Joy in Singing

Discover the imaginative and innovative performances of the Jubilate Singers under the musical direction of Philip Norman CNZM. Since the choir's inception in 1977 the Jubilate Singers have earned a national reputation for high quality a cappella sacred and secular works, jazz arrangements and works with orchestral accompaniment.

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Welcome.

Welcome to the Jubilate Singers, a Christchurch (New Zealand) SATB chamber choir of around 30 singers conducted by Music Director Philip Norman. The 'Jubes' present 3-4 public concerts a year featuring a wide range of international and New Zealand choral music, and we are well-known for our innovative programming and consistently high standard.

Read our Music Director's Report for the year ending 31 January 2021 for a summary of our recent activities.

Want to sing with us? We are currently looking for singers. See our 'Join' page for more information.

Latest Updates

We rehearse at our new regular venue in the Knox Church Hall on Bealey Avenue on Monday evenings, 7.15 - 9.30pm. We are enjoying the wonderful acoustics with plenty of space for healthy singing, masks optional.

Our next concert will be ‘Wit and Wisdom’ at The Piano, 156 Armagh Street, Christchurch, at 2.30pm on Sunday, 30th October 2022 to celebrate 50 years of composition by Philip Norman. This concert of choral works will be recorded by SOUNZ for posterity. The concert will be conducted by the composer and accompanied by Jeremy Woodside (piano), Amandine Guerin (violin) & Roger Buckton (flute).

This concert also marks the publication of Philip's latest book, A Complete Absence of WIT & WISDOM, a hugely entertaining selection of his articles, lyrics and talks from five decades of writing. Advanced booking $30/$25/$20 (Full/Concession/Student) www.trybooking.co.nz/LKS or cash at the door. Don't miss this highlight of our year!

This concert is sponsored by The RATA Foundation, NZ Community Trust, Pub Charity Limited, The Lion Foundation, Argyle Welsh Finnigan Limited and The Piano Centre for Music and the Arts.

Upcoming Concerts

Wit & Wisdom

30th October 2022

The Music of Philip Norman CNZM

From organs to orchestras, car horns to choirs, ballads to ballet, Philip Norman’s compositions span the breadth of the performing arts. This concert celebrates and records highlights from the many choral and musical theatre songs he has written while living in Christchurch.

It includes selections from Footrot Flats, New Zealand’s most successful stage musical co-written with Roger Hall and A. K. Grant; songs from shows as diverse as Love Off the Shelf, which broke box office records in England and New Zealand, the rollicking student operetta from 1976, A Stab in The Dark, and The Great Art War, a succès d'estime at the Court Theatre post-earthquake.

Collaborations with Margaret Mahy are represented by ‘Tarragon Vinegar’, familiar to all involved with this year’s Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival, along with thought provoking reflections on World War I in Pro Patria commissioned by the Christchurch City Choir.

Conducted and compèred by the composer, Wit & Wisdom promises to be a warm-hearted romp through five decades of music-making: ideal for either awakening memories in Christchurch concertgoers, theatre aficionados and choristers of old, or for introducing to those unfamiliar with his writing, the wit, wisdom and charm of his considerable musical output.

A Complete Absence of

WIT & WISDOM

This book, a hugely entertaining collection of articles and talks by Philip Norman, will be launched at the concert and available in the foyer for purchase or perusal. An ideal Christmas gift for the undiscerning reader, $30.

In it, while rocketing towards decrepitude (one of his chapter titles), Philip reveals an energetic and productive life as a composer, lyricist, writer and conductor in a land as far from the world’s cultural centres as it is possible to be.

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Sir Arthur Sullivan: A musical portrait

25th February 2023

A concert that puts the spotlight on a composer who wrote much more than a string of phenomenally popular comic operas in association with his librettist WS Gilbert. With the participation of the Risingholme Orchestra and soloists, the programme features perennial favourites from a number of these operas – including The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado.

We also showcase a number of Sullivan’s works for orchestra, and for orchestra and choir, among them the first movement of his Symphony in E (“Irish”); choral excerpts from his incidental music to King Arthur; and his Boer War Te Deum.

Prepare to be surprised as well as entertained.

Saturday, 25 February 2023, 2pm

Venue: The Piano, 156 Armagh Street, Christchurch