The 2023 Festival of Voices in Hobart treated 2000 singers to a banquet of song, community and beauty. It was my privilege to escort a group of 48 singers from Acabellas to the festival where we performed ten times as well as enjoyed the performances of so many vocal groups from around the world.

The highlights were innumerable but here are five that spring to mind that might capture a part of the experience and inspire singers considering a trip in future years.

1. The Singing Spaces

Across the five days we performed across diverse venues including the Hobart Airport (as an arranged performance to arriving travellers), the heritage listed Hobart Town Hall, the iconic MONA gallery, the bustling FarmGate market, the acoustically generous Elizabeth Street Mall, Hobart Library, Hobart Brewing Company and the sensitive Singers’ Lounge. The latter venue was part of Salamanca Arts Centre and transformed into a deeply respectful place for singers to celebrate one another’s sound under lights. The festival organisers thoughtfully programmed our group so that by merely showing up to our planned performances we toured the highlights of the beautiful harbour town of Hobart.

• The Local Community

Hobart has a similar sized population to Geelong and yet there was something so intimate about wandering around the town. As the singing leader of Acabellas I had the opportunity to compere our gigs and share a few stories about the group and our songs. In return I was frequently approached by people in the street who had seen us at one venue or another and wanted to thank us for being in town. I was struck by the gratitude shared with me for bringing original music to Hobart which locals proudly advocated as a thriving, creative place. Children performing on stage with us was a highlight as well as the audiences lustily joining us by invitation in selected songs.

• The Diversity of Vocal Groups

I have read there are 96 Sankrit words for love and in English there is a lonely one. This inadequacy of language is also true for singing groups which are typically called ‘choirs’. The diversity in presentations of songs was mind blowing and soul satisfying. A quartet of young German women in the Singer’s lounge evoked mythical magic. A strong chorus of men dressed in college jackets rendered the most sensitive and complex arrangements and willingly taught us the parts when we combined to flash sing. Teenagers paying rapt attention to their conductors shaping notes and maintaining silences brought tears to the eye.

More striking for me was not the diversity of groups but diversity within groups. My hopes for humankind and the potential for peace was incredibly buoyed as I saw the composition of each group. Not an identity marker –  be it ethnicity, gender, sexuality or age – seemed to underlie any group. Instead, there was a palpable uniting thread of singing – of the need to sing. When the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Chorus sang ‘We Belong’ by Pat Benatar I felt so proud to be a part of the assembled company which was bristling with that very notion – we belong.

• The Collective Energy

The energy of the collective requires noting. I truly believe if the mental health of the singing community, and the audiences, was sampled at the beginning of the festival and at the end there would be significant change. It wasn’t and I can’t claim it to be true but it felt like there was a sense of pride and purpose. The Emergency Services Medical staff of Tasmania recently rebranded their wellbeing programme – C.R.A.G. – Celebrating Resilience and Grit and they formed a choir. They rehearsed for 8 weeks, entered and won the Festival Corporate Choirs Challenge and they were voted the People’s choice. It was obvious why. As well as being delightfully funny and entertaining the audience was so pleased to see people who work so tirelessly in complex conditions sing. When you know, you know. Singing makes such a difference. When I was introduced in the Singer’s Lounge as a PhD candidate researching group singing there was a spontaneous round of applause and multiple connections made by leaders wanting to contribute wisdom to my project. We singers hold something really special and the collective energy when that was being shared was so warm and peaceful.

• The Rewilding

On a personal note, Acabellas is celebrating a year of Rewilding. This notion is taken from environmental sustainability and was first introduced to me via an anecdote about women planting a section of the Sahara with vegetation that grew so lush it brought the rains. On a community level, it felt like rewilding of ourselves was needed as well. Post Covid, the idea of travelling interstate to sing clearly appealed to many people in our singing community with attendance in such a high number. A community sharing concert involving all our singers was hosted before we left and, along with friends and family, we raised $1160 for Koala Clancy to expand the rewilding concept. Being away with the singers and seeing them so happy will stay in my heart and soul for many years to come.

The Festival of Voices happens each year in Hobart. https://festivalofvoices.com/

Seasons Greetings

The calendar of events for 2020 is here.

Ocean Grove singers meet on a Tuesday evening and this year we settled more deeply into our Draper Street venue alternating between our summer house and winter house as weather dictated. We welcomed many new singers, enjoyed dinners at the end of each block and devoured repertoire of varying complexity. VIVA had some special performances this year including Geelong After Dark and a couple of shows down at the Door Gallery in Fyansford. The Thursday night singers migrated to an earlier timeslot and continued to fill the hall with gorgeous sounds – as always making ballads ring. Friday mornings continue to be bumper size with a strong mix of weekly attendees, visitors and dedicated singers for whom casual attendance is optimal. The Friday singers come from far and wide and spill out of the hall at 10am every week with palpable joy. Fellas met monthly throughout the year also welcoming many new voices and re-welcoming singers from years gone by.

