The Australian Boys Choir (ABC), celebrating its legacy as Australia’s “first and finest” choir for boys and young men, has announced an ambitious and diverse program for 2025. 

After marking its 85th anniversary in 2024, the choir looks ahead to an innovative year combining classical masterpieces, Australian works, and international collaboration.

The Australian Boys Choir. Photo supplied

Opening in March, the season begins with a landmark project focusing on the Passions of J.S. Bach. In partnership with Melbourne’s Genesis Baroque, the choir will present the Southern Hemisphere premiere of a reconstructed version of Bach’s lost St. Mark Passion (1744), arranged by Dutch musicologist Robert Koolstra. The performances in Ballarat and Melbourne are part of a multi-year initiative by Artistic Director Nicholas Dinopoulos to explore each of Bach’s surviving Passions.

The plan continues with the dramatic St. John in 2026 and will culminate in a performance of the St. Matthew in the 300th anniversary of the work, presented in conjunction with the visiting Hannover Boys Choir (Germany).

“It’s no secret that our singers have an...