Harmony Day - Combined rehearsals for Piccolos, Kids and Singers
1:30 PM to 4:00 PMConducting Masterclass
9:30 AM to 11:30 AMYoung Voices Festival
Farewell Queensland Concert
Rehearsal Techniques
5:30 PM to 7:30 PMArtistic Director
Conductor - Birralee Blokes, Resonance of Birralee & Birralee Singers
Paul Holley is a choral conductor and educator. His personal warmth and passion for choral music have inspired many singers to discover and develop their skills and achieve personal fulfilment as choral musicians. With over 25 years of teaching experience in secondary schools and many years of working with adult community choirs, Paul knows how to connect with singers of all ages and enjoys collaborating with them in the music making process.
Paul is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music where he studied choral conducting with Dr John Nickson.
In addition to his role at Voices of Birralee, Paul is the co-conductor of the national youth choir Gondwana Chorale that in January 2019 toured the UK and the Baltics, and have previously toured the UK, USA and NZ.
As a choral educator, Paul is dedicated to excellence in choral education and regularly features as guest conductor/clinician at festivals, conferences and music competitions at home and abroad. He also contributed a chapter to the book Male Voices: Stories of boys learning through making music(S D Harrison, Ed, 2009, ACER).
In January 2016, Paul was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to choral music.
Associate Artistic Director
Conductor - Brisbane Birralee Voices, Birralee Singers and Birralee Kids
Jenny Moon is a highly regarded choral conductor specialising in childrens and youth choirs. A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Jenny is a passionate educator and advocate for choral music and is a highly sought after conductor, choral workshop presenter and adjudicator.
She is the Associate Artistic Director of Voices of Birralee and conducts the Brisbane Birralee Voices (BBV) and Birralee Kids. Until the end of 2021 Jenny was Head of Choral and Vocal Studies at Hillcrest Christian College. During her tenure with both of these organisations, Jenny has led international choral tours and achieved awards at international choral competitions including 2 Gold Medals for BBV at the Internationale Concorso Chorale Competition in 2014 in addition to numerous national awards.
Jenny has been guest conductor at Queensland Conservatorium Choral State Honours Programs, Gondwana National Choral School and at various choral festivals across Australia, as well as presenting regularly at workshops and professional development programs.
Jenny has a passion for promoting Australian music to choirs and communities and regularly commissions choral works from Australian composers. She excels at engaging children in music across extensive styles in order to further develop their understanding of the world through the lens of text and music.
Conductor - Resonance of Birralee & Birralee Recycled
Peter Ingram is a noted conductor of school, university and community choirs throughout Australia. He is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and Florida State University (U.S.A.) where he gained his master’s degree in choral conducting under the guidance of Rodney Eichenberger and Andre Thomas. Previously the conductor of various choirs at both the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University) and the University of Queensland, he currently conducts two choirs as part of the acclaimed community arts organization Voices of Birralee: young adult ensemble Resonance of Birralee (co-conductor) and project-based adult choir Birralee Recycled.
Peter is Director of Music (Cocurricular) at Brisbane Grammar School where he directs several choirs including the Grammarphones which, in 2018, were place second in the Youth Choir section of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod where Peter was awarded the prize for the most outstanding conductor. He was a long-serving committee member of the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA) at both state and national levels, serving as national president for three years and president of the Queensland Chapter for five years. He was chair of the organising committee for the ANCA national conference Choralfest in 2017. He is in demand as a guest conductor, adjudicator, clinician and workshop leader at various choral events throughout the country.
Conductor - Birralee Piccolos
Debbie is a passionate music educator who loves conducting treble voice choirs, teaching classroom music and running a private music studio that includes teaching pre-school music to children for over 30 years.
Debbie has taught in various schools for Education Queensland and was previously Director of Music, classroom music teacher and conductor of two choirs at Ascot State School.
Debbie holds a Masters of Music, has served on the Qld committee for the Australian National Choral Association, and is a member of the Music Teachers Association of Qld.
Conductor - Birralee Kids
Kate (MTeachSec, BMusHons, LMusA) is a conductor, teacher and accompanist based in inner-city Brisbane. She studied at the Queensland Conservatorium under renowned pedagogues Oleg Stepanov and Natasha Vlassenko, and now teaches at St Laurence’s College and Mt St Michael’s College. Kate plays for adult choir Choral Connection and enjoys working with fellow musicians, regularly providing her accompaniment services to solo and group performers of all ages and abilities.
