On 6 August, a charity benefit concert commemorating the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be held in the presence of Dame Quentin Bryce. Under the co-direction of composer Alexander Voltz and organist Andrej Kouznetsov, the cathedral choirs of St John’s, Brisbane and St Andrew’s, Sydney will perform a program of Australian and British music alongside the John Coulton Brass ensemble. Voltz talks to Limelight about the concert, which features five premieres. 

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II © Crown Copyright 2013, Photographer: Sergeant Adrian Harlen

The concert program resembles that of a church service. Will it be conducted as such?

No, not at all, but I can see why you might think that. Works with titles such as We wait for thy loving kindness, O God are certainly suggestive of the liturgical, as is the venue of St John’s Cathedral. What Andrej and I wanted to do was present a real musical cross-section. In this, we have works that were performed at a variety of royal occasions, such as Her Majesty’s coronation (Zadok the Priest) and her wedding (We wait for thy loving kindness, O God). In...