Austinato June 2021

Excitement was in the air as the ABCI Performing Squad arrived for the 2021 January Summer Music School. The YMCA’s Lake Dewar Lodge, in the rolling hills west of Melbourne, was the perfect location for this much anticipated reunion.

A new initiative for the Australian Boys Choral Institute launched proudly in the Choir’s 80th anniversary year, 2019. Welcoming pre-school aged girls and boys to its ranks as part of an Early Learners’ Program had never been done before but now, nearly two years on, the benefits have been obvious.

Alexander Rakogiannis is the first to admit being part of the Australian Boys Choir has changed his life. Auditioning in 2016, after seeing a video of the Performing Squad at his school, he says that he was mesmerised by the sound.

It had been 466 long days since the Australian Boys Choral Institute’s last concert. While arts’ venues have remained silent, days have been filled singing online, singing about the house, and even singing in the shower.

What’s it like to be part of the Australian Boys Choral Institute? Owen, a 10-year-old Junior Singer, smiles when asked what he most enjoys about being in the ABCI. “I like the sound of singing in a big group,” he says. “I’m part of a bigger sound, and it makes me feel happy.”

As a small boy, Raphael Wong would attend church with his parents, observing his father in the band and his mother singing in the choir. This early exposure ensured that, when the ABCI visited Raphael’s school in 1997, he was one of the first to offer up his fledgling vocal stylings.

Zac Hamilton-Russell is the ABCI’s newest tutor. Starting with the Choir in early 2020, year of the pandemic, Zac’s first ABCI experience was online. Now he is out from behind a screen and focused on his favourite aspect of tutoring: helping boys become more comfortable with, and confident in their voices.

Louise Phillips played several roles at the Australian Boys Choir: mother to singers Chris and Joel, Camp Leader on numerous Summer Music Schools, official archivist and touchpoint for Old Boys and Alumni, volunteer office administrator, Project Leader for the 70th and 75th Anniversary Celebrations, and finally General Manager in her only paid position at the ABCI. There was not much that happened around Choir House without Louise’s knowledge and input.