Assistant Conductor - Birralee Blokes
Will Brown is a Brisbane-based composer, conductor, pianist and educator. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium where he studied with Stephen Leek, and his Graduate Diploma in Education through Griffith University.
Assistant Conductor – Resonance of Birralee
Clare Finlayson is a music director, conductor, teacher and vocalist. Her joyful energy and passion in rehearsal creates an inclusive, collaborative environment that supports her chorister’s education and wellbeing. Clare holds a double Bachelors degree in Music and Education and is currently the Coordinator of Choirs at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, President of the ANCA Qld/NT Chapter and Assistant Conductor of Resonance of Birralee.
Clare has 15 years experience working with choirs as both a conductor and chorister. During this time she has worked with singers of all ages in school and community settings as a director, guest conductor, workshop facilitator and adjudicator. Clare has also been fortunate enough to have toured to France and Belgium as a part of the ANZAC Centenary Commemorative Services with the Department of Veteran Affairs, Austria, New Zealand, America, Canada and South Korea.
Performance highlights include the Australian production of "He’s Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naught Boy)" with Eric Idle, “You’re the Voice” Massed Choral Concert as a part of the Queensland Music Festival featuring John Farnham, the world premier of “Encounters of the Third Kind in Concert” as a part of the World Science Festival and the ANZAC 100 year Commemorative services in Fromelles, Pozières, Allonville and Polygon Wood.
Assistant Conductor & Accompanist - Resonance of Birralee
Brendan Murtagh is one of Australia’s most proficient répétiteurs across the musical theatre, opera and choral genres.
He has played keys for national productions; Mary Poppins, Frozen, Wicked, The Lion King, The Sound of Music and Les Miserables, while working with major companies including Gordon Frost Entertainment Pty Ltd, Opera Australia and The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific.
Brendan was Assistant Musical Director for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2021.
He plays for Opera Queensland, tours as an accompanist / music director with Underground Opera and has performed internationally with choral organisation, Voices of Birralee.
Brendan holds a University of Queensland Bachelor of Music (Honours), Class IIA Major in Music Performance (Piano) and AmusA (Piano).
Principal Accompanist - Birralee Blokes, Brisbane Birralee Voices & Birralee Kids (Saturdays), Birralee Recycled
Justine is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with the awards Bachelor of Music and a Graduate Diploma in Piano Performance, with teachers Stephen Savage and Oleg Stepanov.
Since it began in 1995, Justine has had the honour of being the Principal Accompanist for the Voices of Birralee, enjoying many experiences through the vision of Julie Christiansen. For the same length of time, Justine has also been the accompanist for the Brisbane Chorale, allowing her the opportunity of playing for many national and international orchestral and choral conductors.
Currently, Justine also directs choirs and teaches piano and voice at both Hillbrook School and Padua College, along with conducting and accompanying several primary school choirs. She is regularly asked to conduct massed school events for the Department of Education.
Accompanist - Resonance of Birralee
Accompanist - Birralee Kids (Wednesday)
Connie has completed a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Music Education at The University of Queensland. For the past six years she has held the positions of Music Coordinator and classroom music teacher at Education Queensland primary and secondary schools.
Connie has special interests in Kodaly teaching techniques, as well as the development of excellence in music education and children's choirs.
Jerica Lau is a classical-trained pianist who is deeply devoted to music education and piano accompaniment. She completed her Bachelor of Music at Queensland Conservatorium under the guidance of the renowned pianist Natasha Vlassenko.
Since 2018, Jerica has been actively involved in accompanying for schools and AMEB exams. She has collaborated with passionate choral and strings conductors and educators who share her commitment to enriching children’s musical experiences. Jerica’s interest in chamber music started when she was invited to accompany a choir performing the intensive work, Handel’s Messiah for a significant church event.
Her enthusiasm for chamber music led her to engage in various musical projects during her university years. These include workshops, the Australian orchestral premiere of Julie Giroux’s Bookmarks from Japan, and the student and staff collaborative concert in 2019.
Aside from her accompaniment work, Jerica primarily teaches in her home studio. Her passion for teaching sparked at the age of 16, recognizing the pivotal role a good teacher plays in one’s learning journey. She firmly believes that every child deserves quality music education.