Art Song Canberra

06/08/2026

Congratulations to Sonia and Alan for a wonderful concert on Sunday! And thank you to everyone who attended 😊

DAVID WHITBREAD reviews soprano Sonia Anfiloff and pianist Alan Hicks's "delightful" performance 'Eternity' for Art Song Canberra.

27/07/2026

Introducing our singer for this weekend's concert - Sonia Anfiloff!
Tickets: https://bit.ly/seasonofsong4

Artistic Director of National Opera – Canberra and Head of Choirs at Canberra Girls Grammar School, Sonia Anfiloff has many years of performing, teaching, coaching, and programming experience. Sonia completed a Master of Music at The Australian National University, majoring in voice performance, where she was the recipient of the last Kornfeld Scholarship. During her time there, the ANU School of Music was prolific in producing performances and operas for students, and Sonia was fortunate to perform in at least one opera a year, with 3 major roles in her Masters year: Sly in the world premiere of Grimm and the Blue Crown Owl, written by Joshua McHugh, Minna in Rautavaara's Gift of the Magi for the Canberra International Music Festival, and Dido in the joint production of Dido and Aeneas with The Street Theatre. A recent highlight was Sonia's opportunity to sing Octavian in R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier at The Street Theatre with National Opera in 2025.

Sonia's performing career to date has been filled with a decade in Vienna, travel, roles, competitions, recitals, requiems, opera tours, concerts, masterclasses, teaching, coaching, conducting, mentoring, and continued learning. Learning for her own vocal abilities, but mostly, continued learning so that she can give the best advice and teaching to the singers that trust her to do so. Sonia's passion is to give singers, and anyone wanting to sing, the tools and confidence to know they are in control of their voices.

Sonia loves performing, not for herself, but to share beautiful, compelling music, and to connect with a broader community of concert goers, with joy, tears, warmth, fun, and musical hugs.

25/07/2026

Introducing our pianist for next weekend's concert - Alan Hicks!
Tickets: https://bit.ly/seasonofsong4

Alan Hicks is one of Australia's foremost vocal coaches and collaborative pianists. He is Discipline Lead – Opera and coordinates Advanced Opera Performance Voice and Repertoire in the Master of Music Studies (Opera Performance) degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Alan is Principal Repetiteur for NIDA-Conservatorium opera co-productions and is a language coach for Pinchgut Opera and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Alan was awarded life membership of Art Song Canberra in 2016 and appeared in the inaugural Songmakers Australia Schubertiade, performing in Melbourne with his wife, mezzosoprano Christina Wilson and with pianist Andrea Katz.

Alan’s theatrical credits include the long-suffering pianist Alain in Chrissie Shaw’s Bijou in seasons at The Street Theatre, Depot Theatre, Butterfly Club, La Mama Courthouse and regional tours, and Pianist in Nigel Featherstone and James Humberstone’s The Weight of Light with Michael Lampard, baritone, at The Street Theatre, Canberra, in Goulburn and in Sydney.

In 2016 Alan recorded songs of Frederick Septimus Kelly for the ABC Classics double CD A Race Against Time. In 2018 he completed a major project produced by Christopher Latham for the Australian War Memorial, recording 100 songs and instrumental works from the AWM’s collection of World War One sheet music. In 2025, Christina Wilson and Alan Hicks edited Fourteen Songs by James Simon, published by Donemus as part of their Forbidden Music Regained series.

26/05/2026

Arts editor HELEN MUSA reviews Art Song Canberra: A Brief History of the Unrequited, a recital by baritone Alasdair Stretch who ventured from the Renaissance well into the 21st century.

21/05/2026

Meet Alasdair Stretch, our singer for this Sunday's concert!

Get your tickets via https://bit.ly/seasonofsong3

Alasdair grew up immersed in the choral world, and his love of music started at a young age as a chorister at St Andrew’s, Brighton. Having studied at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Carrie Barr, and an alumnus of the Choir of Trinity College, Melbourne, Alasdair draws from a wealth of experience from various corners of the musical world, including opera, vocal ensemble, art song, oratorio and choral, and is sought-after as a bass-baritone and musical director.

Recent engagements include performances with Luminescence Chamber Singers, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Song Company, Genesis Baroque, Apeiron Baroque, Opera Scholars Australia, Vocalis Opera, the Choir of Trinity College, Melbourne, the Australian Chamber Choir, and the Australian Festival Orchestra.

Soloist credits with leading companies across Australia include Bach St John Passion, Handel Messiah, Faure Requiem, Duruflé Requiem, Buxtehude In Membra Jesu Nostri, and Fehre Der Schulmeister in die Singschule. Alasdair currently serves as the Director of Music at All Saints, Ainslie, and holds the position as Associate Director of Music at Christ Church South Yarra.

Now resident in Canberra, Alasdair is core member of Luminescence Chamber Singers, and has been performing, recording and touring with the ensemble since 2023.

19/05/2026

Introducing our pianist for this Sunday's concert: Zac Hamilton-Russell!

Get your tickets via https://bit.ly/seasonofsong3

Zachary Hamilton-Russell completed his Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where he majored in classical piano performance, studying with Max Cooke OAM.

He has collaborated with singers from companies such as Victorian Opera and Melbourne Opera, and with groups like the Australian Boys Choir. Notable performances include playing keyboard for the Australian premiere of Dan Forrest’s Creation with choirs Excelsis and Chime (2025) and performing the original version with piano of Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Monash University Choral Society (2022).

He also works as a church musician and is currently the Director of Music and Organist at St John’s Toorak. He was previously a choral scholar with the Choir of Trinity College, University of Melbourne, touring internationally and recording four albums.

Zachary is the recipient of the Southey Shelmerdine Repetiteur Scholarship and Margaret Schofield Opera Scholarship with Melba Opera Trust for 2026.

05/04/2026

A glorious concert by Lorina Gore and Anthony Smith last week!

LEN POWER reviews Romance Sublime! a performance by soprano Lorina Gore and pianist Anthony Smith.

17/02/2026

Some impressions of a great concert this Sunday at the Hungarian Embassy, with Amy Moore and Edward Neeman (photos: Dalice Trost).