Matt Hewson
A local choir has won two medals at a national competition held in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Geelong Harmony Chorus, a diverse group of around 20 women, won the first place medal in the Division A (small chorus) and the Most Improved Chorus medal at the Sweet Adelines Australia national competition.
Sweet Adelines is an international non-profit music association focused on barbershop harmony whose membership numbers over 20,000 women worldwide.
The event featured more than 30 competing ensembles, ranging from quartets to large choruses of up to 60 singers.
Geelong Harmony Chorus’s musical director Michelle Roy said the entire group was “pretty thrilled” with the outstanding results.
“It was an exciting weekend for us, and testament to the work that our singers had put in in the months prior to getting there,” Ms Roy said.
Ms Roy, who has a 28-year history with the Geelong chorus, said the choir would go through something of a reset through the rest of the year, learning new repertoire for a Christmas show and then the 2025 national competition in Hobart next year.
The chorus will hold an open rehearsal on July 22, which Ms Roy said provided the perfect opportunity for potential new members to come and see what it was all about.
“The music is one of the key things, it’s cathartic, it’s great for the soul, but it’s also about the friendships,” she said.
“It is a female-based singing organisation, so there’s that sort of sisterhood as well. There’s a holistic effect for women; it’s not just a singing group, it’s a group of friends (who) support each other, and the music sort of binds all that together.”
Visit geelongharmony.com.au for more information.
