In September 1984, the Arts Council organised a special Music Workshop using the Combined Churches Choir and a visiting conductor from Adelaide, Dr Dean Patterson who in 1985 was appointed to the Darwin Community College as a lecturer in Engineering.

Anxious to continue his work with choirs, he auditioned a choir to celebrate the 300 Anniversary of J.S. Bach's birth by performing the St. John Passion for Easter. After the performance, the choristers decided to stay together with Dean, forming the Darwin Chorale.

For the last 20 years the Darwin Chorale has made the musical experience happen for its members and with the opening of the Darwin Entertainment Centre the Chorale took to the stage with a never to be forgotten production of HMS Pinafore, followed by The Gondoliers, Ruddigore, Orpheus in the Underworld, Oklahoma and The Pirates of Penzance. In 1999 the Chorale combined with two other community groups to stage Jesus Christ Superstar. After the success of this show, the three groups and the Darwin Entertainment Centre, combined to form Superstar Productions, for the purpose of producing large scale musicals. Superstar Productions mounted the even-more successful Les Miserables in early 2001, followed by Fiddler on the Roof in 2003.

Since 1985 regular performances at Easter have included the St. John and the St. Matthew Passions, Mozart's Requiem, the Gloria by Vivaldi, the Lloyd Webber Requiem and Brahms' Requiem. Other works performed have been Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Nelson Mass and Creation and the Christmas Oratorio and B minor Mass by J.S. Bach.

In 1988, the Bicentennial Year, the Darwin Chorale formed the chorus for the Australian Opera's Opera in the Park at the Amphitheatre in Darwin for Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which also featured the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra.

The Chorale has also enjoyed performing several cabaret style shows, starting with Takin' it from the Top in 1991, All That's Jazz 1993, Choruslines 1994, Jazzin' About 1996, Love's in the Air 1997, Anything Goes in 1998 and The Chorale Downtown in 2004. In 2000 the Chorale combined with several other Darwin Choirs to perform music from around the world in a concert entitled enHarmony. In 2002, the Chorale performed Gitano Romancero as part of the International Guitar Festival with Craig Ogden the internationally acclaimed guitarist.

Over the last few years, at Christmas, the Chorale has performed Good Tidings - A Ceremony of Carols and Verse and it intends to build on these performances to make them an integral part of Christmas in Darwin. The Darwin Chorale regularly participates in public ceremonies in Darwin on occasions such as Australia Day, the Bombing of Darwin, Anzac Day and Police Remembrance Day.

In April 2000 the Darwin Chorale participated in the Australian National Choral Associations' Choralfest in Melbourne. Closer to home, they have toured to Jabiru and Katherine in recent years.

The Chorale funds itself from concert takings, membership fees, sponsorship from the private sector and grants from the Northern Territory Government.

The Chorale is governed by a Constitution (Draft Aug 2010).