FATHER & SON: SID & SUYASH
2 October 2025
PERFORMING SQUAD SINGERS JEREMY & ALEXANDER
2 October 2025MOTHER / SON INTERVIEW: PARENT CASS & CAMBIATA SINGER MAX
Photo by Pat Charles
Cass and her Cambiata son Max are members of the Australian Boys Choir community. In this interview, they share some perspectives on their time so far with the Australian Boys Choral Institute and talk a little but about the Choir journey. Please see www.australianboyschoir.com.au/whats-on for more about the ABCI.
Max, when did you join the ABCI?
I joined the ABCI in 2019, when I was nine years old.
What do you enjoy most about coming to Choir?
I enjoy singing in a big group and hearing the amazing sound that we are able to create, through years of refining our voices. I especially love singing in massed performances.
What have been some favourite pieces you have performed with the ABCI?
Pemulwuy by Paul Jarman, The Invention of Printing by Bob Chilcott Britten and Sing! by David Willcocks.
Can you tell us a bit about your hobbies and activities outside singing?
Outside of choir I enjoy running, and it takes up most of my life with training 7 times a week, and strength training alongside this. I also love swimming, basketball, reading, riding my bike and playing guitar.
What are the older boys like outside rehearsals?
The older boys are fun to be around outside choir rehearsals. I really get to know them through our Summer Camp experience each year and have come to see them as people that can have a laugh but that can be serious when it is needed, and who are very confident and mature.
Lastly, what advice do you have for boys hoping to make it to the rank of Senior Singer?
For boys aiming to become Senior Singers, I would tell them that a little bit of practise goes a long way. By putting in 5 or 10 minutes a few times a week, you’ll be flying through your skills. And definitely come to every tutorial prepared for the skill you’re about to do.
Cass, how did your family come to be part of the ABCI?
I was looking for an activity that would play to Max’s strength and interest in music and I remembered a family friend highly recommended the ABCI. Later, I realised that the National Boys Choir was much closer to our house and would’ve been easier logistically, but we were already very happy with the ABCI and didn’t consider changing.
How have you found Choir to be different from school?
Our primary school didn’t offer the kind of music program where students learned to read music. Max has learned almost everything he knows about music outside of school. He began piano lessons the year before the Choir and added the guitar once he began high school. The singers who progress through the ABCI levels are more focused and dedicated than most students in school music classes so the learning path is dynamic and motivating.
Does your family have a musical background?
My husband is musical and sings well but has never learned formally. My mother felt sad that music lessons were only offered to her brother and was determined that all her four children had the opportunity. I sang in choirs and played in orchestras and one of my brothers and I completed VCE Group Performance in jazz bands. In the last few years I rejoined a choir, Hummingsong, and am so happy to be back singing in a group.
What have been the most beneficial aspects of persuing an ABCI education in your view?
I think that an ABCI education has offered Max an avenue to meet like-minded people who enjoy music and are willing to work hard together to create quality sound and performances. The camps have provided a great opportunity for Max to gain independence.
What’s been the most memorable Institute concert you have experienced so far and why?
It’s hard to choose as each concert is special and memorable in its own way. The Christmas concerts are very hard to beat, especially as the audience is invited to join in! If pressed to choose, I feel like ‘Songs for the Open Road’ in the Deakin Edge Theatre at Federation Square would be my favourite. It was a very special venue with a beautiful, light outlook and every singer could be seen clearly.
What advice would you give to new families, or those looking to join the Choir?
Give it a go. It’s a great community and provides such a valuable learning experience for the boys who join.
You can watch the changed voices of the ABCI in an excerpt from ABCI staffer Tim Mallis' arrangement of the traditional carol 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'. Recorded live at Melbourne Recital Centre in December 2023.