Every one of the Acabellas groups is very special to its members because it represents meaningful connections. We connect with our own voices, bodies, thoughts and feelings and with music, with each other, with humanity and beyond. Each of these groups has had a healthy amount of laughter, tears, silence, cacophony, harmony and unity this year. How lucky we are.

The songs themselves are a very important part of our singing groups and call forth various sounds and emotions. I try to listen to the heartbeat of our community, to follow our collective curiosities and experiences and write songs that will be enjoyable to sing. This years original songs included the recorded Up in Lights, Big Love, I Want to Meet You, I’ll Try, Breathe, In Good Hands. Brand new 2019 songs were Shelter Me, Rewilding, Gratitude, Water Come Down, Hear Feel and Say, When You Say Love is Love. I am fortunate that I receive so much affirmation from this singing community to write songs and they feel very valued. I love hearing about how songs touch your life and equally watching and hearing songs pour out so beautifully. Thankyou for your role in making this music and cultivating fertile ground for creation. We all thrive when we feel safe.

Extra events outside of core groups

Aside from our beautiful regular groups there were so many extra events in 2019 to be celebrated. The rehearsal and recording of 6 original songs in the gorgeous sandstone Christ Church in Geelong involving 90 singers, a summer storm and great passion.

The launch of the above album at Pako Festa

Singing performance by VIVA at Geelong After Dark in Geelong Library alongside the exhibition of synchronised karate.

Presentation at Geelong Polio Support Group at McKellar Centre involving group singing and another for Booyanga.

Annual Workshop for the Anglesea Rock Choir

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A workshop for 450 singers at Melbourne Convention Centre for a Dept of Education Conference

A workshop for newly settled families at Northern Bay Secondary College

A workshop for Surf Coast Community Orchestra SCOTSO

Study and Balance – what was and will be Research

As some of you know, in 2018 I started a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Australian College of Applied Psychology. Briefly I would like to explain what this has involved, how it’s going, where it’s going and why. So far the course has involved 18 hours of online study per week and 8 full weekend residentials. My favourite subjects have been groupwork, working with diversity, mental health and philosophy and theories of counselling. The balance of family, study and my work in our Acabellas community has been overall very positive and I am proud to say my grades have been very pleasing across a range of assessments including exams, essays, videoed counselling sessions and even songwriting. In 2020 I aim to increase my study load so that I can complete the course in December. As well as undertaking an extra subject I will be doing placement one day a week plus undertaking a major research project on the topic of singing and wellbeing. The main reason for enrolling in this course was to better handle my role at Acabellas. I am sensitive to emotions, I care about our community and I understand the importance of singing to our wellbeing. Many of you might reflect and acknowledge that you and I have a personal connection, through singing, where I come in contact with your stories and feelings and it is very important to me that I honour that, act responsibly and look after myself in the process. The secondary reason was to have a second career up my sleeve as a responsible parent and person aware of the fragility of self employment in the arts.  This course has allowed me to understand this role better and to work even more authentically. I completed a Psychology degree many years ago, have worked in corrections and in family services so this is not a sharp or unexpected deepening for me. The opportunity to include research in the degree means I can continue to contribute meaningfully to the field of singing. Sue Hindle and I did quite a lot of work in the area of singing and dementia and we really did learn (the hard way) that the powers that be struggle to hear messages not done in very formal ways. My firm intention is to complete this degree and…business as usual at Acabellas. While there may be some slight disruptions to groups in 2020 as I attend classes, I am not planning to change careers. I always have attended to the development of my skills, qualifications and experience and this is a natural extension.  I was concerned that maybe It would be an overwhelming combination but in fact study and Acabellas are perfect companions. I consistently hold the groups in my mind as I study, read, write and practise and, as ever, I feel so grateful to have great connections with so many people.  

Special Thanks

Enormous adulation and appreciation is sent to the Angels of Joy. This group of singers, drawn together originally by Nadine Joy and administered by the tireless Janice Nash, bring song to nursing homes all year round. At Christmas time they are inundated with engagements and they are constant in their kindness, inclusiveness and beauty. Singing for, and with, people in vulnerable positions takes enormous heart and I heartily congratulate all the singers who join this endeavour.

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Nadine Joy is thanked here again for her willingness to host the Thursday night group this year when I had classes. She is always generous in sharing her musicality and passion for singing. Nadine also co-led several Friday morning singing sessions in 2019 along with our beloved Sue Hindle. Sue brings so much happiness to singers with her positive energy and talent.

Hearty congratulations are also sent to Nadine Joy, Libby Dempsey, Heather Dempsey, Alison Costa, Claire Cumming and Kym Walker this year. All of these ladies prepared diligently for vocal examinations (and so did I) which involved the presentation of vocal exercises, theory tests, listening tests, general knowledge and the presentation of songs. Each and every candidate prepared impeccably for exams which were beautifully executed.

This year has been my favourite ever with the singing groups of acabellas. Thankyou to every single singer for your contribution to the wonderful energetic, compassionate and fun community we share which builds on the kindness built by some many people in the region over the last 15 years. I look forward to the next year of singing and all it will bring.