Sing Out Choral Festival

Barayagal is an intercultural collective of singers that gathers to sing songs of culture and stories. Directed by Nardi Simpson, we sing to the place we are in and to the places we all come from. The word Barayagal - meaning ‘Sydney sings’, with 'baraya' meaning to sing, and 'gal' connecting the singing to the lands of the Sydney region - was created for this project by Dr Jakelin Troy and Nardi Simpson. Cultural permission to name the choir Barayagal was then provided by The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.  

This choir is administered by YARN Australia, the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Open Academy Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 

Barayagal sings to the place we are in and to the places we all come from. The choir aims to bring people of mixed cultures and 1st Nations' people together to create a harmonious gathering place.

The Leichhardt Espresso Chorus (LEC) is one of Sydney’s most distinctive and innovative community choirs. Founded in 1998, the choir has built a reputation for artistic excellence, community engagement, and a passionate commitment to championing Australian choral music.  

A non-auditioned choir, the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus welcomes singers of all backgrounds and experience levels, creating an inclusive environment where musical growth and community spirit flourish side by side. Despite its open membership, the choir is renowned for delivering performances of exceptional quality, regularly presenting ambitious choral works alongside newly commissioned Australian compositions. Over more than two decades, LEC has commissioned, co-commissioned, and premiered well over 100 new choral works, collaborating with leading Australian composers, musicians, and arts organisations.  

Today, under the artistic direction of Aija Draguns, the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus continues to inspire audiences with its vibrant performances, commitment to new music, and dedication to making choral singing accessible, engaging, and rewarding for all.  More than a choir, LEC is a thriving musical community that demonstrates the transformative power of singing together.

The Songlarks began in February 2024, meeting at the Annandale Neighbourhood Centre on Tuesday mornings. Musician and choral conductor Chrissie Shaw had returned to Sydney after living in the ACT for 35 years. In Canberra she started a Parkinson’s Choir in 2019 and wanted to start a similar singing group in Sydney, knowing how important singing together is, for enhancing vocal strength, breathing...and wellbeing!  While geared towards people living with Parkinson’s, our group welcomes anyone from the community who loves to sing.  

While performance isn’t the main aim for the choir, Songlarks have performed at the Stanmore Music Festival, Glebe Art Society Exhibition, Together2 Christmas Concert, and for friends and loved ones in our Annandale venue.

Voices from the Vacant Lot sing and play songs from all over the globe. A dynamic and eclectic group of singers, its members hail from across Sydney, coming together to celebrate diversity in culture and to express joy in the power of music to uplift and unite.  

Known for their vibrant and powerful live shows, the choir has been performing for over 35 years, and their members have gone on to form over 15 other vocal groups. Highlights of Voices’ history include Aria and International World Music nominations for their CD Dance on Your Bones, performances before dignitaries including Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gough Whitlam, and Jose Ramos Horta, and performing at the Festival Internacional de Coros in Santiago de Cuba in 2015. 

From surviving shipwrecks to celebrating singing itself, their songs tell of women’s rights, work, protest, love and other perils, and above all, the many simple joys of being alive: singing, dancing, caring for each other, and negotiating Sydney’s rail network. In addition, Voices enjoy experimental soundscapes and free improvisation, and have worked with artist Gabrielle Bates on the Building Song project in Camperdown, Portland, and Bondi Beach, exploring relationships between sound and space. 

Post World War II immigrants from the German speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland founded the Caecilien Choir in 1956. We are currently celebrating our 70th anniversary. While the initial purpose was to provide liturgical music for church services at the German speaking Catholic church in Croydon, the choir has always been much more than that. 

As a mixed voice choir, the Caecilian Choir is in a prime position to sing the works of the German masters: Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Bach, to name a few, and bring an appreciation of these to the wider community. The choir also sings a more popular repertoire of German “golden oldies” and folk songs which carry meaning and memories for their audience. 

MummaSing Inner West is a friendly community choir for mums, with a diverse repertoire including children's music, indigenous and multicultural songs, as well as pop hits. We welcome mums with or without kids to our rehearsals, with ensuing chaos, fun and joyful noise!  

Mummasing is a group of female voices from diverse backgrounds, coming together for the love of singing together. We sing with our children around us, to inspire the next generation to appreciate and grow the love of choral singing.  

Sydney Street Choir was formed by Jonathan Welch AO in 2001 and has grown into a creative, supportive musical community, performing over a dozen times a year, rehearsing weekly and producing CDs, tours, corporate workshops and more. Many members have experienced periods of homelessness or other social difficulties and the Choir provides friendship, focus and family. 

The longest running choir programme of its type in Australia, Sydney Street Choir celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026. Members demonstrate the changes that can be made in people’s lives through the power of song and community, inspiring audiences around Australia.

Chornobrivtsy is a vibrant Sydney-based ensemble formed in 2024 to celebrate Ukrainian resilience and heritage. Composed primarily of Ukrainian refugees who fled the war, the choir has become a vital community hub for its members. Under the direction of Nikolai (Mykola) Gavriliuk, a virtuoso bayan player and Kharkiv Conservatorium graduate, the group performs a moving repertoire of traditional folk and patriotic songs. From charity events to local festivals, Chornobrivtsy shares the rich, soulful traditions of Ukraine with the Australian community through powerful vocal harmony and the unique sound of the bayan. 

