The Sacred Veil
The Sacred Veil, a monumental 12 movement choral masterpiece, was born out of a collaboration between Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri. It tells a story of life, love and loss. Silvestri’s wife died of ovarian cancer at age 36 in 2005, leaving two young children. Texts from Silvestri, his wife, and Whitacre, as well as the compelling music, tell a story of courtship, love, loss and the search for solace. Although inspired by a moving and personal friendship, the work shares a very human journey that many people can relate to.
Canticum Chamber Choir, with conductor Emily Cox, welcome renowned cellist Louise King, and pianist Cara Tran on their journey to present this intimate work in the warm acoustic of St Mary’s Ballina.
DATE & TIME
SUNDAY, 30 August
3:00 – 4:30 PM
TICKETS
GENERAL $30
CONCESSION $25
Canticum Chamber Choir
Devoted to presenting high-quality repertoire in a diverse range of styles, Canticum Chamber Choir enjoys a reputation as one of Brisbane’s finest choral ensembles.
Under the leadership of founding Music Director Emily Cox AM since its inception in 1995, the choir has collaborated with professional companies including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Ballet and Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra. The group appeared in both seasons of “Brisbane Baroque”, has sung under the baton of numerous renowned conductors, and in 2017/2018 took part in GOMA’s ‘Gerhard Richter: The life of images’ exhibition. In 2018 Canticum was part of the Griffith University Conservatorium of Music’s production of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand, and in 2019 collaborated with Brisbane Chorale to perform Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Camerata and Graham Abbott.
In 2020 Canticum created a stunning semi-staged production of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, with stage direction by Anatoly Frusin. In 2022, Canticum presented an acclaimed production of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and 2024 saw a further collaboration with Anatoly Frusin with a semi-staged production of Bach’s St John Passion. In 2025, Canticum was honoured to present the Australian Premiere of Fredrik Sixten’s Stabat Mater, which was only the second performance of this major new work in the world. Canticum’s long experience of seamlessly fusing movement with music was acknowledged in 2026 by being chosen along with Brisbane Chorale as the chorus for Queensland Ballet’s production of Messa da Requiem.
Emily Cox AM
One of Australia’s most respected choral conductors, Emily Cox is founding Music Director of Canticum Chamber Choir and Music Director of the acclaimed symphonic choir, Brisbane Chorale.
Highlights include conducting the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Brisbane Chorale in Handel’s “Messiah”, her leadership of Canticum in the inaugural Brisbane Baroque festival, being chorusmaster for the Queensland Conservatorium’s 2018 production of Mahler’s 8th Symphony, and conducting significant Bach projects with Canticum Chamber Choir, including 2020’s remarkable semi-staged production of the Christmas Oratorio, a nationally live-streamed production of Mass in B Minor in 2022, and St John Passion in 2024. In 2025 Emily became only the second person in the world to conduct acclaimed Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten’s Stabat Mater in its Australian premiere, and in 2026 her ensembles, Canticum Chamber Choir and Brisbane Chorale, were chosen to perform on stage with Queensland Ballet in their production of Messa da Requiem, for which Emily was chorusmaster.
American-born and educated, Emily also studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and has received further training overseas, working closely with noted conductors including Eric Ericson, Frieder Bernius and, most recently, Simon Halsey in Berlin. Her reputation as a conductor, chorusmaster and educator with a diverse repertoire places her in demand by professional arts companies and festivals.
Emily was recognised in the 2020 Australia Day Honours as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “significant service to the performing arts through choral music”.
LOUISE KING, CELLIST
Louise King is an award-winning, internationally-trained, Australian-made cellist, a homegrown festival Artistic Director and education program designer.
Louise is an independent, crossover, contemporary cellist, equally comfortable in the sonic worlds of new music, experimental improvisation, classical, baroque, jazz and global folk traditions. She has worked with leading Australian artists such as Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Karin Schaupp, Sara MacLiver, Emily Granger, John Farnham, Jack Carty, Karl Williams, Ziggy Alberts, Eric Avery, Joe Geia, William Barton, Fred Leone and Kate Ceberano.
She is an ABC classics, Corella and Naxos artist and her recording output includes seventeen albums ranging from new music to baroque to collaborations with singer-songwriters.
She is award winning graduate of the Royal College of Music, London and Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England and the Global Teaching Artist Lab at Juilliard School, Lincoln Centre, New York and a recipient of the Luminary Award for QLD 2025 for her work in supporting and commissioning female composers presented by the Australian Music Centre and Australian Performing Rights Association and is nominated for their ‘Excellence in Regional Music’ 2026 award for her work with founding Long Listen and commissioning new Australian music.
Festival engagements include SouthBank Festival London, Britten-Pears Festival, Manchester Arts Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, BBC Proms, Queensland Music Festival, Brisbane Festival, Bleach Festival, Horizon Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Noosa Alive!, Floating Land, Bangalow Festival, Barossa Festival, Adelaide Cello Festival, Tyalgum Music Festival, Bangalow Music Festival, Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival and Brisbane Baroque Festival.
CARA TRAN, PIANIST
Cara is a Brisbane-based collaborative and orchestral pianist, performing regularly with choirs, chamber groups and orchestras across Australia.
She regularly performs with Resonance of Birralee, including appearances at the Gondwana World Choral Festival, and also works with contemporary music ensembles Nonsemble and Tango Enigmatico.
As an orchestral pianist, Cara has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and Australian Youth Orchestra, and participated in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute.
Cara is delighted to join Canticum Chamber Choir, Emily Cox and Louise King for their upcoming performances of Eric Whitacre’s The Veil.