way through a range of choral styles, nearly all of which is a cappella and without a starting note. The singing is, in one word, perfection." - You Should See It - Melbourne, 2018 |
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CD Recording: With Waiting Breath
2018 Performed by Exaudi Conducted by Mark O'Leary and Juliana Kay Includes Songs No Longer Sung, by Juliana Kay Distributed by Young Voices of Melbourne |
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