Michelle Leonard, Founder, Artistic Director and Conductor of Moorambilla Voices, is the artistic visionary with a strong motivation to amplify creative opportunities for regional children and young adults as a catalyst for social change.

Moorambilla Voices is more than just a choir – it’s a life-changing educational program that ignites passion and potential in regional and remote children and youth. Through Moorambilla Voices, Michelle has spent 18 years working with the communities of regional and remote New South Wales, making it her mission to empower regional children and youth to dream big and pursue excellence in their own lives. Michelle is a recognised leader in her field, awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2017, the 2019 Sydney University Alumni Award for her service to the community and the arts, and the 2022 NSW AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

Moorambilla Voices is a nationally awarded regional arts organisation that has been making a significant impact since its inception in 2006. Since then Michelle has personally delivered skills development workshops directly into schools to over 42,000 children from 21 Local Government Areas across regional New South Wales. Michelle has commissioned over 100 new Australian works, and conducts yearly residency camps, tours, recordings, and performances for regional and metropolitan audiences. Michelle has also developed relationships of mutual understanding and respect with Indigenous language and cultural holders across regional New South Wales, positively shaping  Moorambilla Voices through the lens of Indigenous culture, language, and worldview. Under Michelle’s leadership, Moorambilla Voices showcases the extraordinary capacity of children as choristers, dancers, and visual artists to express their shared connection to Country with confidence and joy, to standing ovations.

This woman is a Sydney and Riverina based photographer specialising in theatre, commercial and family portraiture, landscape artworks and documentary photography. A finalist in the 2018 HEAD ON Landscape prize, semi-finalist in the 2014 and 2015 Moran Photographic Prize, Noni was runner up in the 2015 Art Gallery of NSW Instagram Australian Landscape competition. Noni’s involvement with Moorambilla started in 2012 as a promotional and documentary photographer. In 2016/2017 she mentored regional youth whilst photographing landscapes and people of the 17 communities involved with Moorambilla. She continued documenting these communities in 2018 as well as conducting regional town photographic workshops. Noni has also been involved with Moorambilla’s Narran Lakes, Mt Grenfell, Mt Gundabooka, Brewarrina Fish Traps and Byrock waterholes artistic cultural immersions where visual works and musical compositions are created. Noni lives and breathes photography. She relishes the opportunity to be able to capture Australia’s beautiful, diverse landscapes and people – showcasing them to a broader audience. Noni was vital in creating the Photography Modules for our Moorambilla Magic Modules.

This young woman is an Aboriginal woman of the Wiradjuri Nation. She trained in classical ballet and contemporary at The McDonald College of Performing Arts before pursuing full-time dance training at NAISDA Dance College. At NAISDA Amy was able to study both Yolngu and Moa Island songs and dances. Amy is a multidisciplinary artist working across many art platforms and aspires to work within the arts industry while also sharing her knowledge. In 2019, Amy worked with Moorambilla alongside Jacob Williams with both Primary Boys and Primary Girls Ensembles, in 2020 she was instrumental in creating Magic Modules for our regional youth.

This incredible man is a proud Wiradjuri man from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Neville has pursued his love of performing since the age of 15, starting as a ballroom dancer then finding his passion in contemporary dance. He is a recent Graduate of NAISDA Dance College and has rekindled a love for his culture and teaching others. Neville Is an Independent First Nations Artist based in Sydney. Neville’s main dancing styles are Contemporary Dance, Contemporary Indigenous Dance and Musical Theatre. In the future he desires to create his own works and showcase them. In 2019, Neville worked with Moorambilla alongside Jacob Williams with MAXed OUT Company and in 2020 created modules for our Moorambilla Magic Modules

Wow this woman is incredible! She is our composer in residence for the Moorambilla Voices Regional Boys Choir. Alice Chance is a sought-after composer with a flare for the human voice. Holding a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she was awarded the 2012 Ignaz Friedman prize, Chance writes across several genres but her music retains a distinct character of its own. Alice has been composer in residence with our multi-APRA-Award-winning Moorambilla Voices program from 2013-15, featuring in the film Wide Open Sky. Australian school children are finding that Alice Chance’s music is becoming a staple in their choir’s repertoire. Alice calculates that at least five thousand children have publicly performed her music since 2012. We welcome Alice back in 2018

She is our composer in residence for the Moorambilla Voices Regional Girls Choir, her second year with us. Josephine is an emerging composer, having completed her honours in Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium in 2016, under the tutelage of Paul Stanhope. She has composed and acted as Music Director for eight productions at the University of Sydney, including the 2017 and 2016 Women’s Revue, and the Sydney University Dramatic Society’s 125th Anniversary production of Agamemnon. She has had works commissioned and performed by Gondwana Choirs, Sydney Chamber Choir and the Sydney Youth Orchestra. She is currently finishing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy at the University of Sydney.

