NSW Department of Education

Hunter Singers and Hunter Trebles

Region: Regional North | Newcastle

Years 4 to 12

Local arts program Music

Tags: Choral music, High potential and gifted (HPGE), Vocal ensembles

Hunter Singers and Hunter Trebles is a vibrant regional choir organisation based in Newcastle, dedicated to nurturing and developing young voices and promoting Australian choral music. It provides valuable musical opportunities for developing voices.

The Hunter Singers features students from public high schools (Years 7 to 12) in the Hunter region, while members of the Hunter Trebles (Years 4 to 6) are drawn from local public primary schools.

Applications

Applications are now open to join one of the Hunter region's finest children's and youth choirs.

Hunter Singers and Hunter Trebles - online application form 2025

Weekly rehearsals

Hunter Singers and Hunter Trebles each rehearse weekly on a Tuesday afternoon, during school terms, at Merewether High School.

Hunter Singers: 4 pm to 6 pm
Hunter Trebles: 5 pm to 6 pm

Choir programs

Fees

2025 fees are $110 per term (inc. GST)
All fee payments can be made via the TAU Student Payment Portal. (Please select Program: Music; Payment for Hunter Wind Ensemble; then the relevant payment option.)

About the choirs

Hunter Singers was established in 1989, with 33 young singers accepted into the first group under the direction of Kim Sutherland. Over the years, 406 singers from 21 government high schools have been part of the Hunter Singers family. In 2024, Hunter Singers celebrate 35 years of exceptional music-making, marking a history that includes a range of successful international tours, high-profile performances and significant commissioned works.

Hunter Singers perform significant contemporary and traditional works from the choral repertoire and promote Australian choral music in performances on local, national and international stages. Our young singers are encouraged through a culture of excellence, with personal integrity and expression nurtured in a supportive musical environment. Hunter Singers perform a subscription series of two to three concerts each year. In addition to this, they participate in concerts at the Sydney Opera House, form the Core Choir in Star Struck and tour internationally every two years. The choir is proud to have commissioned many new works by Australian composers, resulting in more than 20 highly original and exciting pieces of music.
Hunter Trebles are a vibrant group of young children who love to sing. Their talents and confidence in performing are nurtured in a fun, supportive environment. The Trebles enjoy singing a wide range of musical styles, from traditional folk songs and lullabies, musical theatre and contemporary music from Australia’s leading choral composers. Choir rehearsals feature musical games, musicianship, part singing and music reading, led by conductor Evan Booth. Hunter Trebles perform in two to three major concerts each year as part of the Hunter Singers Concert Series. Additional performances include the Festival of Choral Music at the Sydney Opera House and Star Struck. The Trebles have also enjoyed guest appearances with Opera Australia and The University of Newcastle Choir.

Hunter Singers Artistic Staff

Kim Sutherland
Founder & Artistic Director

Kim's bio: Kim Sutherland OAM is the Founding Music Director of Hunter Singers. Kim has been instrumental in commissioning 30 choral works for Hunter Singers and has led the group on 11 international tours and 9 national tours. She has also conducted the Newcastle University Choir, Newcastle Music Festival Chorus, The Song Sisters and has been guest conductor at Gondwana National Choral School. Kim was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2013 for Service to the Arts.

Charissa Ferguson
Hunter Singers Associate Director

Charissa's bio: Charissa Ferguson is the Associate Music Director of Hunter Singers and a music teacher at Merewether High School. She has conducted local bands, orchestras and choirs, including the Hunter Wind Ensemble, the Newcastle Youth Orchestra and the Star Struck Massed Choir. Charissa has also conducted the State Choir at the Sydney Opera House and has appeared as a guest conductor for The Arts Unit at the Primary Proms, State Music Camps and the State Schools Spectacular.

Erin Sweetman
Hunter Singers Associate Artist

Erin's bio: Erin Sweetman is one of the Hunter region’s most loved musicians, and in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist and teacher. She has appeared as associate artist and soloist in the Newcastle Music Festival, and as a featured artist with Christ Church Cathedral Camerata. She has also performed in concerts at the Newcastle Art Gallery, and in the International 1:1 concert series, devised in response to audience restrictions during the pandemic. As an associate artist, Erin regularly works with the Hunter Singers and the Newcastle University Choir. Erin has toured nationally and internationally, including performances at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and the World Choir Games (Cincinnati).

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Hunter Trebles Artistic Staff

Evan Booth
Hunter Trebles Conductor

Evans's bio: Evan Booth is the conductor of Hunter Trebles and a primary school teacher at Glendore Public School. Evan has worked as Musical Director for many productions at Young Peoples Theatre including shows such as ‘Tuck Everlasting’ and ‘Honk!’ He has also worked in the drama, music and dance departments with Star Struck, Creative Arts Camp and Young Peoples Theatre. Evan was a member of Hunter Singers as a student and is thrilled to be back creating music with the next generation of singers.

