From the Voices of Birralee Executive Committee
Voices of Birralee is so proud of all choristers who have achieved so much as musicians and people since the organisation started 25 years ago under the guidance of Founder and Artistic Director Julie Christiansen OAM.
At Voices of Birralee, we were looking forward to celebrating our esteemed position as Queensland’s hub for choral excellence during 2020 with many wonderful concerts, festivals and professional development experiences. As a not-for-profit arts organisation, we know that we provide a valuable service in our community which enriches the lives of our choristers, their families and their audiences. We are also proud of providing engagement for many professional musicians and administrators on our staff.
In these times however, we have had to put many dreams and plans on hold and have had to adjust to new ways of keeping the music making experience alive for our community and to provide that vital connection between our singers and families.
While the loss of regular rehearsal structure and concert activities has reduced our work load we are endeavouring as much as possible to keep our artistic and administrative staff engaged with our organisation at this time although in a reduced capacity. This is very important to us as many of our staff have found their income streams cut by the health and economic restrictions imposed as a result of this virus.
All families will have received an email on Friday 24 April which outlines the program changes for their ensemble in term 2 but in a nutshell, the Voices of Birralee program continues as follows:
Ensemble | Weekly Connection | Artistic Leadership |
Resonance of Birralee – both groups | Tuesday online rehearsals | Paul Holley, Peter Ingram & team |
Birralee Blokes | Thursday online rehearsals | Paul Holley, Will Brown and Justine Favell |
Brisbane Birralee Voices | Tuesday online rehearsals | Jenny Moon, Justine Favell and Josh Clifford |
Birralee Singers | ‘Sing Out’ Challenge via email | Julie Christiansen and Lou Wall |
Birralee Kids | Weekly learning resources via email | Katie Littlewood |
Birralee Piccolos | Weekly rehearsals suspended | Deb Daley |
We thank all our members and their families for your support and patience while we navigate through term 2. We look forward to the time we can meet together again in person to continue our music making and social interactions that will restore us as individuals and community after this experience.
If you have any queries during this time – please contact:
Paul Holley paul@birralee.org or Rochelle Manderson rochelle@birralee.org
Take care and stay well!