Young Voices of Melbourne was founded by Mark O’Leary OAM in 1990, and is now regarded as one of Australia’s finest choral programs for young singers. Its choirs are admired for their passionate performances, engaging repertoire and outstanding Kodály based music education program (Sight Singing School) which is now used in over 50 countries.
Young Voices of Melbourne performs regularly in and around Melbourne, and has released 13 recordings. The choir has performed for major events such as the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006, as well as at popular events such as the National Folk Festival in Canberra, and Festival of Voices in Hobart.
It regularly hosts visiting choirs from overseas and interstate, and its voice was widely heard singing the theme song of Chris Lilley’s popular television shows We Can be Heroes, and Summer Heights High.
The choir has a proud history of touring, having undertaken 40 tours to all states and territories of Australia as well as to Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, the USA, Ireland, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Samoa, New Zealand and Japan.