Some people hear “choral concert” and think polite clapping and straight backs. Others… accidentally discover it’s a full-body, spine-tingling experience. Perth, upgrade your evening with the Giovanni Consort’s “Baltic Sounds”, featuring Arvo Pärt.
If your last choir memory involves childhood uniforms, mild stage panic and counting down the minutes — good news: this is not that choir.
This is the Giovanni Consort — Western Australia’s premier professional chamber choir — and they don’t do “nice background music.” They do sound that stops you mid-thought and makes you feel things you didn’t schedule for the evening.
Their upcoming concert, Baltic Sounds, is a deep dive into the musical soul of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Think haunting harmonies, shimmering textures, and the kind of stillness that only happens when a room full of people forgets to breathe at the same time.
Event information
🗓️ Friday 17 April 2026, 7.30pm (Fremantle)
📍 St Patrick’s Basilica, 47 Adelaide Street, Fremantle WA 6160
🗓️ Saturday 18 April 2026, 5.30pm (Guildford)
📍 Guildford Grammar School Chapel, 5 Terrace Road, Guildford WA 6055
🎟️ Tickets: General $55 | Concession $45 | Under 30 $30
🔗 Bookings: www.giovanniconsort.com or or TicketTailor
From lullabies to seismic soundscapes
At the heart of the program is Estonian composer Arvo Pärt — a name that tends to quietly rearrange your internal world. His De Profundis sits alongside works by Baltic greats like Maija Einfelde and Vytautas Miškinis, plus the striking Missa Rigensis by Uģis Prauliņš.
And just to keep things interesting (and proudly local), Australian–Latvian composer Ella Macens brings a contemporary emotional punch with When the world closes its eyes.
In short: lullabies, sacred works, premieres — and moments that may leave you staring into the middle distance afterwards wondering who you are now.
Who is Arvo Pärt? (The composer who made silence famous)
If there were a quiet superstar of the classical world, it would be Arvo Pärt. He’s consistently ranked as the most performed living composer globally — not because he’s loud or flashy, but because his music does something rarer: it lingers.
Born in Estonia in 1935, Pärt didn’t follow a straight creative path. After early success in the avant-garde scene, he stepped away completely — entering an eight-year period of silence and searching that would eventually reshape his entire musical language (and, arguably, modern music itself).
Out of that silence came tintinnabuli — his signature style, named after the sound of bells. It’s simple, precise, and deeply meditative. No big showy gestures — just clarity, stillness, and the kind of emotional depth that tends to sneak up on you mid-performance and refuse to leave. Works like Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel have since become iconic, quietly influencing composers and audiences around the world.
Today, Pärt’s music fills concert halls from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Europe’s grandest stages, yet it still feels intensely personal — like it’s written for a single listener, sitting very still, somewhere in the dark.
The Giovanni Consort
Under the direction of Nicholas Dinopoulos, the Giovanni Consort has been doing this for 30 years — building a reputation for performances that are both technically exquisite and emotionally disarming.
They’ve shared stages with international ensembles, released recordings, and quietly nurtured generations of singers right here in Western Australia.
Why you might love this
Even if choir isn’t “your thing”, here’s the secret: live choral music at this level isn’t about understanding every note. It’s about feeling it.
As reviews have neatly put it — the sound can be so powerful it’s hard to believe it comes from just a handful of voices.
Which is a polite way of saying: you might walk in sceptical… and walk out slightly transformed.
Last call (literally)
Two performances. Beautiful venues. A program that doesn’t come around every day. Our pride and joy, Arvo Pärt.
Read more
The Giovanni Consort
The Baltic Sounds
Thank you
Thank you to Anu Läänesaar for information!
