Creative programs that transform lives
Altona Meadows is BACK!
We’re delighted to announce that the Altona Meadows choir is BACK! Starting this Thursday (2:00 – 3:30) at the Altona Meadows Community Centre in Trafalgar Ave.
We’re also delighted to announce the incredibly talented and experienced Steph Payne has joined the With One Voice family, and will lead the newly re-formed Altona Meadows choir. Here’s what she had to say this week:
“I’m Steph Payne, the new director of the choir and we invite you to a part of the new chapter in the choir’s history.
I’ve been directing a cappella community choirs for 25 years. I remember watching a choir sing live for the first time and thinking the best place to hear that must be where the director stands and deciding that was the job for me. Once I’d experienced the beautiful feeling of singing harmonies and being part of a singing community, I wanted everyone to feel that joy too. I went off to study music and the rest is history! I am also the director of Willin Wimmin, women’s choir in Williamstown, which I’ve done for the last 8 years.
You’ll notice all directors have their own style. I teach a lot of folk, world and popular songs. There is soul, positivity and heart in the music and I can’t wait to share it with you.
We hopefully have a performance coming up! We’ve applied to sing in the Newport Fiddle & Folk Club’s upcoming Theme Night. It’s just one song but it’s so great to be a part of this fun event and to have something to work towards.
Come along on the 28th of April and see if you enjoy yourself and we’ll sort out joining properly, if you want to, once you’re there.
Term 2 begins 28 April, 2022.
Thursdays 2:00pm-3:30pm
Altona Meadows Community Centre – 28 Trafalgar Avenue, Altona Meadows.
Who is the choir for?
As always with WOV choirs, adults of all abilities, cultures, backgrounds, vocal ranges and genders are welcome. Even if you’ve never sung a note, you are welcome here.
Can you help?
We will need a couple of volunteers to help with the admin of the choir. Please let me know if you’re willing.
Spread the word!
Do you know anyone who’d like to sing? Tell them about us. Bring a friend! Attached is a jpg that can be shared on your social media feeds. We’d like to build up the choir numbers to ensure it’s longevity so we need help to find people.
Covid Safety
It is the nature of groups like ours to have some vulnerable community members who need to be protected from Covid-19, myself included. I take this quite seriously.
Please be careful to never attend when unwell, if you are a close contact or if you have any suspicion that you’ve been exposed to the virus.
Please be sure to be vaccinated and if you are more comfortable wearing a mask, that is great.
While at choir, the chairs will be spread out and I encourage everyone to avoid touching or getting close to each other.
Despite whatever rules governments may or may not have in place, looking after each other’s health and safety will remain important.
Thanks Kym Dillon!
Thank you to Kym Dillon for all of the work and music lovingly put into starting and building this community and for the support and wishing us well now. Kym remains well loved by all (she’s a tough act to follow!) and I look forward to the times the broader WOV community gathers and we get to sing all together.
I am excited to meet you all, get to know this community and help it to grow into this next phase.
Regards,
Steph Payne”
We’re so delighted to have Altona Meadows singing together once more after such a long hiatus. We hope you can make it down for a sing. Tell your friends!
Round SIX of the With One Voice Start-up grant applications is now open
With One Voice Start-up Grants on offer – up to $10K available!
Current Round Applications close 1st June, 2018
The With One Voice choirs are about strengthening communities and inspiring individuals to find their voice. We believe empowered individuals and supportive communities are better placed to solve society’s big challenges including cross-cultural integration, unemployment, mental illness, productivity, skills shortages, loneliness and isolation, family fragmentation, homelessness and more. Creativity Australia is offering a limited number of seed funding grants to make it easier for communities to start their own choir.
“It’s not hard to be part of the solution to the loneliness epidemic,” says Creativity Australia Founder, Tania de Jong AM, “it’s just about finding ways to bring the community together to support one another.”
It is an opportunity to create connections and friendships between diverse people in our community. It is about reaching out to those who are experiencing disadvantage and encouraging the socially advantaged in our community to engage with, learn from and help these people. Learn more about the members we have helped here – member stories.
Round four of the With One Voice Start Up fund is now open to local community groups, not-for-profits and businesses to tackle loneliness, isolation and disadvantage in their community. Successful applicants join a 12-month intensive mentoring program to guide them through the process of building their own With One Voice choir and a $10k Start-up Grant.
Founder & CEO of Centre for Hope, Geraldine Moran, the first successful applicant from Round One, says “With One Voice perfectly encapsulates the unity we want to create for our community. Mentoring is such a powerful tool, and through the With One Voice mentoring program we are learning quickly, safely and in a supported manner.”
