Our wonderful members come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Take a look at some of their profiles below:
From Chris - SopranoWhy did you join the KeyTones Choir?
Well, I’d moved to Melbourne in the (to me) freezing winter of 2007 to further my career. I had some family here, but was excited to explore new social scenes and make friends. I’ve always loved to sing and can’t imagine life without music, so a community choir seemed a great place to be. What do you like about The KeyTones? There is soooo much to like. We are indeed a community. Since joining the choir, I’ve lost both parents, met and then lost the love of my life, Vito (to cancer) and I’ve been loved and supported through thick and thin by this wonderful community. I’ve also been privileged to walk with other choristers as life has thrown them some terrible curve balls. We need each other, don’t we. |
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Tell us about a highlight or two from your time in The KeyTones.
Again, so much to be thankful for here. As well as the wonderful community feel, I’ve loved learning new songs, tuning in to the voices of others around me, occasionally singing solo, and then, my favourite, performing after all the rehearsing. Nurses’ Memorials, end of year concerts, aged care facilities, citizenship ceremony, Federation Square... the recent a Festival of Voices in Hobart was a treasured feast of fun, friendships and song. What an awesome few days we shared and how special to be included.
What would you say to someone who’s thinking about joining a choir?
Come along and extend yourself. We don’t bite and will embrace your quirks, talents and supper offerings (yes, we do enjoy our food!). I love being a KeyTones chorister.
Again, so much to be thankful for here. As well as the wonderful community feel, I’ve loved learning new songs, tuning in to the voices of others around me, occasionally singing solo, and then, my favourite, performing after all the rehearsing. Nurses’ Memorials, end of year concerts, aged care facilities, citizenship ceremony, Federation Square... the recent a Festival of Voices in Hobart was a treasured feast of fun, friendships and song. What an awesome few days we shared and how special to be included.
What would you say to someone who’s thinking about joining a choir?
Come along and extend yourself. We don’t bite and will embrace your quirks, talents and supper offerings (yes, we do enjoy our food!). I love being a KeyTones chorister.
From John - Bass
Why did you join the KeyTones Choir?
I retired from an engineering management career a couple of years ago (but still doing some consulting) and one of things that I thought would give me great pleasure was to sing in a choir. I have always liked singing but thought that I would benefit from progressing beyond the shower with a bit of training, practice and discipline. Another member of this choir lives near us and we have been involved in a few neighbourhood events over the last 18 months and one day he mentioned that he was with the KeyTones choir. So, after some interrogation of him about the choir and procrastination by me, I eventually came along to a weekly choir session in March of this year and was welcomed into the choir as a bass.
What do you like about The KeyTones?
The standout for me is that there is a mix of abilities in the choir but our musical director, Jane, manages to get great sounds and harmonies out of the group with everyone feeling really positive about their performance.
Tell us about a highlight or two from your time in The KeyTones.
My first highlight was performing for the ANZAC service at the Nurses Memorial Centre in St Kilda Road about a month after I joined the choir. I turned up early in my new blacks and nervously waited for others. The service got underway and, even though I was very nervous, the songs went well. This was despite a building site across the road that tried to drown us out with jackhammers. It was a beautiful and solemn service and I was very happy feeling that I had contributed in some way to the event.
The choir performed at the Festival of Voices (FOV) in Hobart in 2018 and this was a highlight for me. We had 5 performances at pop-up venues as well as 3 performances in the FOV Lounge at night. It was great to see and hear all the other choirs and also be able to talk with them around the different venues. We had a lot of fun with the songs during the performances, so much so, that when we got back to Melbourne I had to relearn the correct notes/words for some of the songs!!!
What would you say to someone who is thinking about joining a choir?
If you enjoy singing, not just beer drinking songs, and like the idea of being a part of something that sounds better than just the sum of the parts then why don’t you try the KeyTones choir? If you are like me, it will be a challenge to learn and perform the songs but you will be encouraged along the way and you will enjoy the company and the experience.
I retired from an engineering management career a couple of years ago (but still doing some consulting) and one of things that I thought would give me great pleasure was to sing in a choir. I have always liked singing but thought that I would benefit from progressing beyond the shower with a bit of training, practice and discipline. Another member of this choir lives near us and we have been involved in a few neighbourhood events over the last 18 months and one day he mentioned that he was with the KeyTones choir. So, after some interrogation of him about the choir and procrastination by me, I eventually came along to a weekly choir session in March of this year and was welcomed into the choir as a bass.
What do you like about The KeyTones?
The standout for me is that there is a mix of abilities in the choir but our musical director, Jane, manages to get great sounds and harmonies out of the group with everyone feeling really positive about their performance.
Tell us about a highlight or two from your time in The KeyTones.
My first highlight was performing for the ANZAC service at the Nurses Memorial Centre in St Kilda Road about a month after I joined the choir. I turned up early in my new blacks and nervously waited for others. The service got underway and, even though I was very nervous, the songs went well. This was despite a building site across the road that tried to drown us out with jackhammers. It was a beautiful and solemn service and I was very happy feeling that I had contributed in some way to the event.
The choir performed at the Festival of Voices (FOV) in Hobart in 2018 and this was a highlight for me. We had 5 performances at pop-up venues as well as 3 performances in the FOV Lounge at night. It was great to see and hear all the other choirs and also be able to talk with them around the different venues. We had a lot of fun with the songs during the performances, so much so, that when we got back to Melbourne I had to relearn the correct notes/words for some of the songs!!!
What would you say to someone who is thinking about joining a choir?
If you enjoy singing, not just beer drinking songs, and like the idea of being a part of something that sounds better than just the sum of the parts then why don’t you try the KeyTones choir? If you are like me, it will be a challenge to learn and perform the songs but you will be encouraged along the way and you will enjoy the company and the experience.