Executive Summary

Luminescence’s purpose is to deliver artistic and educational programmes that showcase the full expressive capacity of ensemble singing, foster a future for our art form in Australia and promote Canberra as a national centre of music and culture.

Our organisation consists of two core ensembles: a professional vocal consort, and a treble choir for singers aged 10 - 17. In addition to presenting an annual subscription season in Canberra, both Luminescence Chamber Singers and Luminescence Children’s Choir perform regularly at public events, festivals, on tour, and in collaboration with a wide range of other artists. Both ensembles are actively involved in delivering adjacent programs, including workshops, young artist opportunities for singers and composers, and our annual holiday program for children aged 7 - 12.

In recent years, Luminescence has undergone a period of tremendous growth. Since the organisation was founded in 2015, the Chamber Singers have transformed from a student ensemble to an artist-led professional undertaking, and the Luminescence Children’s Choir has developed a reputation as a premier performance program for young singers. Since 2015, Luminescence has delivered more than 125 concerts, and has partnered with a number of Australia’s leading choirs, conductors, festivals, and institutions.

The strategic plan presented here is the result of two periods of analysis and planning over two years. In late 2020, we undertook a strategic audit of our organisation and a wide-ranging consultation with artists and associated stakeholders. As a result of this process, 2021 saw the appointment of two new permanent members to the Luminescence Chamber Singers, consolidating a core ensemble of 5 singers, with plans in place to grow to 6 as soon as this is practical. After numerous years of performing as a collective that drew artists from across Australia, this represented a significant milestone in our commitment to building an ensemble of professional singers in Canberra who nurture a collaborative creative practice, growing together as musicians and performers, and building relationships with our community and our audiences.

In 2021, we pursued a new phase of strategic planning, working with core artists and the Board of Directors to update our mission and vision statement, and develop key goals and metrics for the years 2022-2026. This period presents an opportunity to grow Luminescence into a leading organisation for ensemble singing, both in Canberra and on a national level. The development of a top-tier professional ensemble based in the nation’s capital, with a commitment to creating new and distinctive repertoire and a strong artistic identity will place Luminescence at the forefront of our artform in Australia. It will keep talented artists in Canberra as well as draw new talent. Keeping professional artists at the top of their field in Canberra will have broad flow-on effects for Canberra’s local arts ecosystem. It enables the creation of world-class art and performance in Canberra, provides professional pathways for young artists, opportunities for community choirs, orchestras and other ensembles, and promotes the arts in Canberra.

This strategic plan places emphasis on Luminescence’s bold artistic vision and developing our role as leaders in our art-form. It outlines five key strategic goals that will help ensure the continued artistic and economic growth and professionalisation of our organisation.

We will:

About our art-form

Singing is ancient, universal and fundamental to human experience. It predates the development of spoken language. There is no human culture that does not sing. Our voices were our original instruments, and vocalisation is our vessel for the most basic forms of human communication - a grunt, a cry, a shriek for joy, or laughter. At the same time, singing is personal. Our voices have a unique capacity to tell stories. Singing goes hand in hand with making meaning, with communicating.

Whether the music soothes us or confronts us, something special happens when singers come together. Ensemble singing is intensely intimate, collaborative and can be transformative. Each and every singer plays a unique role, but together they become greater than the sum of their parts. Commitment to the power of ensemble singing is why Luminescence exists.  

We embrace the very old and the very new, working closely with composers to develop new music, as well as presenting music that spans more than 1000 years.

Canberra supports an unusually dense choral scene, from pub-singers to pioneering children’s choirs and large-scale community choruses.  In a city that values and fosters an extraordinary amount of choral and vocal activity, support for professional singing is crucial. It provides leadership, energy and role models for young people and community groups alike, and lay the groundwork for an ensemble of national stature.

From a national perspective, professional consort singing is a small but vibrant (and rising) art-form.  In recent years young ensembles have sprouted up across the country - a consequence of Australia’s growing participation in choral singing over more than 30 years. Unlike the United States and Europe, no permanent roles for consort singers currently exist in Australia.

In our commitment to maintaining a consistent professional ensemble based in Canberra, Luminescence has a strategic opportunity to make a contribution to the broader Australian arts scene. This position is strengthened by our unique combination of professional practice and youth programs. By creating opportunities for children to make music at the highest level, Luminescence celebrates the unique artistic capacities of the children’s voices, and helps to foster the passion and skills and networks that will ensure a strong future for both choral singing and consort singing in Australia. While some choristers may pursue musical careers, many will become our audiences and advocates.

A properly supported professional ensemble, emerging from grass-roots beginnings but capable of providing local and national leadership, would be the only group of its kind. It would make Canberra a national nucleus for the vocal arts, and demonstrate that Canberra home for artists and arts organisations with national and international aspirations.