Originally, the group regularly met in a house on Bourke Street Surry Hills, the entrance to which was a door in the street wall. Thus the name!
You now rehearse at St Luke’s in Enmore. Is that a long-standing arrangement? What involvements do you have with the parish?
We have been rehearsing and performing at St Luke’s Enmore for two years. The church is very supportive of a number of groups, and there are regular concerts, jazz ensembles and plays in its hall. We’re very lucky to be sharing the hall with a group called Kinetic Energy Theatre Company which generously lets us use some of its materials for our performances. We have sung at parish events and were very pleased to be part of the parish Christmas pageant in 2013.
Could you share a little about your current choir director? He seems a very talented person!
We are thrilled to be working with Stuart Wright as our Artistic Director. A graduate of Australian Institute of Music, he studied conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He worked with the Sydney University Musical Society and Intervarsity Choral Festivals as Assistant Chorus Master, and was repetiteur for members of Vienna Volksoper, Pacific Opera and others. He toured Europe as cabaret and “Kleinkunst” performer, and was Musical Director of world premiere productions at Freies Theater Festival, Innsbruck. Stuart has conducted Spirit of Europe Orchestra, Pro Arte Orchestra (Vienna), NSW University Orchestra, several youth orchestras throughout Germany and Austria, and is also a music teacher.
Stuart brings his experience with concert repertoire, musical theatre, drag, performance art and cabaret to help shape and direct our shows which, at times, can incorporate all of these elements!
What kind of material have you covered in recent times? What might you like to include in your repertoire?
Our shows include a wide range of musical styles. Many in the group have a great passion for classical choral music, with others sharing their love of everything from arrangements of jazz standards, pop songs, and folk music to new compositions. We are extremely fortunate to have arrangements of these wide ranges of musical styles by friends and members of the group. We love the works by Mike Dunn, Sally Whitwell, Gareth Chan and Tim Graham, just to name a few of our arrangers.
We typically build a program around a theme and tie together a very mixed program of songs into an entertaining show for our audiences.
Does the choir have particular needs at present – new members? equipment? opportunities to perform?
Door in the Wall is in recruitment mode! We are looking for experienced singers across all vocal parts, but especially we now need some more men to join us. A small vocal group is all about musical blend, so while we are a queer ensemble we’re happy with a diverse membership of singers who love performing, share our joy in singing and who have great ears to listen while they sing. Please get in touch via our website (http://www.doorinthewall.com/) or our Facebook page if you are interested in singing. We are planning some open rehearsals in the coming month – a great chance to meet us and sing with us.
What does your schedule look like for the first part of 2015?
Our focus right now is to recruit some more members, which we will be doing with some vocal workshops as a way of auditioning in a group context. We will then be getting on with our main program for 2015, including planning for a mid year Christmas in Winter program.
What’s the best thing about belonging to Door in the Wall?
The fun of singing together, and, of course, our red-and-black look.