For more information and to apply for a place in the With One Voice Start-up project, visit www.creativityaustralia.org.au/start.
Sing in the shower: Tania de Jong’s tips to be more creative in business
Tania de Jong’s goal is to get the nation singing.
A leading soprano herself, de Jong says singing changes the brain and encourages creativity. She has even given a TED talk on that topic. (See video below.)
De Jong is also a social entrepreneur and her latest project, Sing for Good, is seeking to raise much-needed funds to support disadvantaged Australians.
“We want to be the next Movember, but instead of moustaches, it’s about singing together,” she says.
“The goal is to get everyone singing … we also want to remove the stigma of singing.”
Sing for Good is part of Creativity Australia, one of de Jong’s two charities, alongside The Song Room, an education program for Australian children that won her the Ernst & Young award for Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006.
De Jong is also the founder of leadership and innovation organisation Creative Universe, Creative Innovation Global conferences, opera group Pot-Pourri and MTA Entertainment & Events.
Speaking to SmartCompany ahead of a keynote address last week at Creative Fuel, part of the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising’s Global Forum, de Jong says her passion is fostering creativity and innovation.
To continue reading click here
Top 10 Songs To Sing In The Shower
A Music Buff’s Guide to Singing In the Buff
Not only does everybody sing in the shower, everybody also thinks they sound better in the shower. The reason why we sound better is fairly simple, it’s due to your voice bouncing off the smooth hard tiles and glass surfaces, giving it more power. This makes a regular Joe or Joanne sound as powerful as the late Roy Orbison or as soulful as Adele.
Research into shower singing has provided even more reasons to belt it out first thing in the morning. A Swiss study found singing to have a huge effect on your heart rate, so much so that it can even reduce the risk of heart disease. Swedish neurologist Bjorn Vickhoff said that singing “gives you pretty much the same effect as yoga breathing”.
So what other reasons do you need to realize the beauty of shower singing first thing in the morning? Maybe you’re just stuck for ideas on what to sing next? If that’s so, enjoy 10 songs selected to belt out in a hot shower on a cold morning.
Food for the soul: supermarket flash mob
Some familiar faces appear in this wonderful flash mob at Ritchie’s Mt Eliza!
Thank you, Shaun: celebrating our conductors
After seven years as Principal Conductor of the With One Voice program, we are bidding a fond (yet not final) farewell to the wonderful Shaun Islip.
Shaun said his life has been transformed and enriched immeasurably through his association with Creativity Australia.
“It has been an immense privilege and joy to help shape the community, culture, creativity, music and ethos of this remarkable organisation,” Shaun said.
“It has been a hugely difficult decision to move on after seven fruitful and life-giving years, and I say my farewells with a heavy heart,” he said.
“It is wonderful to welcome, recognise and affirm the new blood, life, energy and skills embodied in my very worthy successor Kym Dillon. His passion, energy and enthusiasm will undoubtedly prove a great catalyst for the forward momentum and future success of Creativity Australia.
“Dearest friends, choir members, staff of Creativity Australia, Tania… you will always hold a huge place in my heart, I will miss you more than I can say. This however is not a final farewell, and I am confident that it will not be too long before our paths cross again.
“Until then dear ones, may you all find new strength in the journey, fresh wind in your sails as you continue to extend hope and encouragement through the joy of song. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for everything.
“Until next time… Siyahamba!
On behalf of the whole With One Voice family, we extend our warmest wishes to Shaun and look forward to seeing him as a guest conductor in the near future.
Kym Dillon, who has been a With One Voice conductor for five years, said he is excited to take all the skills he has gained so far to the next level.
“Working with the wonderful, dedicated choirs of Geelong, Ashburton and Altona Meadows over the years has given me an invaluable insight into the nature of these singing communities, and I have them to thank for the readiness I feel to take on this challenge,” Kym said.
“I’m sincerely looking forward to working with a very talented team of conductors to achieve the best possible outcome we can for the people who sing with us,” he said.
“I look forward to us as a team heightening the sense of community, not just in the the individual choirs but in the program as a whole, and celebrating each individual choir for their particular character.
“Finally, I honestly look forward to doing my utmost to listen to the needs of the choirs, and do my best to serve them as a fellow musician.
“Shaun has been an invaluable leader for the past few years, and I wish him all the best with his future endeavours!”
You can enjoy Kym’s energetic stylings at our Melbourne, Ashburton, Geelong and Altona Meadows choirs.
Just start singing! Karaoke jam open now.
You’re invited to join an online karaoke jam! Have a listen to the simple tune below and add your voice to the track.
Your smartphone*, the Smule app and some headphones are all you need!
