Our Story

The Australian Girls Choir (AGC) has been providing high quality Performing Arts education and wonderful performance opportunities to many thousands of girls from across the country for more than 30 years.

Humble beginnings

The AGC was established in 1984 by Judith Curphey OAM, with 150 girls rehearsing in four classes in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood and Judith as the sole tutor. The appeal of our unique approach to combining dance with choral music meant that it was not long before chapters of the organisation opened in other cities around Australia. Today we are proud to have 6000 girls learning to sing, dance and perform in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

“Every child can learn to sing…”

The founding philosophy behind the AGC is that every child can learn to sing given encouragement and training, and our dynamic and inclusive curriculum is designed to cater to varying abilities and confidence levels. Girls have fun, make friends and blossom musically and socially as members of the AGC.

Engaging audiences all over the world

All of our senior performers begin their journey in our training levels where they learn to dazzle audiences, and many have gone on to entertain audiences around the world with their vibrant performances. The girls have shared the stage with a long list of outstanding artists including Pharrell Williams, Olivia Newton-John and on tour with Hugh Jackman, and have released several CDs including ‘Chasing Rainbows’ for ABC Music.

We have been honoured to perform at the official receptions for many dignitaries including President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II. Further afield, members of the AGC have toured on 39 occasions with their voices reaching almost every corner of the globe. An audience with Pope Benedict XVI, performance for the King of Tonga, UNICEF benefit concert at the Hanoi Opera House, the Shanghai World Expo and ‘G’Day USA’ Australia Week are just a few of our international accomplishments.

Representing the ‘Spirit of Australia’ for Qantas

There is no greater testament to our reputation than our selection by Qantas to represent the ‘Spirit of Australia’ in their highly acclaimed ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ advertising campaigns since 1998. The filming of the four major campaigns took place in spectacular locations around the world including a glacier in Argentina, a Massai village in Africa, amongst the Terracotta Warriors in China, and in the breathtaking Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory. We are delighted to have involved thousands of our girls in the filming of the advertisements and in live performances for Qantas during our twenty-year relationship.