500 Voices Join Together When QPAC Welcomes Pemulwuy! National Male Voice Festival, Now thru July 13

Vocal chords are being prepped and the sound of music is resonating throughout the country as participating male choirs prepare for an extraordinary national triennial festival, taking place this month in Brisbane.

The city will come alive with the mighty sound of close to 500 men and boys, aged 8 to 83 from every Australian state, as they take part in the Pemulwuy! National Male Voice Festival, a multi-generational gathering of male singers from today 10 to 13 July 2014.

The festival will culminate in a Finale Concert presented by Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in association with Voices of Birralee on Sunday 13 July at 3.00pm in QPAC's acoustically superb Concert Hall.

The finale concert features the four Pemulwuy Festival Choirs - Treble Boys, Youth A and B and Adults separately and brings them together for the finale piece. In addition the concert will also feature Brisbane's own ABC Classic FM Choir of the year, Birralee Blokes as well as nationally recognised Festival Statesmen Youth Chorus from Adelaide.

Internationally renowned guest conductors Michael Griffin, Michelle Leonard, Jakub Martinec and Paul Jarman will lead the choirs performing well-known favourites and six world premieres by Australian composers.

Pemulwuy Festival Director and Artistic Director of Voices of Birralee, Julie Christiansen OAM, said the power of this rare multi-generational gathering of singing communities comes from the diversity of vocalists, united by their passion for song.

"We invite you to experience the sound of this massed finale male choir, from every state in the country - it's a truly beautiful and rare opportunity where men and boys of all ages enrich their quality of life by joining together to sing," said Ms Christiansen.

Pemulwuy, from whom the festival takes its name, was an Aboriginal warrior who led the resistance against the first fleet. It is also the title of the music written by Paul Jarman which tells of the legend of Pemulwuy, a stirring piece that will be performed at the Finale Concert.

Voices of Birralee was recently selected from approximately 100 applicants for the honour to provide choral services at The Australian Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux on ANZAC Day in 2015.

This presentation of the Pemulwuy! National Male Voice Festival will be the third time the event has been held in Brisbane, and the second time that QPAC has hosted the Finale Concert.

For bookings and more information go to www.qpac.com.au or phone 136 246. For more information on the Pemulwuy! National Male Voice Festival go to www.pemulwuy.org.au.

DETAILS:

WHEN: Sunday 13 July at 3.00pm

WHERE: Concert Hall, QPAC, Cultural Precinct, South Bank

Tickets: Refer to the QPAC website for price details www.qpac.com.au

Bookings: www.qpac.com.au or phone 136 246

The Pemulwuy! National Male Voice Festival takes its name from the Aboriginal rainbow warrior Pemulwuy who was a member of the Bidjigal tribe. His name means 'man of the earth'. 'The legend of Pemulwuy is part of the belief system and oral history of the Aboriginal people of East Coast Australia. It is also part of the history of all modern Australians.' (Eric Wilmot).

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