Press Kit

The Canberra Choral Society (CCS) and National Capital Orchestra (NCO) are thrilled to present a concert celebrating the sacred and the secular in Francis Poulenc’s Gloria and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, on Saturday 4 July, at 3pm, in Llewellyn Hall, The ANU.

Poulenc's brilliant and uplifting Gloria, with text from the Mass ordinary, transports the listener through moments of excitement, joy and delight to quiet introspection and emotional beauty. Composed in 1959-60, towards the end of Poulenc’s life, for soprano solo, chorus and orchestra, the Gloria premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1961 and remains a firm favourite of the choral repertoire.

A cornucopia of secular and earthly delights then awaits the listener with one of the most popular choral works of the 20^th century, Orff’s dramatic cantata, Carmina Burana. Composed in the mid-1930s for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chorus, orchestra, percussion and piano, Carmina Burana premiered at the Frankfurt Opera in 1937. It is based on secular poems from a 13^th century manuscript, the ‘Carmina Burana’, mainly in Latin but also in Middle High German and Old French, exploring themes like the fluctuations of fortune - the spectacular ‘O Fortuna’, Springtime pastoral idylls and frolics, exuberant drinking songs, the pleasures and beauty of love - and a memorable cameo from a roasted swan!

This heavenly and earthly musical feast is conjured by the baton of the NCO’s Artistic Director Louis Sharpe with soloists Rachel Mink soprano, Tobias Cole tenor and Sitiveni Talei baritone and substantial choral and instrumental forces.

As two of Canberra’s leading community-based choral and orchestral ensembles, the CCS and NCO share a proud tradition of bringing works from the classical and contemporary repertoire to audiences in the ACT region. NCO Artistic Director Louis Sharpe comments, “Bringing Poulenc’s Gloria and Orff’s Carmina Burana together in one program is a celebration not only of two iconic works, but of our community itself. This annual collaboration between CCS and NCO stands as a flagship moment for Canberra’s musical life—uniting 100% local artists to create something powerful, ambitious, and distinctly our own.”

Canberra Choral Society (1952 - to date) – More than 70 years of fine music-making

The Canberra Choral Society (CCS) originated in 1952 with a small group of people who began singing together for their own pleasure and musical advancement. Since then, the CCS has developed into an auditioned symphonic choir and has become one of the most innovative and exciting choirs in the nation’s capital. CCS usually presents four concerts a year, including - since 2011 - an annual 'Come and Sing' program in which up to 120 non-auditioned singers from the broader community rehearse with the choir and perform a major concert with professional soloists and orchestra. CCS commissions and premieres new works to add to the choral repertoire, and continues to explore collaborative partnerships with community music groups in the region, including an annual concert with the National Capital Orchestra, which this year will be on Saturday 4 July in Llewellyn Hall. See: https://canberrachoralsociety.org/about/

CARMINA BURANA

Saturday 4 July 2026 3pm

Llewellyn Hall, ANU

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Canberra Choral Society (1952 - to date) – More than 70 years of fine music-making