Vision Australia’s Carols By Candlelight would not be complete without the soaring voices of the National Boys Choir.
The choir has performed at Carols by Candlelight, Vision Australia’s single biggest fundraising event, every year since 1988, and that dedication has been recognised with a youth award at the Vision Australia Awards this year. The awards, first established in 2006, honour those who help to make a substantial difference through their commitment to Vision Australia’s mission to ensure people who are blind or have low vision can live the life they choose.
The National Boys Choir was founded in Melbourne in 1964 and has been at the forefront of the Australian cultural scene for decades as one of Australia’s finest treble choirs.
Outside Carols By Candlelight, over the years the choir has sung with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia and the Victorian Opera, has performed under internationally renowned conductors, and has toured internationally 15 times as part of its extensive touring schedule.
The choir makes TV appearances and recordings regularly, and featured at the 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony, the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, and at the Bledisloe Cup.
The choir members were guests at The Three Tenors’ Melbourne concert, and featured in several incarnations of Qantas’ I Still Call Australia Home advertising campaign.
Around 200 boys aged seven to 15 are members of the choir, committing to weekly or twice-weekly rehearsals and regular music workshops to keep pace with the choir’s challenging repertoire.
Presenting the award in Melbourne during Vision Australia’s annual general meeting, Communications Director Kirsty Simpson said the National Boys Choir is an integral part of Carols by Candlelight.
“This is a very much loved fundraising event to support the youngest members of the blind and low vision community. Their contribution is absolutely invaluable,” she said.
The choir’s Artistic Director, Peter Casey, said the award was “a tremendous honour”.
“It’s a great privilege to be involved with the Carols family. It really is a family of very special group people that gather each year and it’s a great pleasure to be involved with Vision Australia and such an important fundraiser as well,” he said.
“It’s also important to recognise our parents, our families and our boys who year after year voluntarily give of their time in one of the busiest weeks of the year, and I’m sure they will be delighted to see that they are recognised for all of the work that they put in.”