Parramatta's flagship choir, River City Voices, returns in 2025 with its signature collaborative and unexpected programs and activities that engage, reflect and promote the artistry,
history and stories of western Sydney and its community.
HUMAN WAVES
Saturday 6 September | 7.30pm
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
Revel in music that reflects you !
​Waves of people… waves of sound…Let Human Waves carry you through the vivid diversity of Australia’s migrant history, our common bond and one of our greatest assets.
Human Waves was originally commissioned by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs for its 2020 centenary celebrations from two of Australia’s most beloved ARIA award-winning artists, and Elena Kats-Chernin AO (composer) Tamara-Anna Cislowska (librettist). The fully orchestrated premiere took place three years later at the Sydney Opera House featuring River City Voices.
From the sensorial movement 'To and fro' which puts you firmly in the place of a Vietnamese boat refugee, to the lived experience of post WW2 migrants and the shock of bikinis and Vegemite, River City Voices is proud to bring this unforgettable work to western Sydney for the first time.
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And, it will be amplified by powerful new movements commissioned by River City Voices that narrate two of our very own choristers' personal journeys, one from India and the other from Sweden.
You'll also experience songs from our choristers' homelands like
The Netherlands, South Africa, Latvia, New Zealand, The Philippines and more! We know you'll find this concert a genuinely resonant and heartfelt experience.
Guest Artists
Elena Kats-Chernin | Piano
Tamara-Anna Cislowska | Piano
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Conductors - Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith | Dr Philip Eames
Piano - Kevin Wang
Choir - River City Voices
SLAM MESSIAH
Saturday 6 December
3.00pm | 7.30pm
Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown
A musical masterwork re-energised for western sydney
​In 2022, River City Voices broke the mold of a beloved Christmas tradition by uniting a choral classic with brand new performance poetry for its BRAVE series.
In 2025, Slam Messiah is back – with the same iconic music, and all new poets and poems.
Handel’s masterwork Messiah was born from one man’s struggle to keep his faith alive in the face of changing times and governments.
The times are different, but the issues remain the same. How
will our slam poets respond?
Whether this is your first Messiah or your fiftieth, Slam Messiah offers you the chance to discover what messages - perhaps new, perhaps timeless – Handel’s best-known work offers us in 2025.​
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Conductor - Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith
Soloists - Kerry Nicholson | Soprano
Wesley Yu | Tenor
Michael Lampard | Bass
Poets - Daniel Meharab | Rania Omar | Charnel Rizk
Choir - River City Voices
