2026 Guest Ensembles

Conductor: Peter Ingram & Rebecca Thomas

Piano: Kathy Sander

Brisbane Grammar School has a proud tradition of choral singing with hundreds of boys and young men involved in singing each week. From non-auditioned choirs for changed and unchanged voices to auditioned choirs for those keen to explore a greater variety of choral music, there is a choir for everyone. They are committed to exploring a range of musical styles with a particular commitment to performing works by Australian composers. All BGS choirs perform at a wide range of school events, but they particularly enjoy collaborating with other groups at festivals and concerts. Their top ensemble, the BGS Grammarphones, regularly performs overseas and interstate with their most recent tour in 2024 taking them to Spain and Portugal. The BGS Pemulwuy Chorus is a group which has been formed just for the 2026 Pemulwuy Festival. It is an SATB choir consisting of boys who voluntarily nominated to participate in this year’s festival. They are mostly our less experienced singers, but they are excited to be sharing their music with everyone at this year’s Pemulwuy Festival. 

Conductor: Dr Anthony Young

The Brotherhood from St. Laurence’s College has a strong reputation as a substantial Male Changed Voice School Choir in Queensland. An un-auditioned group, the Brotherhood is one of seven choirs at St. Laurence’s involving 220 boys in regular rehearsals. While Liturgical leadership is the primary role of singing groups at the college, the Brotherhood is also involved in concerts in the community, around the country and overseas. In the past the Brotherhood has toured to New Zealand, China, England, Ireland, the United States, Hungary, Austria and Czech Republic. The group has attended every Pemulwuy since its inception and the current members are thrilled to be able to continue this great tradition.

Conductor: Dr Robert Stewart

Piano: Claire Preston

MANCHOIR is a vibrant tenor–bass ensemble from Hillcrest Christian College on the Gold Coast and a flagship choir within the College’s award‑winning Choral Excellence Program. Known for its energy, musical integrity, and strong ensemble culture, MANCHOIR performs regularly at major College events and has been a First-Place award winner at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod. The choir has represented the College on national stages, performing at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Australian International Music Festival and touring to Tasmania to sing at the Festival of Voices in Hobart. This is their second appearance at Pemulwuy. MANCHOIR champions the developing male voice, nurturing confident musicianship, expressive singing, and a lifelong connection to choral music.

Conductor: Peter Ellis

Accompanist: Andrei Hadap

MDC performs a broad repertoire, with current works in program stretching from Gregorian Chant to Backstreet Boys, by way of French art song, Canadian sea shanties and works from Ireland, Canada, South Africa and USA. A part of Gondwana Choirs, SCC remains committed to contributing to the Australian cultural landscape and other works currently in MDC repertoire include commissions from Dan Walker and Ella Macens.

In recent years MDC has performed with Cantabile (Silicon Valley) as part of their Australian tour and undertaken a residency at Bundanon in South Coast NSW. 2026 is an incredibly creative year for MDC, beginning with a private masterclass with the King Singers in February and Sydney Songfest with Michael Barrett in April. MDC is excited to return to Brisbane for the Pemulwuy festival in July before appearing twice with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the second half of the year for Lord of the Rings Symphony and The Cat Empire. MDC will premiere music by Alice Chance at the NSW Parliament House in September before returning to the Sydney Opera House in December for Voices of Angels.

Conductor: Andrew Bainbridge

Conductor: Andrew Bainbridge

The NBCA Young Men's Choir (YMC) was founded in 2020 as an opportunity for retiring choristers to continue singing after voice change. With a membership of around 20 young men, and repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to ABBA, the YMC has performed in its own right in NBCA concerts, and combined with other choirs including the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, the choir of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and Ragazzi Boys Chorus from California. They made their first solo tour to Japan in 2024, and this is their first visit to the Pemulwuy festival.

Conductor: Rosemary Oxenford

The Vanguard is Churchie's premier auditioned chamber choir which aims to blend the diverse skills of our singers from differing parts of our program. Some of our boys are part of the St John's cathedral chorister program under Dr Graeme Morton, many have held lead roles in our strong Music theatre program, and all of these boys also perform as part of smaller acapella jazz ensembles, preparing to compete each year at Generations In Jazz, the largest youth Jazz festival in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2025, The Vanguard toured to Vienna for the first time and won the male voice section of the Summa Cum Laude festival in Vienna, having the incredible privilege of performing in the Golden Hall of the Musikverien. All are dedicated musicians who hone their craft through individual tuition, and by playing in other instrumental ensembles at the school. The Vanguard enjoy learning a broad range of sacred, secular, jazz and film/gaming soundtrack music from across the globe, and serving the school community at various functions such as St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane City Hall, and collaborating with eminent artists such as The Idea of North this year at Churchie’s Jazz Under The Stars. After first coming to Pemulwuy in 2023, they are excited to be back to share their unique style with the festival in 2026.

Conductor: Ann Clarke

Trinity College Vocal Ensemble is a mixture of boys from the Junior and Middle School at Trinity College in Perth. The boys have met weekly to rehearse and prepare for Pemulwuy, in addition to their regular school commitments. Some of the older boys attended Pemulwuy three years ago and are excited to return for another weekend of singing.