‘THANK YOU’ WILL NEVER SEEM ENOUGH FROM THE ‘VOICES FOR UKRAINE’

It may be considered erroneous to be writing this report in the first person, however, since my first weeks as a member of the Esk Community Choir some 14 years ago, few events have been more memorable for the sheer force of the community support which surrounded it than ‘Voices for Ukraine’, the Esk Community Choir’s tireless efforts to hold a musical event as a fundraiser for the people of Ukraine.

To step into the foyer of the Somerset Civic Centre, Esk on that frosty afternoon of July 10^th was to enter the hive of activity around a kaleidoscope of colourful gifts, raffle prizes, ticket sellers, an abundance of warm handshakes, hugs and a whole lot of optimism and expectation of what lay in store that afternoon. In a world that is quickly becoming divisive on so many fronts, this day was a reminder of how good and solid humanity could be if people were open to being connected with a common cause.

Inside the auditorium, the stage had been transformed with the colours of Ukraine bookended by a PowerPoint, potent in its presentation of scenes from the devastated towns, cities, and people of Ukraine, a poignant reminder of what this day was all about.

The warmth of the welcomes by Choir President, Marina and Mayor Graeme Lehmann were almost superfluous as each one present had to have known that they were, many already having given so willingly their support and encouragement for our cause.

Pat Stanley and Maria Pool whose beautiful butterfly dance was the metaphor for transformation and hope followed by my performance of the emotive song ‘To Believe’ were each performed ‘as if no one was watching’ which was patently not the case since the auditorium was filled to its capacity. These then opened the door to the repertoire of some of the most harmonious soul-stirring songs by soloists, duos, trios, quartets, choruses and ensembles, all Esk Choir Members and all, save for the backing music for the Sweethearts of Song, to the accompaniment by our gifted Choir Director Alexis.

To Believe - Sue Walker

Vilia - Christine Caldwell with backing group

It was also very clear that there is a bunch of primary and secondary school students in Esk and the Somerset Region whose musical talents are only exceeded by their enthusiasm for their places in the Combined School Band and equally on song with their bandmaster, Mr Adam Smith, their trio of upbeat items giving rise to a delighted audience’s participation and acclamation.

So fervent was the demand for raffle tickets for some extraordinarily beautiful prizes, many gifted by local businesses and members of the community, that tickets sold out, thwarted purchases becoming magnanimous donations. By interval, raffle prizes drawn and won, it was time for the auctioning of three exquisite Michael Keller paintings. Auctioneer, Vince O’Brien, conceding that he was more at home dealing with items of ‘a more rustic nature’ aka bulls and cows, was brilliant as he elicited some very competitive bidding, negotiating with potential, soon-to-be eventual purchasers, sales which raised close to $1000.00 for the cause.

It has been said that ‘when you give of yourself you truly give’ which is what all our guest choirs were able to do in spades. The Lockyer Valley’s ‘Something to Sing About Choir’ brought together by their experiences with cancer were truly inspiring. The repertoire by Toowoomba’s ‘Women in Harmony’, a choir which embraces women of many diverse cultural backgrounds, included a beautiful piece ‘Our Hearts Are Really There’ composed by their accompanist, Helen Morris, the lyrics reflective of the plight of victims of natural disasters but no less relevant to the devastation in Ukraine. The sublime harmonies by ‘VoiceMale’ comprised of well…males…with their blend of tenor and bass voices added another level of loveliness to the already beautiful choral singing. Thank you all…forever and sincerely from the Esk Community Choir.

Women in Harmony from Toowoomba

As the afternoon was nearing its conclusion, our always eloquent emcee Sean Choat shepherded the Esk Community Choir members to the stage for the concert finale. With Alexis at the ready, hands poised, her choir oozing her confidence in a well-practised repertoire of uplifting songs, it seemed we had lost our accompanist. Now while Margaret may be as tiny as she is talented at the keyboard, it appeared that she had disappeared behind our rather grand piano. In a flash, with her reading light in place, it was on with the show…until the second piano lost its sound, and we, our conductor as she sashayed stage left to attend to the problem. On cue the choir picked up where we needed to, completing this impassioned trio of songs, an audience possibly completely unaware of the musical misadventures on stage. It was with the choir’s stirring performance of ‘Ukrainian Prayer’, a most beautifully poignant piece by the esteemed English composer, John Rutter, that left no one in doubt of the beauty of choral singing and the impetus for this event.

Following presentations of gifts to our visiting Choir Directors, it was a call to choirs to merge as one for the massed choral singing of Mozart’s beautiful prayer for peace, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’.

An event such as this does not happen without the support and generosity of so many people. Large donations came from some unexpected places and, as always, from our friends and followers from the Somerset Community, many of whom went above and beyond to lend their support. It is to all these that we of the Esk Community give our thanks.

We are also indebted to an extremely hard-working choir committee for their diligent performances within their roles, and the choir volunteers who never fail to put up their hands to sell tickets, construct and deconstruct the staging and hall seating, help with catering and any number of other necessary tasks; to John and Chane, our lighting and sound gurus, and to the editors of the Somerset Newspaper for their unquestioned support of all things ’choir’.

Finally, but never least to Alexis, the beating heart of our Choir who had this dream and turned it into reality; who never loses sight of the fact that together we make an incredible team; who has a gift and has lived her life giving it away; we give our heartfelt thanks.

For everyone’s kind support and generosity we will be gifting the people of Ukraine through distributions by the Red Cross Ukrainian Crisis Appeal the sum of $15,500.00.

By: Sue Walker