- Click on the song title ‘We Sing‘
- Click ‘Join Now’
- Follow the prompts
*Your tablet or computer would work too!
Everyone’s welcome, so join us in song!
Peaceful Heart, Warrior Spirit
Creative Universe and Creative Innovation 2015 Asia Pacific are proud to present…
DAN MILLMAN (USA)
PEACEFUL HEART, WARRIOR SPIRIT
A Mindful, Reality-Based Approach to Living
With a special performance by soprano TANIA DE JONG AM from her new CD Heaven on Earth
Sunday 22 March 2 – 5pm
Sofitel Melbourne On Collins, Auditorium
Tickets: $150 + booking fee
Bookings: www.danmillman.eventbrite.com.au
Enquiries: (03) 8679 6000 or [email protected]
You will learn:
- the secret of self-discipline — how to turn what you know into what you do
- the most realistic way to overcome fear and self-doubt
- what mindfulness really means
- how to live in the present for a simpler, more peaceful life
- how to awaken the warrior spirit within whenever needed
- inner tools to open the hearts of self and others
Bring questions, open mind, and a sense of humour! You will return home with your head in the clouds, and feet on the ground.
Dan Millman’s best-selling classic Way of the Peaceful Warrior has sold millions of copies worldwide, and was released as a film by Universal Pictures in 2006. He is former world champion gymnast, coach, and college professor, has written 16 books published in 29 languages. His classic, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, was released as a film by Universal Pictures in 2007. Dan’s teachings have influenced people from all walks of life. His website: www.peacefulwarrior.com
In the film Peaceful Warrior a young college athlete named Dan Millman met a mysterious old service station attendant he named “Socrates.” After journeys around the world and study with other mentors, Dan developed a new approach to living. This action-packed half-day workshop highlights key facets of a reality-based and refreshing approach to living — with a peaceful heart and a warrior spirit.
The workshop will include a magical, mindful performance by soprano and spiritual journeywoman Tania de Jong AM from her new album, Heaven on Earth. www.taniadejong.com.au
Dan Millman appears courtesy of Creative Universe and Creative Innovation 2015 Asia Pacific. www.creativeuniverse.com.au www.ci2015.com.au
Divinegrace is also proud to support this event. www.divinegrace.com.au
The Results Are In: Swinburne Research Project
In partnership with Swinburne University of Technology’s Centre for Social Impact, and funding support by beyondblue and the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy, Creativity Australia has undertaken an evaluation of the With One Voice Program. This research forms the baseline for a more in-depth independent analysis, potentially to be completed with the assistance of an ARC Linkage Grant.
Click through to read the findings about the impact of the With One Voice program for participants.
Read the Summary Report
Appendix A: Full Survey
Appendix B: Interview Schedule
Start a choir with NEW MyChoir toolkit
Do you want to start a community choir?
Or re-energise an existing choir?
You are warmly invited to be part of Creativity Australia’s With One Voice network. Depending on your needs, we can offer quick tips for success, a suite of resources and/or ongoing consultation.
Download the MyChoir quick start guide.
A choir is an amazing way to empower individuals and build supportive communities. With a good toolkit, you can help change the world… one voice at a time. (Plus, it’s just great fun!)
CHECKLIST
Here are the key things you will need to build a successful choir. Our MyChoir resources will guide you step-by-step!
- conductor
- venue
- supper
- participants
- performances
- volunteers
- local support
- fundraising
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Social inclusion and giving to others is central to the With One Voice program. To be part of our network, your choir must:
- welcome all people
- have a shared supper
- share the Wish List
Download the MyChoir quick start guide or contact us to find out more.
Christmas in Brisbane
Thank you to With One Voice Brisbane participant Madonna for these pictures of the choir’s Christmas 2014 performances at the Wynnum Room Soiree!
Scaling impact: from start-up to sustainability
In March 2015, Creativity Australia’s With One Voice program celebrates it’s sixth birthday. We’re recognised as one of Australia’s top social innovations and more and more people are contacting us wanting to set up social inclusion choirs in their communities (check out our new MyChoir Guide).
To give you some more insight into our vision and challenges, we invite you to browse two fantastic articles from the Stanford Social Innovation Review: Scaling Impact by Jeffrey Bradach and What’s Your Endgame? by Alice Gugelev and Andrew Stern.
These beautifully written articles gives great insight into the challenges we face (shared by virtually all other not-for-profits) and the incredible opportunity we have to contribute to a critical endgame for communities and disadvantaged people.
We would love you to be part of this journey. Ways to help include joining a choir, spreading the word , taking part in Sing for Spring or making a donation. Together, we can change the world… one voice at a time!
