Australian Girls Choir - QANTAS Choir - A History

A History

Qantas first approached the Australian Girls Choir in 1998 about the possibility of working with the National Boys Choir on a promotional campaign for the airline, after watching the two choirs perform together on Carols by Candlelight.

The first installment of the campaign involved 150 choristers aged between 8 and 18. Throughout a three-month period, the girls were filmed in destinations as diverse as an Argentinean glacier and an ancient temple in Thailand. The final shot of the commercial was filmed at Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory and involved over 200 additional children.

The end result was a spectacular campaign, featuring poignant images of Australian children at exotic and famous locations. The success of the advertisement was both instant and overwhelming, and the campaign stirred the emotions of the nation. Australian Girls Choir choristers were involved in numerous public performances as part of the launch, and quickly became known as the Qantas Choir. Senior choristers were also involved in promotional events and media launches in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo and Jakarta.

As a result of the success of the campaign, the girls were invited to record the 'Spirit of Christmas' CD with the National Boys Choir and a host of high profile Australian recording artists. The CD went platinum and was nominated for an ARIA award.

In 2000 and again in 2004 the Australian Girls Choir was invited to do it all again in a sequel to the campaign. The filming of the 2000 campaign followed a similar format, and this time some of our location highlights included a Massai village in Africa, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Statue of Liberty in the USA. The making of the 2000 campaign became the subject of a documentary called Wandering Spirits, which aired on the Seven Network in Australia.

The Australian Girls Choir continues to enjoy its relationship with Qantas. The girls perform at Qantas events and functions such as the 'Boy from Oz', Socceroos Games and the Bledisloe Cup. The choristers also represent Qantas at 'G'Day USA' and 'G'Day NZ' Australia Week Celebrations each year.