Greg Smith
Hunter Trebles Accompanist

Greg's bio: Greg Smith is a graduate of Newcastle University, where he studied piano with Carmel Lutton and composition with Colin Spiers. In his master’s degree, he explored the Russian piano repertoire, further cementing his love of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Ever since hearing The Lion King soundtrack for the first time as a 15-year-old boy, Greg has had a passion for film music. Greg has composed and performed scores for several silent films, including shorts by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. You will sometimes find Greg penning quirky rhymes. He is currently creating a series of piano miniatures based on these poems.

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Choir highlights

Performances

Hunter Singers Concerts held throughout Newcastle in beautiful venues including the Newcastle City Hall, Christ Church Cathedral, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, St Andrews Church, and Adamstown Uniting Church.
National and International Tours, including USA (1992 and 2012), Austria England and Wales (1999), New Zealand (2001), Italy (2003), Canada (2005 and 2018), England, Wales, Belgium and France (2007 and 2016), Austria and Germany (2009), China and Hong Kong (2014), Gold Coast and Brisbane (1994, 2011 and 2017), Hobart (2013), Melbourne (2015), Central Australia (2019) and Sydney (2019, 2022 and 2024).
Appearances at Australian National Choral Association Festivals, Australian National Choral Championships, Blackheath Choir Festival, City of Sydney Eisteddfod, Concorso Corale Internazionale, Festival of Voices, Gondwana World Choir Festival, Harrogate International Youth Music Festival, Hong Kong International Youth Music Festival, International Choral Kathaumixw, Llangollen Eisteddfod, Loudmouth Festival, Rhapsody Rotorua Festival, Ribbons of Steel Festival, Summa Cum Laude Youth Music Festival, World Choir Games.
Supporting touring musical acts Barry Manilow (1996), Daniel Johns (2004), and Opera Australia (2018, 2022, 2024), The Cat Empire and Sydney Symphony Orchestra (2024).
National live radio broadcast for ABC Classic FM Sunday Live (2012).
30 World Premiere performances, beginning with Inside the Storm in 1998, supporting Australian composers and giving life to new Australian choral repertoire.
The 10th, 20th, 25th and 30th Anniversary Concerts, in which up to 100 current and past members of Hunter Singers combined to perform as massed choirs
Featured choir performances at The Arts Unit Concerts in the Sydney Opera House including a world premiere of Matthew Hindson’s Electric Rain with the Hunter Wind Ensemble in 2019.
Released six album recordings: Hunter Singers 30 Years (2020), Morning Tide (2015), Castles (2010), Kondalilla (2005), Hunter Singers 10th Anniversary (2000), Carols and Songs (1996).

Awards

Gold Diploma and two Silver Diplomas at the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati
First prize at the Citibank Open Choral Award at the City of Sydney Performing Arts Challenge (Sydney Eisteddfod) in 1997
Joint winners of the Australian National Choral Championships, Youth Section in 1993
Second prize at the 2009 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna.
Two major prizes in the 2003 Verona International Choral Competition, competing against 34 choirs from 11 countries, winning the gold cup award and a special jury prize for the best performance of a contemporary work.
Finalists at the City of Sydney Performing Arts Challenge (Sydney Eisteddfod) in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2013.

Commissioned works

Difference by Stephen Leek (2024)
Reverie by Paul Jarman (2022)
Gaia’s Song by Jaret Choolun (2019)
The Six Swans by Luke Byrne (2019)
The Circle of Stones by Sally Whitwell (2019)
Electric Rain with Hunter Wind Ensemble by Matthew Hindson, (2019)
The Sound of Silence arr. Dan Wilson (2017)
Fromelles by Paul Jarman (2016)
Swifter than the moon’s sphere by Sally Whitwell (2016)
This Secret World by Dan Walker (2014)
How Sweet the Moonlight by Samuel Donovan (2014)
Furuike Ya by Gordon Hamilton (2014)
Down by the Salley Gardens by Owen Elsley (2013)
Robert F. Kennedy Quotes Aeschylus on the Death of Dr King by Paul and Julie Bevan (2012)
Mrs Macqueen’s Milk by Gordon Hamilton and Paul Bevan (2011)
Castles by Gordon Hamilton (2009)
Visions of Vastness by Stephen Leek (2009)
Morpheus by Dan Walker (2008)
Known Unto God by Paul Jarman (2007)
Ezekiel by Matthew Orlovich (2004)
Into the Night by Gordon Hamilton (2004)
Falling Down by Wendy Ireland (2003)
Tree Song by Gordon Hamilton (2002)
Newcastle Flyer by Rosalind Carlson (2001)
Glasshouses by Stephen Leek (2000)
Inside the Storm by Michael Atherton (1998)
Morning Tide by Stephen Leek (1994)