“…Opera Australia has engaged not only conductor Antony Walker but also his regular Australian orchestra the Orchestra of the Antipodes….Their playing, and Walker’s leadership, are as resplendent, if not quite as richly textured, in the (raised) pit of the Opera Theatre as in the Angel Places’ more congenial acoustic.” The Opera Critic

Orchestra of the Antipodes (Original Instruments Ensemble)

In 2001 Antony Walker formed with Alison Johnston the professional chorus Cantillation and the chamber orchestras Sinfonia Australis and Orchestra of the Antipodes.

Initially formed to record baroque and early works for ABC Classics, the Orchestra of the Antipodes also accompanies the annual performance seasons of Pinchgut Opera, a professional company. The now highly esteemed the orchestra comprises a group of Australia's best early music players including Neal Peres Da Costa, Danny Yeadon, Rachael Beesley, Anna McDonald and Nicole Forsyth who play authentic instruments of the early classical era.

Recordings for the orchestra include George Frederic Handel's Messiah (on CD and DVD); a selection of Bach arias and duets with Sara Macliver and Sally-Anne Russell; the complete Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-1051); Rameau’s Dardanus; a CD collaboration with the distinguished Emma Kirkby of the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Hayes; Monteverdi’s Orfeo; Purcell’s Fairy Queen; and a recently released CD of Baroque Duets featuring Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater which won the inaugural ABC Classic FM listener's choice award. Most recent recordings include CD's of the Mozart Requiem and Bach arias with bass baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes.

Cantillation (Choir)

Cantillation is a chorus of professional singers - an ensemble of fine voices with the speed, agility and flexibility of a chamber orchestra. Formed in 2001 by Antony Walker and Alison Johnston, it has since been busy in the concert hall, opera theatre and the recording studio.

Performances have included Adams' Harmonium and Transmigration of Souls, Ross Edwards’ Symphony No. 4 'Star Chant', Haydn's Nelson Mass and Jonathan Mill's Sandakan Threnody (all with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra); Nigel Butterley's Spell of Creation (Sydney Philharmonia), Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Melbourne Symphony), concerts with Andrea Bocelli and most recently concerts with Emma Kirkby and Orchestra of the Antipodes in Sydney and Melbourne, and regional touring throughout NSW (both for Musica Viva), and performing in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Shock of the New program for the second year running.

Recordings for ABC Classics include great choral masterpieces of the Renaissance, Fauré's Requiem, Orff's Carmina burana, a collection of contemplative 20th-century sacred works entitled “Prayer for Peace”, George Frederic Handel's Messiah and a Christmas disc, “Silent Night”. Future CDs include folksongs and works by Grainger, and the choral works of Ross Edwards.

As well as opera appearances (Semele, The Fairy Queen, Orfeo and Dardanus), Cantillation has sung for the Dalai Lama and recorded soundtracks for several movies, including in the Emmy nominated soundtrack for Christopher Gordon's Salem's Lot. Cantillation has also sung with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Sergei Rachmaninov's The Bells and recently recorded the Mozart Requiem for ABC Classics.