Contemporary society is often portrayed as cold and impersonal. But, in the suburbs, cities and small country towns throughout Australia, people are coming together to share friendship, fellowship and song.
 The Melbourne Singing choir |
The With One Voice choir program brings together people from various backgrounds to discover their creative voices, develop singing skills and form friendships between those from different walks of life.
Run by Creativity Australia, the program facilitates 12 choirs across Melbourne every week, led by professional choir conductors.
“It’s all about social inclusion, creating wellness and lifting voices and spirits. The choirs have become a place for local residents and employees from a range of organisations to find their voice, make friends and help others with communication, confidence, new skills and even employment pathways,” Creativity Australia founder Tania de Jong said.
“Our society is fragmented and our ability to communicate with other people and express ourselves is limited. This undermines our fundamental human values, sense of family and community.
“But with our choirs, you will get executives mingling with refugees – all who have come together for similar interests and it’s just grown from there,” she said.
One example is Natalie, a migrant displaced from her home in Cameroon. After joining one of the choirs, she was not only able to develop her interest in singing, but was also successfully mentored by others for a job interview.
Elok arrived from Jakarta for a work transfer and, finding it difficult to adapt to a new culture, soon joined a choir.
“It’s not easy, especially when you’re a single girl wearing a headscarf in a secular country. I now see people who – despite their nationalities, their religions, their gender or their race – sing, have fun and have precious moments. I don’t feel like I’m alone in Melbourne anymore,” she said.
Xiao Rong Nheu felt isolated following a spinal operation. “My days were filled with unhappiness. That was until I joined the choir and was embraced by compassion and love of truly compassionate people. Now I am happy.”
To find out more about the choirs, visit creativityaustralia.org.au or contact enquiries@creativityaustralia.org.au or 8679 6088.
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