12 Queerstories – 12 world premieres!

Twelve queer composers draw inspiration from twelve queer writers to produce an anthology of completely new work, performed in concert by the innovative, youth-led choir Divisi Chamber Singers.

Stories of resilience, resistance and fierce queer pride, set to music and sung in soaring harmony. This is not a stuffy matinée. This is where classical music meets club and cabaret.

Creating connections across community, each composer has selected a piece of writing from the Queerstories archive that spoke to their own identity, creativity or experience.

With compositions by Sia Ahmad, Lucy Blomfield, Gabi Cadenhead, Connor D’Netto, Olivia Diamant, Leila Harris, Lillian Hearne, Cameron Lam, Caerwen Martin, James Rushford, Alex Turley and Sally Whitwell.

Drawing inspiration from stories by Liz Duck-Chong, Teddy Dunn, HANDSOME, Dmetri Kakmi, Paul Kidd, Joe Levitt, Fiona Kelly McGregor, Tommy Misa, Bastian Fox Phelan, Fletcher Quilty and Omar Sakr.

This project marks the second iteration of Divisi’s Compose queer programming – developing work by emerging queer composers to tell our stories in new ways. Although there is a thriving amateur queer music scene of community organisations and hobby musicians, there is limited opportunity for composers to express their queerness at a professional level. These programs give voice to tell stories at a professional quality of musical expression.

Divisi Chamber Singers is a youth-led, not-for-profit organisation that supports early-career creative artists. We strive to break down established norms of classical music through commissioning and performing innovative creative works and projects.

Queerstories is a national LGBTQI+ storytelling project directed by Maeve Marsden for the last ten years, with an award-winning podcast and events all around Australia, from Sydney to Melbourne, Hobart to Shepparton, Newcastle to Brisbane, to Albury, Adelaide, Mullumbimby, Mudgee and beyond.

“Precise blending of parts, even at the most demandingly close intervals, plus the bright purity of steady upper voices and the resonance of the lower voices impressed throughout.” – Heather Leviston, Classic Melbourne

“A warm and inviting anthology, Queerstories welcomes you in with open arms and draws you into a rich conversation with some fresh and entertaining LGBTQI+ writers. Let’s hope there are more volumes to come.” – The AU Review