It was September 30th, 2012 when a bunch of
Choristers from the ESK COMMUNITY CHOIR,
croaky of voice, weary of body but buoyed in spirit, returned home from their
"Our Gift to the Outback" Concert Tour, having delivered the gifts of
their songs and won over a whole new bunch of followers from as many as ten
outback Queensland towns. This is their
story.
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| Ready to leave from Esk Sept 20th 2012 |
A cold, misplaced Wintry morning greeted the touring party as we awaited the
Murray's Coach, our transport for the next 11 days. Trying to tell a group of predominantly
women to keep luggage to a minimum is virtually incomprehensible. So it was that 34 excited Choristers, a small
party of well-wishers and a platoon of suitcases, hand luggage, bags, boxes,
choir risers, piano and equipment lined up for 60 meters along the footpath to
greet Shane , the Coach Driver who
proved to be our true north and guiding light around Queensland.
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| Checking out the pantry in "Chilla'a Chuck Wagon" |
Thirteen performances in ten towns covering a
distance of some 2,500 kilometers was our blueprint. Some great planning and our own support
vehicle "Chilla's Chuck Wagon" with everything including the kitchen sink,
kept the Tour on schedule all the way.
Many of our performances included Retirement
Homes, where, to give the gift of our singing to such
receptive audiences was to set the bar for other performances in places as diverse as the repertoires we
were presenting. At these homes, some
commented.. "Hearing music like
that makes everything in my body
move!!" .. and.. " Singing
like yours makes me want to keep on living"; from another... " how 'bout something
by Slim Dusty!!" . It was never
easy to leave them.
Bouncing our way down the undeviating country
roads, some now well traversed with that passing parade of workers seeking
opportunities around the mining boom and against the returning army of Grey Nomads, we bee-lined
it west, north and east. Following an
emerging landscape of bottle trees, and
fattening cattle feeding on grasses made lush by seasons of flooding rain to
the now not so dry western plains and back again, we gave performances at
Miles, Roma, Tambo, Blackall, Longreach,
Emerald, Biloela, Goovigen, Gayndah and Blackbutt and stopped off at many other
places of interest in between. All these
places, having been affected by natural
disasters of one form or another in recent times, were in awe of our
performances and gratified by the
rewards the gifts of our singing were able to bring.
Concerts venues ranged from Sheds and Church
Halls to Civic Centres and grand Town Halls and in Blackall and Gayndah we were
invited to lead in song at Sunday Services.
A notable highlight was our
Concert at Blackall's Woolscour.
Following a workshop with a number of ladies from their Choir ( a first
for them) our Choirs performed separately and together the very first concert
ever held in this amazing venue...a place which spoke of the life and times of
a shearing shed and wool processing operation since 1908. Another highlight was our Concert at the
QANTAS Founders Museum, a magnificent monument to an Aussie Icon.
However, to choose highlights from 11 days of
amazing and unique experiences is always
going to be a predicament but many will agree that our Sunset Cruise on the
Thomson River outside Longreach would have to have been one of them. The Thomson River, connecting with the Barcoo
and together forming Cooper Creek and the lake Eyre Basin has been the vessel
for many seasons of flooding rains and that evening it was a beautiful place to be alive. To glide down this perfect place of peace
and beauty and witness the ever changing colours of the setting sun was like a piece of poetry coming a long distance to find us.
Later under lanterns, in front of a corro iron shed, serenaded by some
great Aussie folk singing, we dined and savoured the delights of an amazing
outback experience.
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| Luke Thomas - Stockman's Hall of Fame |
Longreach that week was awash with 125year
anniversary celebrations. Many wandered
the exhibits at the Stockman's Hall of Fame; laughed at and lauded the antics
and skill of Stockman, Luke Thomas, as he
worked his magic with his dogs, horses and bullocks; some relived the
Pioneering days on the Cobb & Co Coach ride around town. All managed to squeeze in the mandatory
meanderings of souvenir snaffling around the shops and by the time we all
gathered in the Motel bar for pre-dinner drinks, each had their wealth of
stories to tell. On we traveled.
At Goovigen, where our reputation had gone
before.. (Alexis, our leader, having once conducted a Workshop there) , we were
welcomed back as old friends with that wonderful country camaraderie to which
we were now becoming accustomed.
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| Blackbutt Concert |
Blackbutt, our final concert, we felt we were coming home, not just for the
kilometers covered but also for the association our Choirs had come to cherish
over many years. With an already waiting
audience here, we wondered if we had
created a ' first-on-tour' and arrived late!!... However, with costume changes now becoming slicker
than clean socks on a polished floor we were soon set up and singing our hearts
out to the delight of the appreciative Blackbutt audience.
Euphoria was the emotion felt following this final performance. We had delivered the gift of our singing and
our music with these performances in all these towns around Central and Outback
Queensland and the rewards had been felt so deeply by so many including
ourselves.
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| Robyn and Patrina - Dreaming! |
Everyone loves music. Even people who know as much about music as
would fit into a pinkie finger still listen to and are moved by music in one
form or another. Music is the language of our memories.....songs the
soundtrack of our lives reminding us of moments in times past and present. Music surrounds us. However,
when people hear that " a choir " is coming to town, it's often met with images of a
bunch of old biddies scratching out a few tunes on a stage. That the repertoires for each of our Concerts
were as diverse as the places in which we performed them was absolutely
illuminating to every one of our audiences and in part, the reason we were lauded with accolades and
pleading requests to return. The Esk
Community Choir carried audiences across a range of a repertoire from Rutter to
Queen and lots in between ; from Australiana to James Bond; Arias from Operas
and some beautiful instrumental duets.
We sang our songs and left audiences in no doubt of the truly amazing
joys of Choral singing and a celebration of what Choral Music can bring.
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| Russell, Tom and Roger adding the resounding bass notes. |
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| The Naughty Nuns of "Sister Act" |
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| At Gayndah after the church service |
