Dr ROBERT BRAHAM OAM

BMusEd, PhD (Music), Medal of the Order of Australia

Director of Music, Trinity College, East Perth

As the Musical Director of Voyces, Robert has developed a choir that sings ‘contemporary classical’ choral music of the highest quality. In recent years Voyces has focused on an all Australian program for its debut self-titled CD; works from Iceland, Norway and Finland in its Tundra program and juxtaposing traditional choral pieces against modern counterparts they have inspired including Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands. Robert looks to perform the most recent of choral compositions, including David John Lang’s Sorry I Missed You and Matthew Orlovich’s Sonnet to the Comet of 1825.

Robert has toured with Voyces to the 2014 Festival of Voices in Tasmania, the 2015 ANCA Choralfest in Melbourne, and the 2017 ANCA Choralfest in Brisbane, with the choir enjoying significant musical success on all occasions. Robert has also done much to promote Australian choral music through commissioned works. His list of premiered commissioned works includes Wheatbelt (Iain Grandage, Australian Society for Music education), Let Go of My Hand and Buckley’s (Paul Jarman, Trinity College), Vast Sea, Sleeping Mother (Dan Walker, Orff National Conference), The Hooves of Fate (Dan Walker, Voyces), Ark of My Hopes, Ark of My Dreams (Dan Walker, Trinity/Mercedes Chorale) Canticle of the Word (Andrew Partington, Perth Oratorio Choir), The Wexford Carol (Arr. Stefan Pugliese, Voyces), Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei (Perry Joyce, Trinity College Senior Chorale) and The Frog Prince (Perry Joyce, Voyces).

As Director of Music at Trinity College Robert also conducts the senior school choirs who have sung in festivals in Sydney, Llangollen, Beijing, New York, Dublin, Belfast, London and Sydney. Robert works as an adjudicator, tutors choral conducting for ACCET at their annual Melbourne summer school and is active with the Australian National Choral Association. In 2017 Robert conducted the Vancouver Chamber Choir as part of their annual symposium, and the Giovanni Consort in a program of modern English repertoire.

For fourteen years Robert was the Musical Director and conductor of the Perth Oratorio Choir where he conducted an extensive range of major choral works with orchestra. He has also prepared Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the WASO Chorus. Robert was the founding conductor of the WA Youth Chorale. In 2006 the WAYC won the state final of the ABC FM Sing Out competition and represented WA in the national final.