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Magical view over the Derwent from MONA. |
The previous night following our
workshop with Sisongke Choir, the rain had turned hotel windows into glass
rivulets. Day 10 dawned and the sun spilled into the morning as if by
accident. How blessed we had been with
the weather…’thank you God’… for today it was MONA, Hobart’s iconic museum of
old and new art. How does one put down
on paper reactions/emotions/opinions that are far too complex to be confined by
an alphabet – perhaps this extract will explain it better:
Mona is the playground and
megaphone of David Walsh, who grew up in Tassie (just down the road from Mona),
dropped out of uni, played cards, won, did some other stuff, and opened a small
museum of antiquities to which no one came.
He declared it a triumph and decided to expand. The result is Mona, a temple to secularism,
rationalism, and talking crap about stuff you really don’t know very much
about.
Mona is an art space to be explored,
clearly with an open mind. As one spirals down into the bowels of the earth,
there is art, some confronting, some not so much. This writer won’t even begin to explain the practicalities
of ‘the poo machine’, all this expounded on an app called ‘O’. Live music, food and wine bars, and
restaurants, even a children’s playground, were continuums of the Mona journey perfectly
situated beside a view to die for over the mighty Derwent River.
With the clock still ticking, it
was on to the colonial enclave of Richmond, considered Tasmania’s ‘premier
historic town’. Once a military post on
the road to notorious Port Arthur, modern day Richmond is renown for its
Georgian architecture and the iconic convict built stone bridge which still
holds bragging rights to the oldest road bridge in Australia. While rumours
abound of its being haunted by the ghost of a cruel overseer who was pushed to
a premature death, we were more likely to be terrorised by the intrepid army of
ducks and geese which patrolled the riverbank with hungry intent. Phone cameras captured photos of St John the Evangelist Catholic Church holding
sway high on a Richmond hill This
beautiful church opened in 1837 has the distinction of being the oldest continuously
used Catholic church in Australia.
Tom: See over there?…it’s the oldest service
station in Australia!
Apparently too much cheese is
never enough and the samplings at The Wicked Cheese Factory down the road
certainly did not disappoint. Amongst
the profusion of wonderful things Tasmania has to offer, its food, most notably
its dairy, seafood and wine, must be right up there on the top shelf. With yet another delightful group dinner
this night at the Italian Tesoro Restaurant, one would be forgiven for believing
we had embarked on a Gluttonous Gastronomy Tour of Tassie.
It was day 11, now approaching
the pointy end of our musical tour with two gala choral events, the first
performance on this evening happening at Hobart’s Town Hall.
Day 11 also greeted us with an
arctic blast and driving rain. When it comes to conquering cosy, even amid
‘feels like 1 degree’ temperatures, and with the iconic Salamanca Markets
calling our names, an army of ‘Roger’
jackets, beanies, three layers of thermals, boots, jumpers, scarves, gloves and
brollies could be seen meandering amongst the cacophony of clientele scouring
the stalls for last minute souvenirs, many soon to retreat to the warmth of the
Salamanca Art Centre café for a warming cup of coffee.
The botanically beautiful St
David’s Park, once Hobart’s cemetery, its memorial wall now home to the
headstones once present in the park’s previous life, was our windswept avenue
to the snugness of our hotel rooms to prepare ourselves for our penultimate
performance, ‘Musical Tapestry’.
The Hobart Town Hall’s grand staircase
enticed all comers to seek further what lay within this beautifully restored
historic building. The grand ballroom
with its palatial chandeliers, and intricate mouldings on ceiling and walls, depicting
painted plaques of many of the classical composers was on first inspection a
hive of choir- riser assembly activity but with all this, a scene to inspire an
almost emotional reaction and we knew we were in for something very special
that night; but not before our normally unflinching accompanists, Ruth and
Alexis could perform a test run on the extremely grand piano.
This concert was to be our choral
collaboration with Choral Productions Tasmania, a union of The Lincoln Singers
from north of the river and The Southern Voices from the south, both community choirs
under the direction of the youthful and highly credentialled Madeleine Dyer.
