Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir
Generously supported by Principal Partner
Based in Cairns, Queensland, Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir is the most exciting and well-recognised group of young Indigenous performers in the country. The rich, vibrant sound of the choir warms the hearts of audiences whenever it performs.
The choir regularly collaborates the Australian Chamber Orchestra and with Indigenous artists including Archie Roach, Jessica Mauboy, Lou Bennett, Uncle Seaman Dan, Dr G, Christine Anu, Troy Cassar-Daley, Briggs and Emma Donovan. They have performed at G20 Summit, the Cairns NAIDOC Gala Ball and multiple times at the Sydney Opera House.
In 2017, GICC undertook its first European tour, introducing audiences to music in multiple Indigenous languages and the exciting arrangements of traditional songs and dances from the Torres Strait. This tour also included the start of the major collaboration with the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Sydney Children’s Choir in Songs of My Country.
Generously supported by Principal Partner
Lyn Williams OAM, Artistic Director & Founder
Lyn Williams OAM is Australia’s leading director of choirs for young people. She founded Sydney Children’s Choir 29 years ago to create a world-class ensemble, capable of performing complex music of a professional standard. The Sydney Children’s Choir now proudly represents Sydney as the most prestigious and well-known vocal program for young singers of school age.
Lyn formed the treble choir Gondwana Voices in 1997 where young musicians from across the continent could discover others who share their passion for singing. This program has grown into Gondwana National Choirs, made up of more than 300 young people. Each January they form Gondwana National Choral School, an intensive camp for singers and emerging composers and conductors.
In 2008 after experiencing life in the Torres Strait, Lyn began Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir (GICC) to give Indigenous young people the opportunity to express their culture through song and Language. Lyn leads GICC’s mission to preserve and develop of language and story through intergenerational cultural activity and developing a new contemporary Indigenous repertoire. Major works in Indigenous languages commissioned include the children’s opera Ngailu, Boy of the Stars by Dan Walker (Torres Strait) and Spinifex Gum – a song cycle by Felix Riebl (Western Pilbara). Last year Lyn led the choir on a major cross-cultural collaboration with the world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir.
Lyn’s exceptional skill in working with young people is recognised internationally for its high artistic quality and ground-breaking innovation. She has conducted Sydney Children’s Choir, Gondwana Voices, Gondwana Chorale and Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir nationally and internationally.She is also a composer, winning the 2009 APRA-Australian Music Centre Vocal/Choral Work of the Year for her work A Flock of Stars.
Lyn’s dedication and contribution to the Arts has been recognised on multiple occasions. In March 2017, she was awarded the Australia Council for the Arts’ prestigious Don Banks Music Award for outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia in recognition of her lifework as founder and director of Gondwana Choirs. Other awards includethe Medal of the Order of Australia (2004), the NSW State Award at the Classical Music Awards (2006) and named in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence (2015).
Lyn conducts The Sydney Children’s Choir and SCC Junior Performing Choir, Gondwana Voices (Gondwana National Choirs) and the Cairns Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir.