7 April 2025
After the success of earlier courses, we are holding another four-day ¡TONE UP! residency at The Old Monastery in Stroud (rural NSW) to sing from 16th-century partbooks. As well as singers, and culinary companions, we are open to others joining us for this time at The Monastery as "creative residents". Those who have been on one of these residential courses with us before qualify for a 20% discount!
10 March 2025
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, composer, vocalist, and long-time member of TONUS PEREGRINUS, is visiting Sydney for performances of her choral re-imagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, A Season to Sing. On Friday evenings, 28 March and 4 April, 6.30pm–9pm, at St Philip’s Church, Sydney, she will be joining Antony Pitts for a unique two-part vocal & choral ¡TONE UP! workshop, co-presented by the Royal School of Church Music Australia (NSW).
Book your place at https://www.trybooking.com/CZEAA.
9 October 2024
After the success of earlier courses, we are holding another four-day ¡TONE UP! residency at The Old Monastery in Stroud (rural NSW) to sing from 16th-century partbooks. As well as singers, and culinary companions, we are open to others joining us for this time at The Monastery as "creative residents".
1 May 2024
At our latest ¡TONE UP!, held at The Old Monastery in Stroud, we successfully learnt to read from the original notation, and sang the complete Tallis Lamentations from partbooks provided by The Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM). It was a lovely opportunity for singers from Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, and Melbourne to come together to make music and enjoy each other's company in communal living and dining.
Register your interest in future workshops here: https://www.tonus.au/toneup-apply
25 March 2024
Today is "old" New Year's Day, at least in the calendar in use in England from the 12th century until 1752, and we have a new "old", last-minute opportunity for a few talented singers interested in singing Renaissance music from its original notation. In preparation for a TONUS PEREGRINUS recording from the Sadler Partbooks – undergoing incredible digital restoration by The Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM), we are holding a four-day ¡TONE UP! residency at The Old Monastery in Stroud (rural NSW) to sing through Tallis's soul-searching Lamentations from the Partbook images, led by Antony Pitts. We only need one or two people on each part, but they must be able to read music well, and be confident to hold their own part. Because of the nature of this ¡TONE UP!, the singers' subsidized rate is simply to cover accommodation and some meals. We are open to others joining us for this time at The Monastery as "creative residents".
20 December 2023
As celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the English composer William Byrd come to a close, the fifth ¡TONE UP! ensemble-singing course is to take place at Excelsia College. This ¡TONE UP! is a three-day ensemble-singing workshop on the music of William Byrd and Antony Pitts, hosted by Excelsia College. Applicants should be able to sing one to a part and quickly familiarise themselves with potentially demanding new music. The music includes Byrd's "four last songs" and movements from Pitts's Requiem for the Time of the End.
Apply today (applications by 7 January recommended)
18 September 2023
Antony Pitts has been appointed the inaugural Willam Byrd Fellow, in Byrd's 400th-anniversary year, at Excelsia College in Sydney. Antony's research areas are composition, performance practice from original notation, and figured tone (an extension of figured bass), and the work that TONUS AUSTRALIS does both in education and professional performance will feature prominently in his research.
4 July 2023
On the 400th anniversary of the death of composer William Byrd, whose music we have been exploring from original notation and modern editions, we are delighted to announce that the first Melbourne ¡TONE UP! will take place from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 September 2023 in Melbourne's iconic St Paul's Cathedral – apply and share today: https://www.tonus.au/toneup-apply-melbourne
Featured music includes 'As I Walk' from Songs From The Heart by First Nations composers Elizabeth Sheppard and Rhubee Neale. Join us for two days of intensive rehearsals and workshops, culminating in a Choral Eucharist and Choral Evensong on Sunday 17 September.
24 April 2023
The inaugural residential ¡TONE UP! in the unique and beautiful surroundings of The Old Monastery, Stroud, NSW takes place from Monday 4 to Friday 8 December 2023 – apply by 31 May for a 10% Early Byrd discount. We have a limited number of places available for singers, and also for culinary companions: https://www.tonus.au/tone-up-apply.
Download brochure
18 February 2023
¡TONE UP! Sydney #2 – apply by Friday 24 February to be considered in our initial round of offers. We have a limited number of places available, and are especially interested in hearing from altos and tenors: https://www.tonus.au/tone-up-apply
3 February 2023
After an invigorating and much-enjoyed inaugural ¡TONE UP! ("truly unforgettable"), we are pleased to announce the next course, exploring the liturgical music of William Byrd and his successors in the polyphonic tradition: Friday 17 to Sunday 19 March 2023 at St Martin's, Killara, Please apply and/or share this link: https://www.tonus.au/tone-up-apply
20 January 2023
It's all systems go for our inaugural ¡TONE UP! next week in leafy Killara with all spaces filled for an in-depth look at the music of William Byrd, his contemporaries, and those who preceded and followed him in the polyphonic tradition. There will be a short recital of what we have learnt on Wednesday 25 January at 6pm at St Martin's, Killara, to which the public is welcome.
10 January 2023
We're delighted to announce that all four of our fully-funded inaugural ¡TONE UP! scholarships have been awarded – to Helen Jordan, Austin O'Toole, Liam Green, and Gabriel Desiderio. Other news hot off the press – one, or possibly two, regular soprano/mezzo places have now become available at late notice for our Sydney course later this month (23–25 Jan). If you're interested, or know someone who might be, please apply ASAP here or share: https://www.tonus.au/tone-up-apply
14 December 2022
Four fully-funded scholarships for the inaugural ¡TONE UP! have been provided through the generosity of an anonymous donor. These scholarships are for emerging professional and student singers, and cover the full cost of music and tuition during the course – if you would like to apply, or know someone for whom they might be appropriate, click here
2 December 2022
¡TONE UP! is a new series of choral courses led by the composer and conductor Antony Pitts, the founder of TONUS PEREGRINUS and Artistic Director (2016–2022) of The Song Company. These courses are aimed at anyone interested in toning up their ensemble-singing skills, covering a range of musical abilities and experience, from student and community singers to experienced professionals. Throughout 2023 we will be commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Byrd with his magnificent vocal polyphony at the centre of our exploration of early manuscripts and modern editions. The first ¡TONE UP! of 2023 takes place on Sydney’s leafy Upper North Shore (Killara) from 23 to 25 January.
