" ... the helmanship of Antony Walker fine-tuned the ensemble mix impressively - a great tribute to his ever-increasing directorial skills."
(Magic Flute; Opera-Opera 10.99)

" Under the direction and occasionally airborne direction of their former musical director Antony Walker, now the chorusmaster of Welsh National Opera, the choir sang with great precision, clarity of diction, rhythmic verve and beauty of tone, no more so than in Rachmaninov and Tavener. ... Fire and brimstone sparked in Verdi's Dies Irae from the Requiem, while the energy in Orff's Carmina Burana proplled its final choruses with ineluctable force."
(Choral Pops; Sydney Morning Herald3.8.99)

" The seemingly inexhaustible Walker, the major star of this event ... was something of a virtuoso exercise for Walker, encompassing in quick succesion a huge range of choral styles ancient to modern."
(Choral Pops; Opera-Opera 9.99)

" ... resulted in a major upgrade in the impact of Ian Judge's production. Responsible for this were the three principal characters plus conductor Antony Walker, who brought his usual total commitment and incredible energy to bear on Gounod's score with sometimes exhilarating effect. In the final, apotheosis bit, for instance, he suddenly turned audienceward and upward to fine tune the contribution of the angelic chorus perched in the top-level side boxes of the Opera Theatre which have excruciating sightlines but wondrous access to the acoustic stratosphere of the auditorium. Unlike many an opera conductor, Walker was a much-admired choral one first, and far be it from his way of doing things to forget his choristers even as he carefully cues orchestra and soloists alike in the way any opera of conductor worth his salt must."
(Faust; Opera-Opera 9.98)

"Antony Walker, deserves a huge bouquet for the way he marshalled his enormous forces ... the tumult and the sheer force of the sound was quite awesome."
(Berlioz Te Deum; The Australian 22.4.97)

"The Philharmonia's performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana rang out with rhythmic assertiveness, directness of expression and colourful vibrancy ... There can be little doubt that conductor Antony Walker has a special talent when it comes to working with the massed choral forces ..."
(Carmina Burana; Sydney Morning Herald 11.9.95)

"When Synergy Percussion and the Contemporary Singers, under the direction of Antony Walker, joined forces last Sunday - the results were electric, thrilling and utterly memorable. ... The control and subtlety of the singing were miraculous ... admirable everywhere, but was quite superb in the final soaring movement. ... it was extraordinary music making, all the more impressive because so few groups anywhere in the world - could match the standards of these two Sydney ensembles. Surpassing them would be out of the question."
(Contemporary Singers' 10th birthday concert; Sun Herald 28.7.96)

"In his debut assignment with the Australian Opera, the unequivocally up and coming young conductor Antony Walker, who has made Sydney Philharmonia his own in recent years and has already notched up a considerable track record on the national concert circuit, was obviously very much in control of the proceedings all afternoon: absolutely on top of the music, perfectly familiar with the detail of the unfolding stage action ... Walker cued them meticulously, fine tuning their ensemble splendidly, controlling their dynamics with subtlety."
(Les Contes d'Hoffman, Opera-Opera Sydney, Australia 12.96)

"The full sunny radiance of The Creation was re-splendent in Sydney Philharmonia's performance at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday March 7 under Antony Walker. ... In a very significant way, however, the wider ensemble - fine tuned to perfection by the watchful Walker - was what made this such a thoroughly rewarding evening in the concert hall ... all of them were delivered with due prominence and skill on this occasion, earning significant kudos for Walker's fine-tuning of the performance as well as the excellence of the individual players." 
(The Creation; Opera-Opera April 1998)

"One of Australia's top conductors, Antony Walker's reading of the oratorio was rich in changes of dynamics, texture and tone, which brought the work to life. His control of the chorus was masterly with sounds of such beauty they took the breath away."
(Creation, The Malay Mail, 18.6.97)

"...conducted, with an evident blend of authority and enthusiasm, by Antony Walker. ... The choir of about 150 voices was splendid, both in tonal effectiveness and balance, shown to great, advantage in such choruses as Stimmet An Die Seiten /Tune The Strings) and the final, rather conventional, Singt Dem Herren (Let Every Voice)."
(Die Schöpfung, Sydney, The Horthern Herald 19.3.98)

"It was, without reservation, a concert with few peers. The program was fascinating and intelligently constructed, unlikely to be excelled anywhere, and sung with unfaltering virtuosity and commitment under Antony Walker's exemplary direction. ... The performance of this extraordinary music was supremely accomplished and utterly compelling - it was a privilege to experience it."
(Figure Humaine; Sun Herald 16.7.95)

"The best thing to happen to choral conducting in Sydney since goodness knows when is Antony Walker. And goodness would have had to cast its mind back quite a long way to come up with a more stimulating and vividly conducted concert than that for which he summoned up the collective courage of the 34 Contemporary Singers on Sunday." 
(Les Noces; Sydney Morning Herald 30.3.93)

"Antony Walker's strongly contrasted, agile and lightly resilient reading of the score banished the laboriousness of earlier 20th century interpretations of this work ... Walker's strategy made it easy for listeners to finish the evening refreshed and invigorated by the energy, enthusiasm and poise with which contrasts were posed and established."
(Mass in B minor; Sydney Morning Herald 17.4.95)

"... The Philharmonia Motet Choir, supported by a very competent orchestra and conducted by Antony Walker - increasingly standing out as our finest resident Australian conductor - sang with considerable radiance on Saturday ... this was distinguished choral work - a credit to our leading choir."
(Mass in C minor; Sydney Morning Herald 4.12.95)

