the Sydney Children’s Choir

Sam Allchurch is Associate Artistic Director at Gondwana Choirs, where his work with young people is widely recognised. Sam has a longstanding relationship with Gondwana, having started his musical life as a chorister in Gondwana Voices and the Sydney Children’s Choir. He has worked with many of Gondwana Choirs’ ensembles, in concerts, collaborations with orchestras and on tour across Australia and around the world. In addition to his conducting work, he plays a key role in artistic planning for the organisation, including working on the 2019 Gondwana World Choral Festival. 

Sam is Artistic Director of the Sydney Chamber Choir where his repertoire spans the works of Bach and Handel to the music of contemporary Australian composers such as Paul Stanhope, Meta Cohen, Luke Byrne, Nardi Simpson and Anne Cawrse. Sam is also Director of Music of Christ Church St Laurence, where he conducts the choir which dates back to 1845. In addition to weekly choral services, he has conducted the choir in performances of Bach’s St John Passion with the Muffat Collective and in residencies at Westminster Abbey and the Thomaskirche, Leipzig. 

Sam holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne and a Master in Music (Choral Studies) from the University of Cambridge where he was a Gates Scholar.  

Lachlan Massey is a young Australian conductor and composer.

Lachlan is Artistic Associate at Gondwana Choirs, working under Lyn Williams AM. In his time with the choirs he has assisted in preparing them for performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Theatre Company and for six Prime Ministers of Australia. He is privileged to conduct the Sydney Children’s Choir’s Junior Performing Choir, a selective extension group for young people ages 9-14 who show especially strong musical aptitude.

As Artistic Director of Musgrove Opera, Lachlan has directed several productions for children and families, described by Time Out as “ingenious…petite productions for hungry young minds.” Lachlan presents an annual season with the company which has included four petite productions at the Sydney Opera House in recent years, as well performances at The Concourse and in schools.

​Lachlan has presented workshops for ACO Foundations and was a guest conductor for the RSCM Junior Schools Choral Festival in 2022 and 2023. Lachlan is a former Young Ambassador for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Rebecca Hilliard is a 23 year old Australian composer-conductor currently based in Sydney, Australia.

She began her musical journey with violin, and started singing in the Sydney Children’s choir at age 6. In 2013, she began her education at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, where she later received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2019, Rebecca moved to Canberra in order to study Science and Music at the Australian National University. Whilst at ANU, Rebecca participated in many projects as both a composer and conductor with Luminescence Children’s Choir, the Australian Girls Choir and the ANU Chamber Choir.

In 2023, Rebecca was commissioned by Gondwana Choirs as part of Gumura, a significant work exploring connections to place at Dawes Point. In the same year, she also composed the score for the award winning dance film Kiku, directed by Natsuko Yonezawa. After completing her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science, Rebecca returned to Sydney and is now working as the Operations Coordinator for Gondwana Choirs. She is also a Sight Singing Teacher and the conductor of JTC Chance and ITC Whitwell.

Lucy Cantrill conducts Mini Singers and Intermediate Training Choir levels of the Sydney Children’s Choir. Since moving to Sydney in 2018, she has enjoyed being involved in Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Rejoice Gospel Choir, the Australian Christian Orchestra, Hummingsong Choirs and Sing Australia. Her involvement in Gondwana National Choral School from a young age sparked a passion for choral singing, musical leadership and collaborative music-making.

Lucy studied a Bachelor of Music (Education) at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and majored in Classical Piano (Performance), studying under Gerard Willems AM, Dr Bernadette Harvey, Dr James Humberstone and Dr Jim Coyle. She is currently a music educator and choral conductor at Danebank School where she is helping to build a strong Performing Arts program across K-12.

Lucy is the conductor of the Sydney-based, Australian Christian Orchestra and has been a part of the entrepreneurial team in establishing this new organisation since 2023

Megan is a classically trained singer and recorder player with extensive experience as a performer and educator.  As a performer she worked for Musica Viva in Schools with her ensemble Pastance, playing a mixture of Celtic, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary folk music. With Pastance she has toured throughout schools in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, performed at many of Australia’s folk festivals and recorded four CDs.  Megan has performed as a soloist in operatic and music theatre productions, oratorios and chamber music, but particularly enjoys singing with small choral ensembles and is a long-term member of Sydney Chamber Choir. Megan also sings at weddings, church services, corporate functions, aged care residences and concerts for musical societies. As a music educator Megan worked for many years as musician in residence at St Lucy’s, a school for students with special needs before training as a Primary Teacher and taking up Specialist Music Teacher positions in several State Public Schools where she has also fostered choirs and recorder ensembles. She firmly believes that every child should have access to a quality music education, to be exposed to a wide variety of musical styles and have opportunities to be part of a creative musical process.