QUMS - AICSAPedia

Queensland University Musical Society (QUMS)

Address: c/- Clubs and Societies, The Union, University of Queensland, ST LUCIA QLD 4072
Newsletter: 'MIYD (Mad If You Don’t)'; 'Banana Profana'
Mascot: The QUMS Banana

One of the oldest clubs at the University of Queensland, QUMS began life as the University of Queensland Musical Society (UQMS) in 1912, under the direction of H.W. Dinning. Its repertoire consisted of glees and partsongs. With the appointment of Robert Dalley-Scarlett in 1920, they made significant progress, presenting what is believed to be the first Queensland performance of Bach’s B-minor Mass in October 1928. Dalley-Scarlett resigned in 1931, and the next few years were unstable with a very low membership. Although they continued to rehearse for a time, variously under J. Irving, Harold Kyng, Helen Collings, Sydney May, and Dalley-Scarlett again, between 1942 and 1944 QUMS ceased to function at all. In 1945, at the end of the war, the choir was revived by Hugh Brandon as a women’s ensemble to sing at official university ceremonies; it regained its original mixed form in 1947. One member of QUMS attended the second IV in Melbourne in 1951, and QUMS itself hosted its first IV festival in 1952. A separate madrigal group was soon formed which split from QUMS in 1965 to form the University Society for Renaissance Music (later UQ Pro Musica). Colin Brumby was appointed conductor in that same year and was succeeded by Robert Boughen in 1966, John Villaume in 1970, David Macfarlane in 1971, and John Nickson in 1974. Brumby took over again in 1977, and since then, conductors have included Norma Marschke, Michael Fulcher, Christopher Cook, Emily Cox, Chris Kiver and Kim Kirkman.