The Australian Chamber Choir invites audiences in Australia and Europe to journey through time in a concert that marries choral works with voyages in search of Terra Australis, the fabled Great Southern Land, linking music and events year by year. The program features music by European composers from 1504 to 1937, with contributions from Australian poets and composers. The program begins and ends with the words of Indigenous poet Bill Neidjie, set to music by Australian composer Tom Henry. The ACC has also commissioned a new work by Australian composer Alan Holley and Australian poet Mark Tredinnick called Time Passages to mark the 250th anniversary of  Captain Cook’s opening of the secret instructions to search for Terra Australis on June 3, 1769. Douglas Lawrence, the Director of the ACC, and Elizabeth Anderson, the Choir’s Manager (and his wife), spoke to Limelight about the concert.

Singers from the Australian Chamber Choir. Photograph © Emma Phillips

Terra Australis – Land of the Imagination is a very ambitious project. I believe the idea came about when St Martin in the Fields in London asked you to suggest a program for a concert there. Whose idea was it?

DL: Elizabeth...