MUSIC
Coro chamber choir debut
Conducted by David Mackay at Wesley Music Centre.
Reviewed by Clinton White
ORIANA Chorale’s conductor, composer David Mackay was a finalist in the “CityNews” Canberra Critics Circle awards last year and he looks set to continue building his reputation with his new chamber choir, Coro, which had its first outing at the Wesley Music Centre on March 30.
A well-balanced choir of 16 voices max, spread evenly across the four sections, sopranos, alto, tenors and basses, Coro promises Canberra audiences a different sound to the myriad choirs we have in this town.
With a small choir like this, the balance and clarity of sound is critical and Mackay is already achieving that with Coro, so we have much to look forward to.
For its first outing, the choir sang works mainly from the renaissance and baroque periods and, rather bravely, sang the entire program a cappella. It sounded to me like their courage rather paid off, too, with pitch faithfully maintained throughout; quite an achievement in the nice but rather dry acoustic of the Wesley Music Centre.
Mackay’s infectious energy and enthusiasm, coupled with Coro’s style and repertoire are certain to add depth to the richness of the musical life we enjoy in Canberra.
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