The choir is alive with the sound of music

The 400-strong Sydney Philharmonia Choir (SPC) and orchestra will bring the Opera House alive with the sound of music on May 11 and 12, as they perform highlights from the classic repertoire of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Amongst the massive choir is Kyle Buchanan, talented singer, pianist and openly gay cutie, who made his debut with the company only a few months ago with Handel’s Messiah.

“As soon as the first concert finished, I knew I had to be a permanent member of the choir, and after a successful audition at the start of 2012, I was accepted into the Symphony Chorus,” he told the Star Observer.

“One of the things I love about singing with the choir is the wide variety of music they perform. In the first half of this year alone I am singing works in English, German, French,
Germanic-Latin and Russian, and singing in Elvish in a performance of The Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers.”

But with tunes from camp classics like Oklahoma!, The Sound Of Music and South Pacific due for an airing at the Rodgers and Hammerstein concerts, Buchanan admitted he was particularly excited about the upcoming two-night stint.

“It certainly is a camp show, and we are all having a lot of fun rehearsing for it.

“I had always loved The Sound of Music as a kid — I’m not quite sure how my parents never worked it out! — but to be honest, until I started preparation for this concert, I had no idea just how many popular tunes and musicals Rodgers and Hammerstein had written.”

Buchanan nominated You’ll Never Walk Alone, from the 1945 musical Carousel, as his favourite song to perform — but joked he also had a soft spot for Keep It Gay, a song from the lesser-known 1953 musical Me and Juliet.

With a choir of 400 members performing each song from memory, he said the rehearsal process had been getting more and more exciting as time wore on and the diverse voices fell into line.

“The concert features members from the Festival Chorus, the non-auditioned choir of the SPC group, who have been in rehearsals for the past month. The Symphony Chorus joined the Festival
Chorus for our first combined rehearsal just last week and it was an amazing sound. This program is certainly keeping me out of trouble.”

INFO: My Favourite Things: An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sydney Opera House, May 10 and 12. www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au