It’s proof that beauty and power can emerge from the most unlikely combinations when people come together with shared purpose.
Our postmaster Katrina knows a thing or two about bringing people together through music. As a multi-instrumentalist who plays in several local bands, she’s the one we call on each Anzac Day to sound the Last Post across the region’s various memorial sites. Her musical talents run deep, extending to choir mastery and the intricate art of teaching four-part harmony.
She’s not doing this alone. Pam Swinfield, lead singer of local band The Blundstone Bettys and a seasoned soloist in her own right, along with Helen Nickell, has joined Katrina in wrangling our growing chorus.
This story is not unique to us, of course. Across cultures and centuries, community choirs have served as the social glue that binds neighbourhoods together. Australia can claim particular pride in this movement through the Pub Choir phenomenon, born in Brisbane pubs and now thriving from London to New York. The concept is beautifully simple: strangers gather, learn a song in an hour, then perform it together. No auditions, no long-term commitment – just pure joy and instant community.
Cinema has long celebrated this transformative power. From the unlikely prisoners in The Shawshank Redemption finding hope through Mozart to the determined miners in Brassed Off discovering pride through brass band music, these stories resonate because they reflect something fundamental about human nature. One of the most moving examples is the Swedish film As It Is In Heaven, where a world-famous conductor returns to his small hometown and transforms the local church choir – and the entire community – through music. If you can track it down on streaming services, it’s worth every minute for its beautiful portrayal of how music heals and connects us.
Science backs up what we feel instinctively. Community choirs reduce stress hormones, boost immune function and create measurable improvements in mental health. Regular singing releases endorphins, synchronises heartbeats among participants and builds genuine social bonds that extend far beyond our weekly gatherings.
Starting the choir in winter has proved perfectly timed. As shorter days draw us all indoors, the weekly gathering creates warmth through collective song. The four-part harmony that Katrina and Pam teach – altos providing the foundation, sopranos soaring above, tenors and basses filling the harmonic spaces between – becomes a metaphor for our community itself: individual voices finding their unique place in something larger and more beautiful than any of us could create alone.
“Everyone is welcome,” Katrina says. “We aim to foster a sense of community and joy by singing together.” It’s this inclusive spirit that has drawn such enthusiastic responses from across the Valley. The choir wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our local church, who have opened their hall and shared their equipment to make these weekly gatherings happen – another reminder of how community support makes community initiatives flourish.
For all of us in the Valley, the choir offers something precious: a reason to gather regularly, a shared creative purpose and the discovery that individual voices really can create collective harmony.
The choir continues to welcome new members regardless of experience. Tuesday nights at 7.00–8.30 pm at the Anglican Church Hall (opposite KVPS).
Listen to the rehearsal recording of ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’, by clicking here.