With Madeleine at the helm for
our combined pre-performance warm-up, once completed it was apparent that Alexis’s
pursuit of perfection during the weeks and months of rehearsals had paid off
leaving Madeleine speechless and in no doubt that we were well prepared for
what was to be a choral extravaganza. Both
ours and CPT’s performances were consummate, accompaniments flawless and the euphoric
sounds of the combined choirs had hairs on the backs of necks standing to
attention, including ours along with many audience members in acclamation. Not wanting to acknowledge that this day had
reached its destination, on a musical high we made our way back to the
welcoming armchairs at Mr Good Guy and the warm glow of a convivial wine …or
two.
Day
12- and that icy blast was not about to give in! It also happened to be Vietnam Veteran’s Day,
a day which has earned its place in history, and in the hearts of those who
served. Time and distance may have
separated our Tom and his mate, Steve who now resides in Hobart, however this
is a friendship forged whilst serving with the 1st Australian Field
Hospital, Vung Tau, Vietnam in 1970/71 which has endured. Though the memorial
service at Hobart’s Cenotaph attended by Kathie, Tom, and Steve may have been in
a context of war, emotions both individual and complex, in the end it is all about
sacrifices, comrades, and a greater understanding of each other; Tom’s and
Steve’s, a friendship to last a lifetime.
Back at the Hotel Ibis, the
scuttlebutt over breakfast led many to believe that morning service at St
David’s Cathedral was to be a choral eucharist with the Cathedral choir. Perfect! - an opportunity to suss out the
setting for our choir’s final Evensong performance. To wander down Macquarie Street and hear the
sounds of the bell-ringers heralding the 10.00am service was highly
heartwarming even before setting foot in this magnificent Gothic-revival
edifice, the Mother church for the Diocese of Tasmania since 1874…why even the
wooden pews were heated!!
Perhaps it was the power of
prayer or just plain luck that also on this day, ‘The Claude Bolling Classical
Jazz Ensemble’ was to be performing in the Cathedral at 3.00pm and since we all
needed to be in uniform, in attendance for a 4.00pm rehearsal, an earlier
arrival might prove to be a serendipitous encounter.
Well…contrary to popular
opinion…words now fail me as I look for appropriate superlatives to describe
the genius of this group. A fabulous pianist, a consummate cellist, double bass
player with soul, and a very cool percussionist all of whom apparently had
simply come together for this series of seven Jazz Festival performances. What a treat!!
All moments from here could not possibly measure up…
But they did. With our choir group alternating positions between
quire and alter, to Alexis’s masterful accompaniments and the polished power of
Rod on the magnificent pipe organ, between Evensong’s scripture readings and
prayers, we sang our sacred songs, psalms, canticles and anthems, our voices
soaring and spiralling to the heights of the awe-inspiring stained-glass
windows.
This was to be our final night in
Tasmania.
Buoyed by such an uplifting day,
the success of this tour
and in anticipation of our final dinner together at
the Franklin Wharf Restaurant and Bar, it was obvious we were not going gently
into this cold night. We quaffed,
sipped, laughed and consumed all that was on offer and in rare moments of
sanity gave our thanks to those who made this tour the success it became.
Kathie, you have been our true
north. Without your thoroughness, patience and your ability to walk the walk
and be the best darn Tour Manager in the business, we will always be grateful.
To our extras, who became our
groupies and then our friends, thank you for being our ‘bag ladies’,
photographers, and for all your uplifting praise which made our heads swell
just a little.
To Ruth, who has travelled the
length and breadth of this continent in a car and caravan with a keyboard on
her lap and a song on her lips so that her accompaniments and singing will
never ever be found wanting, we also give our sincerest thanks.
…and to Alexis, for your
incomparable compassion, inspiration, patience, sensitivity, and allowing us
all to steal so many pieces of your life; for walking us into your world of
music and teaching us so much that we never want to leave, we give our warmest
thanks.
By: Sue Walker
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Thank you Jo Brown for the beautiful Paperclip gift you gave to each traveller. |
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Thank you Liz Kelleher for adding this extra task to our journey...such fun! |
Thank you to our very competent and engaging Drivers/guides.
Aaron (McDermotts) , Ian, Suzze, Rod, Rick (Coal River Coaches)