This man is a Sydney-born composer who has written in a wide range of genres from contemporary classical through jazz and popular music. An affinity with landscape and the natural world permeates his music, alongside a striving to understand and place the human soul within it. In recent years this has translated to a love of writing for voices, and has been fuelled by working with ensembles such as Moorambilla Voices, the Song Company, the SOQ, and the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus. He has also written for the Sydney Sinfonia, the Contemporary Singers, Occidental Strings, Three’s Company Opera, and the Australian Jazz Orchestra

As a performer and educator this man is versed in a wide variety of styles and genres. Born in Perth, he studied at the University of Western Australia before establishing a successful career in both teaching and performance. Since 2015 he has been a core member of The Song Company singing year-round in subscription, festival, recital, recording, and education projects. Andrew appears frequently with Sydney’s leading early and contemporary music ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Bach Akademie Australia, Cantillation, St Mary’s Cathedral Choir, Sydney Antiphony, the Choir of St James’, and Hourglass Ensemble. He balances these ensemble commitments with an emerging career as a soloist. His 2019 engagements include the Australian Premiere of Telemann’s Thunder Ode with Pinchgut Opera, various national touring projects with The Song Company, Christus in Arvo Pärt’s Passio, regional education work with the award-winning Moorambilla Voices program, Carmina Burana with Canberra Youth Orchestra, Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Collegium Musicum, and two solo recitals for Hourglass Ensemble and The Song Company. In 2019 Andrew also joins Pacific Opera as an Associate Artist

Anna has gained a reputation as a versatile soprano specialising predominantly in the interpretation of early and contemporary repertoire performing in a myriad of traditional and exploratory programming expertly demonstrating the versatility and virtuosity of a cappella singing. Equally at home as a dramatist on the stage, Anna is also a strong exponent of music education. She performs extensively with a number of Sydney’s professional ensembles including Pinchgut Opera and Cantillation; Sydney Chamber Opera; Sydney Philharmonia Choirs; the SSO; Ironwood; The Acacia Quartet, Ensemble Offspring; Halcyon; Taikoz; Bach Akadamie Australia, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Salut! Baroque, to name a few. Anna performed with The Song Company for over a decade and has collaborated with international ensembles such as The Wallfisch Band (UK) and the New Zealand String Quartet.

This man is an exceptionally versatile vocalist, Mark was a permanent member of The Song Company from 1997 to 2019 and during that time performed music spanning 11 Centuries for National and International audiences. Placing a high importance on education and access to music, in his 22 years with the Song Company Mark performed and participated in workshops for well over 200,000 primary and secondary school children and is increasingly in demand as a conductor, educator and adjudicator. Mark has been fortunate to work with many organisations including; Pinchgut Opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, Moorambilla Voices, Gondwana Choirs, Opera Queensland, ACO, Cantillation, Halcyon, Australian String Quartet, Ironwood, Sydney Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, St Mary’s Cathedral Choir, Sydney Chamber Choir, SUMS and the Newcastle University Choir.

Amy moved to Australia from the UK in 2015. An accomplished soloist and ensemble singer, Amy has performed as a soloist with many prominent orchestras, including the Gabrieli Consort, OAE and Hanover Band. As a member of EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble Amy premiered countless new works with contemporary orchestras. She worked with virtually all the leading UK vocal ensembles and was a member of Norway’s Edvard Grieg Kor. In Australia Amy has performed solo concerts with MSO, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Bach Akademie Australia, St James King Street, Victoria Chorale, Trinity College, The Australian Bach Society, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and Australian Baroque Brass. Amy recently performed in the Canberra International Music Festival, receiving warm reviews for her performances in Bach’s St John Passion and Schultz’s opera The Children’s Bach

Ben is a talented young pianist with a passion for accompanying vocal and instrumental performances. In 2014, Ben did an internship with Opera Australia, and traveled on full scholarship to Munich, Germany was a repetiteur for the Bel Canto Summer Program. In his role as accompanist, Ben has performed all over the country, and in 2015 will be continuing to perform with Voci Stupende and various ensembles. This is his third year as accompanist in residence for Moorambilla Voices. Ben studied Piano Performance with an accompaniment focus at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with David Miller and Bernadette Harvey, and has also studied with David Howie and Stephen Mould. In 2012 and 2013 he won the Mollie Neale award for highest marks in accompaniment. Ben works with various choirs and schools in Sydney.