"You would have to go a long way, with uncertain prospects of success, to find a better large Choir than Philharmonia in its current incarnation under its totally involved conductor Walker. ... Ideas like this were clearly brought out by Antony Walker's inspired direction, to which the choir responded splendidly ..."
(Missa Solemnis; Sydney Morning Herald 22.8.95)

"Australian conductor Antony Walker made his US debut with the Wolf Trap Opera's production of Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto ... Walker demonstrated a feel for Mozart's music with crisp pacing and considerable depth of sound. His sensitivity to the young singers' needs was admirable." 
(Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Opera-Opera Sept 97)

"Antony Walker, in charge of an excellent small orchestra, conducted with a fine sense of pace, balance and opera seria style."
(Mitridate, Re di Ponto, The Washington Post, 16.7.97)

"The glories of the music were shared by every performer ... and above all that most sagaciously effective choral conductor, Antony Walker."
(Monteverdi Vespers; Sydney Morning Herald 22.6.93)

"At the helm of a challenging, impressively executed program ... Meticulously co-ordinated by Walker, as one would expect, this was an evening of consistently first-rate music-making in the rarified precinct of contemporary vocal music."
(Music for Voices & Instruments; Opera-Opera March 98)

"The young and upwardly mobile Sydney born and bred conductor, Antony Walker, figured crucially in two important musical events in a single week last month. On the afternoon of Saturday, February 7, Sydney time, he was at the helm of the Sydney Philharmonia Choir on the steps of the Sydney Opera House as it participated in a phenomenal round-the-world-in-the twinkling-of-an-eye-and-and-eardrum simulcast of the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No 9. The Beethoven was an electronic as well as a musical tour de force of gigantic proportions-with an orchestra and pretty massive chorus in Nagano, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. Colossal as it was in itself, this basic ensemble was augmented by choirs in five other cities-New York, Sydney, Berlin, Cape Town and Beijing-to add up to a performance encompassing singers on all of the world's continents except South America. The logistics of the exercise were mind-boggling, but the result was stupendous TV as well as music-making of most impressive order."
(Nagano Opening Ceremony, Opera-Opera March 98)

"Sergei Rachmaninov's splendidly Russian All Night Vigil might well have been tailor made for the Great Hall of Sydney University, up-and-decidedly coming conductor Antony Walker and the formidable choral talents of Sydney Philharmonia. ... the sensitivity of the singers under the exemplary direction of Walker who obviouslY knows his Rachmaninov onions (as well, or course, as lots of others) and whose gestural fine tuning of choral balance was a wondrous bonus to behold. ... Obviously relishing the challenge of this extraordinary music, Walker fine tuned dynamics with imagination and flair - music-making of truly memorable stature."
(Rachmaninov Vespers; Opera Australasia July 96)

"It was sung and played impressively under the baton of Antony Walker, with the talents of Graham Pushee, Gregory Massingham and Grant Dickson well to the fore."
(Samson, Opera-Opera Sept 97)

"Antony Walker created a performance that was convincing musically, dramatically gripping and emotionally charged. He found an exemplary balance between narrative and meditation, allowing the title word - passion - its full resonance of meaning. Attention to contrapuntal detail, tonal vitality and thrilling dynamic changes exacted every changing mood of the crowd witnessing the events leading to Calvary. By contrast the reflective chorales, were sung with conviction, sometimes in muted reverence, at others in fervent affirmation."
(St Matthew Passion, Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, Australia 1.4.97)

"These performances - imaginatively posed and lighted and with small but select forces under Antony Walker's lucid direction - were fully worthy of the music. "
(Venus & Dido; Sun Herald 16.7.95)

"My list of memorable performances must surely be headed by Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and Blow's Venus & Adonis"
(John Carmody in the Sun Herald - Top Ten performances for 1995)

"Whoever thought up the idea of involving Synergy in the 10th birthday celebrations of the Contemporary Singers deserves a medal ... for this concert was a knockout. The joining of these two groups created almost a new genre; one of pulsating excitement and far-reaching musical exploration ... each of the works contrasted with and complemented each other in a way that made the concert rather like a large and particularly well-packed Christmas stocking ... The Contemporary Singers, having been quite brilliant all night under musical director Antony Walker, rose a further notch for this fearsomely difficult piece of writing and produced the most stunning choral effects ... the evocative power of timeless ritual. Tremendous!"
(Xenakis Idmen A & B and others; The Australian 26.7.96)

"The Contemporary Singers, under Musical Director Antony Walker, have played a substantial role in that effloressence and the achievement of this new CD eloquently shows why. No technical or expressive demands seem to daunt them from the extraordinarily diverse challenges of brazen theatricality to ethereal dissonances."
(CD Review Sydney Dreaming, Jan. 97)

"The Philharmonia, under musical director Antony Walker ... achieved a wonderful range and control in terms of choral colour, which is one of Walker's hallmarks." 
(Vespers; Sydney Morning Herald 18.6.96)

"All honour, then, to the Contemporary Singers under the direction of Antony Walker for presenting a Davies-Birtwistle concert as a 60th birthday tribute to the two composers ... performed with total concentration and dedication ... The fearless sense of responsibility of the Contemporary Singers was a tribute to the musical development of its membership and to the clear and emphatic style of Walker's conducting."
(A 60th birthday concert for Maxwell Davies and Birtwistle; Sydney Morning Herald 22.11.94)

"Walker ... developed the choir from a student group specialising in new music, into the kind of professionally reliable ensemble which the ABC could confidently hire ... In a profession which is usually characterised by years of marking time, organising one's own concerts, and waiting for a break, Walker would have to be seen as something of a prodigy."
(Peter McCallum, Sydney Morning Herald 5.12.92)