Dan Walker

Dan Walker is a Canberra based composer, conductor and performer and one of Australia’s most in-demand choral specialists.

His compositional output includes commissions for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Gondwana Voices, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, Voyces Youth Choir, the Birralee Blokes, the Nittany Valley Children’s Choir of Pennsylvania and Halcyon. He also frequently composes new music for the Luminescence Chamber Singers.

Dan’s Mass of Deliverance was a finalist in the 2015 Art Music Awards presented annually by the Australasian Performing Right Association and the Australian Music Centre. His 2002 work Listen. Are You Breathing Just a Little and Calling it a Life? was selected for performance at the 2025 International Society for Contemporary Music World Music Days in Portugal, and his song cycle Of the Body was released with ABC Classics in December 2025.

Dan is also an active arranger, regularly producing work for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and record label ABC Classics. His work for television includes the iconic 2009 I Still Call Australia Home advertising campaign for Qantas.

As a performer, Dan is a member of the Canberra-based Luminescence Chamber Singers, Sydney-based Cantillation, and Pinchgut Opera. He has been a member of The Song Company and was a founding member of early music ensemble ‘The Parson’s Affayre’.

A keenly sought-after conductor, Dan has appeared as Chorus Master for Cantillation, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Choruses, Music Director of the Canberra Community Chorale, and is currently Music Director of the Canberra Choral Society and the Oriana Chorale.

See: http://www.danwalkercomposer.com/

Canberra Choral Society (1952 - to date)

More than 70 years of fine music-making

From its beginnings in 1952, the Canberra Choral Society (CCS) has developed into an auditioned symphonic choir, becoming one of the most innovative and exciting choirs in the nation’s capital. CCS presents four concerts a year, including regular 'Come and Sing' programs in which up to 120 non-auditioned singers from the broader community rehearse with the choir and perform a major work with professional soloists and orchestra. CCS also explores projects and partnerships with community music groups in the region, including an annual collaboration with the National Capital Orchestra. CCS is a member of the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA). Since 1965, CCS has also operated the National Music Lending Scheme for Choral Scores, which enables choirs across Australia to source and borrow music. In recognition of 50+ years of service to the Canberra community, CCS is proud to have received a Canberra Gold award in 2026.

The CCS Come & Sing concert for 2026 is J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, on Saturday 21 November, at 7:30pm in Llewellyn Hall, The Australian National University. More information: https://canberrachoralsociety.org

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CCS sincerely appreciates the generosity of all the donors to CCS’s AusArt Day 2025 commissioning project via Creative Australia, with particular thanks to major donor Heather Leedman. 

CCS also gratefully acknowledges the generous support of these sponsors in 2026