Hunter Singers and Hunter Trebles

Applications 

Applications will open Term 1 2025 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: 4:15 pm to 5:30 pm
• Hunter Trebles: 5:40 pm to 6.30 pm

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.

 Artistic staff

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 ​​​​​Kim Sutherland
Hunter Singers Music Director

Kim's bio

Kim Sutherland OAM is the Founding Music Director of Hunter Singers. For 30 years Kim has been dedicated to giving students in public schools the opportunity to engage with choral music at the highest level and she is always happy to find out what paths her students take in life. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2013 for Service to the Arts.

After graduating from Sydney Conservatorium, Kim studied conducting with Myer Fredman and Mats Nilsson and completed her Master of Creative Arts degree at the University of Newcastle. She has taught in a range of public schools, including Canowindra, Irrawang, Maitland Grossmann, Lambton and Merewether. She also conducted Gondwana Novus at Gondwana National Choral School in 2017-2020.

Other engagements include conductor of the Festival Choir for the Newcastle Music Festival in 2017 and 2018, conductor of Newcastle University Choir for Bach’s St John Passion, Faure’s Requiem, Rutter’s Requiem and massed choirs for many events, including the Olympic Torch Relay arrival at Newcastle Foreshore and Secondary Choral Concerts in the Sydney Opera House. Commissioning new works by Australian composers is one of Kim’s passions, and this has resulted in 25 highly original and exciting works by some of Australia’s leading choral composers, including Stephen Leek, Paul Jarman, Matthew Orlovich, Michael Atherton, Dan Walker, Wendy Ireland and Sally Whitwell.

OAM, BMus.Ed, MCA, AMusA

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Charissa Ferguson
Hunter Singers Associate Director

Charissa's bio

Charissa Ferguson is the conductor of Hunter Trebles and a music teacher at Merewether High School. While studying her Bachelor of Music degree in percussion, Charissa sang with the University of Newcastle Chamber Choir, touring to England and France, and regularly plays percussion for local productions, including Mamma Mia at Newcastle Civic Theatre.

Charissa has conducted local bands, orchestras and choirs, including the Hunter Wind Ensemble, Merewether High School Concert Band, the Newcastle Youth Orchestra and the Star Struck Massed Choir. Charissa has also appeared as a guest conductor for The Arts Unit at the Primary Proms and the State Schools Spectacular. She has conducted Hunter Trebles since 2013 and toured with Hunter Singers to China, Europe and Canada, along with national tours to Melbourne, Brisbane and Central Australia.

BMus, MTeach(Dist)

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Erin Sweetman
Hunter Singers accompanist

Erin's bio

Since 2012, Erin has accompanied the Hunter Singers, touring with them to the USA, China, UK and Canada. She has also accompanied the choir during national tours to Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Central Australia. Erin has performed with the choir for a Classic FM Live recital, and has had the privilege of playing for premieres of repertoire by prominent Australian choral composers.

As a piano soloist, Erin toured to China in 2006 and performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Newcastle Wind Orchestra. She has appeared on Banney's Baton Banter on local ABC radio and performed regularly in the Newcastle Art Gallery Concert Series as an associate artist and soloist. Erin also performed in the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Newcastle Music Festival as both a collaborative artist and soloist.

Erin served as a member of the Music Staff at Newcastle Grammar School for ten years until 2020, where she taught classroom music, piano, accompanied the Chamber Choir and tutored woodwind students in the Symphony Orchestra. Erin is now a member of staff at St Francis Xavier College, Hamilton. She has experienced success in the classroom with many students achieving outstanding results in HSC Music 1, Music 2 and Extension. Erin also continues to teach piano at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.

BMus(Hons), GradDipEd, LMusA(P), AMusA(P), AMusA(C)

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Performance highlights 

• Reunion Choir Concerts for the 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 35th Anniversaries, in which up to 100 current and former members of Hunter Singers combined to perform as a massed choir.
• Singing in the Sounds of Australia concert at Gondwana World Choral Festival at the Sydney Opera House in 2019.
• Sunday Live performance for ABC Classic in 2012.
• 25 World Premiere performances, starting with Morning Tide in 1994.
• Performing the World Premiere of Matthew Hindson’s Electric Rain for The Arts Unit Concert Series in the Sydney Opera House in 2019.
• Numerous performances in the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Town Hall for concerts organised by The Arts Unit, including the Festival of Choral Music and in Concert.
• Performances in international venues on Tours to Canada (2018 & 2005), UK & France (2016), China (2014), USA (2012 & 1992), Austria & Germany (2009), UK, Belgium & France (2007), Italy (2003), Austria & UK (1999) and New Zealand (2001).
• National Tours around the country, to Central Australia (2019), Gold Coast & Brisbane (2017, 2011 & 1994), Canberra (2016), Melbourne (2015), Hobart (2013).
• Album Releases: 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)

 Stephen Leek writes on the occasion of the Hunter Singers 20th Anniversary

"I remember well my first contact with The Hunter Singers many years ago. I nervously put a piece before them that I had scribbled down on the plane on my way to Newcastle - a piece that is now undoubtedly the most often performed Australian choral piece world-wide. Within the first hours of rehearsal we had captured the energy and excitement of my simple arrangement “Morning Tide”, and our strong relationship in working together has grown ever stronger over the years from that point. Kim Sutherland and the Hunter Singers have given much to the Australian choral world and are to be congratulated and proud of their artistic achievements both here in Australia and overseas. I wish to heartily congratulate Kim for her tireless work, the administrative team, and the many young musicians, past and present, who have been moved, motivated and touched by the power and passion of the Hunter Singers as they celebrate this milestone in their musical journey."

Gordon Hamilton writes on the occasion of the Hunter Singers 20th Anniversary

"As every former and current member of Hunter Singers knows, the incomparable sense of identity and group cohesion that has always been typical of the Hunter Singers is due to Kim Sutherland’s tireless dedication to the singers - both in a musical and personal sense. But not only does the organisation provide a terrific musical and social experience for the young people involved, it also continues to make a positive mark on the culture of choral music – both at home and abroad – through regular commissioning of new Australian works, published recordings and participation in international festivals. Hunter Singers educates its singers through artistic excellence. It has been an important part of many young musicians’ formation, and given an all-round musical education to many people who have now gone into other non-musical areas. Had I not, at the age of 16, been dragged into a Hunter Singers audition, I would most definitely not be in my present career with The Australian Voices; singing in Hunter Singers was my first experience in choral music and it gave me many skills that I now use every day. It’s a privilege to have been a member of the Hunter Singers and to be a part of its ongoing success. Happy 20th birthday!"