Harmoni Choirs exists to bring people together through the shared joy of singing. Established in 2022, the Harmoni Chamber Choir is an auditioned ensemble dedicated to choral excellence. Specialising in rich, intricate 8-part harmony, Harmoni brings together skilled singers who are passionate about crafting beautiful, nuanced performances. From early music to contemporary works, the choir explores a wide range of styles with clarity, sensitivity, and strength. Based at the beautiful Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Harmoni Chamber Choir performs regularly in concert and collaborates with guest artists and composers to explore new musical ground. 

Fort St Choir was born in 2018 when a group of enthusiastic parents and teachers from Fort St High School persuaded our director, Alex, that it was their turn to sing. What started as a casual idea quickly grew into a joyful and committed choir that now brings voices of all ages together in harmony. We believe that making excellent music and building genuine community go hand in hand. Our choirs are places where singers are supported, challenged, and inspired—where people of all backgrounds come together not just to rehearse, but to connect and create something meaningful. 

Solidarity Choir sings songs of social justice, activism, peace and the environment to inform, motivate and entertain. At this time of overwhelming news, the sweet joy, humour and dulcet tones of Solidarity’s acapella, four-part harmonies will lift your heart and soul, enabling the perception of a better world. 

The future may well be a daunting prospect, but Solidarity Choir can make it one worth contemplating. Just sit back and let the choir serenade you with glimpses of the possibilities… 

Founded in 1986 Café of the Gate of Salvation is the premier a cappella gospel choir in Australia and has been a shining light of the choral scene for nearly four decades. The music we sing is vibrant, footstomping, passionate gospel music in the African American tradition. We pursue excellence, spiritual inclusiveness, and deep community. Our music is rooted in resistance, hope and liberation, delivered in rich four-part harmony by a choir of up to thirty  voices. 

We are led by our founder and acclaimed choral conductor and composer Tony Backhouse, who is well-known throughout Australasia as a dynamic teacher and choir leader. Our music is rooted in resistance, hope and liberation, delivered with energy, harmony and passion. The choir has performed extensively throughout Australia and toured New Zealand and the USA. In 2026, we are celebrating our 40th year of uplifting soul-stirring harmonies, energy and inspiration for our audiences. 

We are a Sydney-based chamber choir, dedicated to delivering performances of beautiful choral music. Formed in the early 1990s by a group of enthusiastic singers from larger choirs, we love exploring the a capella repertoire. Our programs range from larger scale classical works to music by contemporary composers from many traditions. Over three concerts each year, we explore and share uplifting music from Australia and around the world. 

Our choir is built on a strong sense of community. We’re a group of people who have enjoyed singing throughout our lives, with many of us starting in school, university or church choirs. We bring together a rich mix of backgrounds: we come from multiple countries and work or study in a range of areas. What unites us is a commitment to musical excellence and our shared joy of making music together. Every week, we gather not just to sing, but to connect, laugh and build lasting friendships. 

The Andalus Arabic Choir reflects the vibrant, creative, multicultural and tolerant era of Andalucia, featuring Arabic and Non-Arabic speaking Australians who share the love of Arabic music and singing. They sing Arabic and Andalusian songs in dialects from Andalucia to the Middle-East and North Africa. Since its establishment and over the last 13 years, the Andalus Arabic Choir has performed at famous cultural events organised by Councils in greater Sydney and presented an annual concert at prestigious venues such as Sydney Opera House, Bryan Brown Theatre, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The Great Hall Sydney University, and Seymour Centre.  

As a multicultural organisation, the Andalus Arabic Choir aims to present a diverse repertoire of Arabic songs from around the Mediterranean with multiple genres and dynamic rhythms that infiltrate your body to make you want to dance.  

Where voices meet, communities grow.  

Founded in 2012 by Sandra Lie, Adult Glee Club began in Marrickville, the creative heart of Sydney’s Inner West, as part of her music school, All Age Music. What started as a single community choir quickly grew into a movement. One that now spans ten thriving Glee Clubs across NSW with more than 400 singers, each group is its own village connected by the collective spirit of song, joy and belonging.  

Inspired by the hit TV show Glee, our members mirror its magic. A diverse group of adults with different stories, backgrounds and voices, yet somehow, together, they fit. We are proudly non-audition, diverse and intergenerational, welcoming anyone who loves to sing, connect and be part of something bigger than themselves.  

People may come for the singing, but they stay for the community, for the laughter, friendships and shared sense of purpose that Glee Club gives. Over the years, our performers have taken to countless stages, delivering uplifting, high-energy and heart warming performances that have brought joy and entertainment to audiences young and old.  

Led by Artistic Director Darina Chakarova, Adult Glee Club continues to reimagine what a modern choir and singing community can be: bold, agile and full of heart. Because when voices unite, they create something far greater than music - they create belonging.