BENDIGO CHAMBER CHOIR

Michael Bottomley     MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Our Musical Director is Michael Bottomley.  As well as the Bendigo Chamber Choir, he conducts The Castlemaine Singers (an all female choir).  He is also an accomplished organist and the Director of Music at Christ Church Castlemaine. He has studied choral music in England and furthered his organ playing attending an international organ school in Haarlem Holland. Michael has been involved with choirs from the age of 8, when he began singing in the Christ Church Choir. He founded and directed the Castlemaine Children’s Choir in the early 1980’s, whose singing and repertoire meet with much acclaim throughout regional Victoria. Michael also was involved in music education in primary schools and established many diverse school music programs including school choirs in the Castlemaine region.  This led to Michael coordinating a statewide music program in the early 1990’s. Michael is a life member of the Castlemaine State Festival and Castlemaine United Cricket Club. He is also President of both the Castlemaine Golf Club and Friends of Castlemaine State Festival.

Bendigo Chamber Choir

The Bendigo Chamber Choir was formed in 1981 by Musica Viva and meets weekly under the direction of Michael Bottomley. The choir performs two major concerts each year, usually with the Bendigo Chamber Orchestra, professional soloists and other guest performers. Most years, the choir attempts to undertake works of contemporary composers as well as the classics of earlier centuries. The choir’s next performances are in Castlemaine at Christ Church, the “Three Choirs Concert”, and in the Bendigo Town Hall on December 13th, featuring Charpentier’s “ Midnight Mass” and a selection of carols. There are sometimes vacancies in the choir, depending on the balance of parts. Please enquire with Michael on 54721370.

SOUFFLÉ SISTERS

Souffle Sisters - friends who “puff up with pride” when we get together to sing!

We are a proud group of women from the Moreland and Moonee Valley regions of Melbourne who revel in the sounds we produce when we sing together. Our Musical Director, Erin Heycox, selects a versatile repertoire that includes Folk, Pop, Early Music, World Music, Gospel Traditional and Musical Theatre. Our accompanist is Kellie-Anne Kimber. The choir began in 2006 and currently has 26 members. We have two annual performances, one at the beautiful Brunswick Uniting Church, the other at Mia Mia, (called the “Big Sing”) a delightful rural settlement in Central Victoria where the proceeds of the concert go to the local Fire Brigade. On both occasions we have other community choirs perform along with us which is brilliant. Both Bendigo’s Women of Note Choir and the Home brew Singers are long-term partners with us at these events. We are delighted to be celebrating Women of Note’s 20th anniversary today. New member inquiries are welcome to contact the choir manager paulacurotte@hotmail.com.

Erin Heycox, Conductor

Erin has been a choir nerd her whole life, from the church choirs her Mum would run in their lounge room, to Ormond College Choir during her Bachelor of Music studies at the University of Melbourne. She brings an energetic enthusiasm, imaginative metaphors and love of folk music to her choral conducting. 2019 finds Erin establishing the music program at the brand new Preston High School and singing and fiddling in her country/folk band, Rare Child, with her guitarist husband.

Luke Speedy-Hutton Accompanist

Luke Speedy-Hutton is a Melbourne-based composer, pianist and choral singer. In 2018, he completed a Masters of Composition at Melbourne University. As a pianist, he plays for choirs regularly, and has been the accompanist for the Yarra Gospel Choir for over three years. He developed a passion for choral music as an accompanist for choirs and musical theatre productions. This passion further developed when he joined the Australian Chamber Choir as a bass and began performing as a singer with them from 2013-2017. He went on to compose two large choral works for the ACC, one of which they took on their 2017 European tour. Luke is also the Assistant Orchestra Librarian at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and loves board games and cats.