Tuesday, October 30, 2012

THE TEMPERATURE WAS NOT THE ONLY THING SIZZLING THAT SATURDAY OUTSIDE BUNNING'S IN TOOWOOMBA.


Some things, without our even realizing it, just seem to morph into the natural flow of our everyday lives and language to become 'iconicly' Australian and one of them is the good ol'   "sausage sizzle"... particularly the ones outside a Bunning's Store in downtown anywhere.   On a particularly hot one,  the day of 20th October, a stalwart bunch from the ESK COMMUNITY CHOIR just happened to be running a particularly busy one outside the Bunning's Store in downtown Toowoomba where searing temperatures were never going to get in the way of the enjoyment of a sizzling sanger.
Like ants at a Sunday picnic, an army of people started swarming the tent at around 8 am and the onslaught continued until the last cooked sausage rolled off the BBQ and onto its piece of bread at around 4pm.   Weekend warriors pushing trolleys laden with kids and all manner of merchandise were never so weighed down that the aroma of frying onions,  cooked sausages and eskies overflowing with ice cold drinks didn't have the effect of drawing them in like magnets to our tantalizing  tent. "Where'd these sausages come from?",   many would ask as they returned for seconds.  "The Esk Butcher!!" we told them loudly and proudly.













With over 70 kilos of sausages to sizzle,  loads of loaves, oceans of onions and masses to feed, the slick choreography of movement in the confines of a smallish and 'searingly' hot tent worked a merry dance..    With 14 Esk Community Choir members working in shifts,  each core of helpers, all assigned with their respective roles,  had the next orders in hand before the others had even begun wiping the first dollops of sauce off their T Shirts!














The day was  gastronomically, socially  and monetarily a huge success and while fund raising opportunities will continue to come and go, with so many of the happily willing workers as were present on this day,  the   Bunning's "Sausage Sizzle" will hopefully continue to be the iconic BBQ'd banger on the lips of sausage lovers everywhere. 
Visit our website: www.eskchoir.webs.com

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Our Gift to The OUTBACK Tour Sept 2012


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.  

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.

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.




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. 

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.  

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.


Russell, Tom and Roger adding the resounding bass notes. 

The Naughty Nuns of "Sister Act"

At Gayndah after the church service 



Check out our Preparation   and our Pretour Concert 



Monday, October 15, 2012

SOULS WERE IN TUNE AT THE 2012 AMATEUR CLASSICAL AND JAZZ MUSIC AWARDS




Saturday, October 13th was not just a perfectly beautiful Spring day in Esk.  It was a perfectly beautiful Spring day to be at St Agnes's Hall in Esk for the 2012 Amateur Classical and Jazz Music Awards.  Hosted by the Esk Community Choir, twenty courageous Musicians strutted their stuff in front of a capacity audience and a Music Judge all of whom were enthralled  by the breadth of talent from the Somerset and Lockyer Valley Regions.
Alexis FitzGerald
Mr Brendan Scully
This event, first held in 2004,  was initiated by Alexis FitzGerald, Director of the Esk Community Choir.  With her all-consuming passion for music, both instrumental and voice and with a wish to encourage in, primarily,  but not only the youth of this Region an enduring love of Classical Music and the performance of it, the Amateur Classical Music Awards was born.  Held every two years and in the latter years, to include the performance of Jazz music alongside Classical,  with a view to promoting this love of Music to a wider Community,  this year the Event also allowed the inclusion of entrants from the Lockyer Valley Region.
Sections from Age 7 years and under through to Open, all catering for instrumental, vocal, solo and duet were represented.  Some stood bravely before the audience and performed for the very first time.  For others it was obvious that their talents had been nurtured along the way.  Every competitor gave exemplary performances and was rewarded with enthusiastic applause as well as some gentle encouragement and comments from Music Judge,  Mr. Brendan Scully, accomplished musician and Head of Music at the Sunshine Coast Grammar School.  Thanks to the generous sponsorship this year by Esk's St John Biarra Lodge No. 73, Section winners were awarded handsome medals and prizes.
Seven year old Katie FitzGerald's touch on the piano for her performance of  "Jingle Bells " showed evidence of the musical talent that runs through her veins but it's tough being seven years old and first off the block!  Little Bella Seymour followed and played to win.   By the time Katie's turn at singing came around she handled "Let's Go Fly a Kite" just like an old pro. and took out Sectional 1st prize for her efforts.  Sister Emily, with poise and precision and at the tender age of 9 already an "old pro" by comparison, won each of her four sections for voice and piano.  Two of Emily's winning performances were duets with the standout young  talent at these Awards, Matthew Lukritz.  At 13years of age,  as a Cornet player, Matthew is already a member of the Mt Beppo Brass Band.  With his superlative performances today on the piano, Cornet and with Emily in vocal and piano duets and with his supportive and nurturing characteristics,  Matthew's musical future is looking very bright.   There was promising young flautist Shania Gough,  brother Darien's fluid performances on Classical Guitar, little Harry Seymour's first valiant performance on  piano and Samuel Weber's piano blues medley that blew everyone away.  Talena Harvey's lovely rendition of Sonatina by Clementi and tiny in stature but big in talent, singer, Aydan Forsyth who, it was commented,  may have been born for the stage.  All of these brought together by their love of music and all worthy of the high praise received.  The inclusion of entries from the Lockyer Valley Region has certainly given this event  a broader profile but it was also very heartening to see such wonderful talent coming from the Toogoolawah area.
The open section Competitors provided some tough competition with their wealth of musical experience evident.  In certain sections, picking winners presented its challenges.  But this was not about winners and losers.  It was about having a platform from which to display their talents.  It was about using the event to build confidence and to learn and grow from Brendan's constructive comments.  It was all "for the love of Music" and,  encouraged by this,  it is hoped that for the youth,  it continues to provide a stepping stone to an enduring love of Classical and Jazz Music,  that more and more will recognize the benefits of this Music Festival and submit their entries.  It is about the lifelong  joys that making music can bring.

SOLO INSTRUMENTAL:
7 Yrs and under:   1st...Bella Seymour   2nd... Katie FitzGerald
9 Yrs and under:   1st...Emily FitzGerald
11Yrs and under:  1st...Samuel Weber; 2nd..Shania Gough;  3rd... Harry Seymour
13Yrs and under:  1st...Matthew Lukritz (Cornet);  2nd...Darien Gough;  3rd..Talena Harvey
Open:                   1st....Suzanne Clemence;  2nd... Russell Zammit

INSTRUMENTAL DUET:
13 Yrs and under:  1st Emily FitzGerald & Mathew Lukritz

VOCAL SOLO:
7 Yrs and under:    1st... Katie FitzGerald
9 Yrs and under:    1st....Emily FitzGerald;  2nd..Aydan Forsyth

VOCAL DUET:  
13 Yrs & Under     1st...Emily FitzGerald  Matthew Lukritz

VOCAL SOLO:
Open:                     1st...Kathleen Watts;  2nd..John Caffin;  3rd...Anna Wheildon



VOCAL DUET:
Open:                     1st...Kathleen Watts & Geoff Stewart;  2nd..Catherine Conn & Geoff Stewart