“I’ve been calling the Redlands Coast the ‘Arts Coast’ because it has such a vibrant arts community and is so supportive of the arts.”
Jonathon Welch should know; Play It Forward, his vision and legacy for the future of inclusive arts programs, has for years been drawing people in for massed choir experiences, and in February, the second Rock Choir, with support from RPAC and Redland City Council, will be launched in the Redlands.
Jonathon, a professional performer, choir master, musician, singer, and community motivator, says that the Rock Choir is the fourth iteration of the massed-choir projects in the Redlands.
“Each year, we’ve had nearly 200 singers from the Redlands community and surrounding areas coming to the choirs to enjoy the experience of singing and learning together. Over the years, we’ve developed a core of singers who keep coming back for each of the projects; about two-thirds of the singers are regulars. The choir has built a musical village, a community within a community and some really lovely friendships have developed.
“The Greatest Show choir performed recently at QPAC with the addition of singers from the Fraser Coast, Maryborough, the Darling Downs and Toowoomba. The choir performed to a packed QPAC concert hall, showcasing what’s happening here in the Redlands.”
Jonathon says that people are attracted through their interest in various musical styles.
“This is one for the rockers, so we’ll be working on classics from INXS, AC/DC, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, Creedence Clearwater, Coldplay, Bon Jovi and Queen. The arrangements are adaptations of classic songs, and we provide rehearsal tracks for those who can’t read music.”
All the Play It Forward choirs are un-auditioned; Jonathon works with whoever turns up.
“Once they’re in there’s an enormous amount of training – 60 hours of rehearsal over three months,” he says. “We try to give everybody the tools and the skills to sing in a choir, which is quite different from singing solo or in a small group. I work on building a choral sound, and it’s very exciting to hear the improvement in the quality and standard of singing now that we have three years of skill and training. I say to the singers, give yourself time.”
The choir will be joined by special guest soloist Ellen Reed (2016 The Voice finalist). The performances are in May; rehearsals begin early February on Thursday evenings at the Donald Simpson Centre. Registering someone as a singer could be a wonderful solution to a Christmas – or Mother’s Day – gift dilemma. For more information, contact Matthew Jones: [email protected] or 0439 244 429.
