‘KYRIE CLASSIC’, A CELEBRATION OF 45 YEARS WITH THE ESK COMMUNITY CHOIR

Combined Choirs - Under the masterful direction of Dr Shearer-Dirie

There is something about choral music, about singing, about being part of a choir that to each person will at times be challenging, is constantly consoling, entertaining and transportive. On a Sunday afternoon in March, around 160 of these obsessed human beings with that shared love of music ‘knocked the socks off’ concertgoers at the Somerset Civic Centre in a gala concert, ‘Kyrie Classic’, a celebration of the Esk Community Choir’s 45-year journey which has created a wonderful musical culture within the Somerset Region and way beyond.

It all began (this Esk choir, that is) in 1978 with the belief in a dream and the sweet sounds of optimism which resonated from a small group of six ladies who sang around Alexis FitzGerald’s piano. Turn the page to 2023 and the six has become more than forty men and women, a passing parade of hundreds over the years, and on 26^th March, along with four other wonderful choirs who have shared the Esk Community Choir journey, it was an utterly inspirational concert, translating the joys of choral singing to the audience through narration, pictures, and glorious song.

A cracker of a blue-sky afternoon greeted concertgoers who began to fill the auditorium, swelled by the visiting choirs who had travelled from places as far away as Brisbane, Blackbutt, Toowoomba, and Laidley. After a welcome to ‘Country’, choir members, and concertgoers and, following the recent challenges the last few years have brought to the performing arts, this collection of the sublime arrangements of ‘Kyrie Eleison’ classics by each of the choirs - translation: ‘Lord have mercy’ - could not have been more fitting for the occasion.

Many past choir members were delighted to be present, to remember and to reunite with current members for this 45-year celebration. One such person, Beverley Biggs, joined the choir as chorister in 1998 until her exceptional talents as pianist and moreover, as accompanist, became indispensable. Personal circumstances meant her departure from choir but her love of singing, and this Choir has never waned. Together with her husband Bob, they were thrilled to be audience to this celebratory concert performance.

From the Esk Choir Ensemble’s acapella opening of ‘Totus Tuus’, the Latin expression of ‘giving our all’, to the post interval altogether engaging performance by Dr. Debra Shearer-Dirie’s Brisbane Concert Choir and all the entertaining performances in between by the Esk Community Choir, Blackbutt Singers, Laidley’s ‘Something to Sing About’ and Toowoomba’s ‘Women in Harmony’, this was a day for celebrating the human voice, and the magic of the shared singing experience. Under the masterful direction of Dr Shearer-Dirie, the finale of massed choral voices singing ‘Shall We Gather at the River’, a reflection of joy, sorrow, hopes and fears, struggles and dreams, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, was reflected in the sounds that permeated the auditorium and the power of choral music. Thoughts of an early departure would have been futile as souls were set to tingle with an audience’s standing ovation.

Post-performance words of praise flowed as many concertgoers and choir members returned to the afternoon tea tables to be treated to a delightful tapestry of tasty treats and beverages as friends reunited and memories were recalled.

As it takes a village to rear a child, so too it is that events such as these do not happen without the support of many and it is to these that the Esk Community Choir wishes to extend their sincere gratitude. To the Esk Bakery and IGA for their sensational sandwiches which sated so many of our singers and supporters on the day; to the ladies of the Somerset Civic Centre who are a constant source of cooperation along with the editors of the Somerset Newspaper for their unquestioned support of all things ‘choir’; to our hard working choir committee and the oft unrecognized choir volunteers who work tirelessly behind-the-scenes allowing for the successful running of these events; to Chayne Walsh, our amazing audio ace, Councilor Sean Choat, our eloquent host with the most; to our own Brian Crichton to whom we are grateful for having viewed most of the performances from behind his camera; and to our beautiful fans and followers for whom this choir continues to exist.

However, greater love hath no man...nor woman… than that which Alexis FitzGerald OAM has for her choir that she has given 45 years of her life to the sharing of her gifts of music locally, nationally, and internationally and in doing so, has changed for the better the lives of so many. Without her talent, her vision, her dreams, her example, and dedication, this event would not have been possible.

By: Sue Walker