What began as a teacher’s dream in a small Victorian town has blossomed into one of Australia’s most celebrated choirs. The MSO Chorus, which began as the Melbourne Chorale, has been acclaimed as ‘Victoria’s finest choral group’ and ‘the country’s best vocal group, with a growing international reputation’. In 2025, the Chorus celebrates six decades filled with glorious music, both old and new, and prestigious collaborations.

The story begins in the former township of Yallourn, built to house workers at the coal power station. There, high-school English teacher Val Pyers discovered a calling beyond the classroom. Pyers founded the Yallourn Madrigal Singers in 1956, a decision that would reshape Victoria’s choral landscape. He moved to Melbourne in 1965, determined to increase his experience and expand his success. His talent was quickly recognised, and his reputation flourished at the helm of both the Melbourne University Choral Society and Heidelberg City Choir. Yet the ambition to create a choir of his own remained.

Splendid Melbourne Debut

In December 1965, Pyers presented his new 18-voice Melbourne Chorale in a festive Carols program at the Assembly Hall in Collins Street. This first foray onto the stage heralded a bright future—a full concert schedule in 1966 and regional tours across Victoria, a sweep of three wins at the 1967 Adelaide Eisteddfod, and an invitation to perform in an ABC studio broadcast of Vivaldi’s Gloria with the then ABC Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Artistic Expansion

That first broadcast in 1966 sparked an enduring partnership between the Chorale and the MSO, enabling it to attract new singers, establish its own subscription series, and seek funding from the state government, Australian Council for the Arts and Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The Chorale’s first mainstage ABC concert—Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor in 1969—further established it as a serious artistic force.

The years that followed saw an impressive expansion of ambitions, an unwavering commitment to taking music to regional communities, a tour to Sydney, and the commissioning of new choral works that enriched Australia’s musical heritage.

By 1975, the Chorale had matured into an incorporated entity with a dedicated committee supporting Pyers, who had become its full-time director and administrator. From its home at the Isabella Younger Ross Memorial Hall in Carlton, the organisation flourished, introducing a 16-voice Chamber Singers and creating an Occasional Choir for large-scale performances. One such was the MSO’s ambitious 1987 Australian premiere of Schoenberg’s vast and complex Gurrelieder under MSO’s then chief conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki. 

Ringing in Melbourne’s Festive Season

The Chorale had started with a Christmas concert and presented one in most years, but the 1980s saw it become an indispensable part of Melbourne’s festive celebrations, with Carol Concerts at the Melbourne Concert Hall sponsored by The Age. An even more cherished tradition began in 1987 when the Chorus first joined the MSO for their much-beloved Messiah concerts in 1987—an annual event that continues to this day.

New Leadership, New Horizons

The 1993 Messiah performance introduced audiences to the Chorale’s new music director and conductor, Graham Abbott, fresh from leading the Adelaide Chorus and newly appointed as the MSO’s Assistant Conductor. As director, Abbott brought new ideas and new growth. Working with the Chorale’s committee and future general manager Nick Bailey, he restructured the three choirs into one large, flexible ensemble capable of adapting to a variety of projects. Abbott reinvigorated the Chorale’s commitment to commissioning and performing Australian works while also attracting prestigious corporate sponsors such as Deutsche Bank.

The late 1990s brought further innovations, including the creation of a 50-voice professional-standard Ensemble managed by the Chorale. Supported by funding from the City of Melbourne, Arts Victoria and the Australia Council, the Chorale expanded its collaborations with the State Orchestra of Victoria (later Orchestra Victoria) and the Australian Ballet, and strengthened its ties with the MSO.

International and interstate stages beckoned with tours to Brazil, Kuala Lumpur and Perth. Landmark performances included participation in Mahler’s Symphony No.8 (Symphony of a Thousand) at both the Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney in 2000 and a Centenary of Federation commemoration at the Royal Exhibition Building in 2001.

Meanwhile, the Chorale’s commitment to the local community and to Australian music never waned. Annual Anzac Day ceremonies at the Shrine of Remembrance became a deeply moving tradition for the singers, while new works were commissioned from Australia’s foremost composers, including Brett Dean, Ross Edwards and Paul Stanhope, as well as from English composer Gabriel Jackson.