CHOIR: “I’ve been to cities that never close down...”
The hauntingly beautiful voices of the National Boys Choir of Australia filtered through to lounge rooms across Australia when they starred in the iconic Qantas TV commercial, running from 1997 to 2009.
A Bunbury audience will be able to enjoy the ongoing success of the choir when it tours WA in September, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014.
Co-artistic director Peter Casey had a chat to entertainment in the lead-up to the show at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on September 20.
Mr Casey’s father Kevin Casey, who was a classical singer and a choir piano player, founded the choir in Melbourne in 1964.
“It started in our family home – my dad had four children under the age of five, would you believe, and the choir would meet at our house, there would be kids climbing all over the place,” Mr Casey said.
It grew from those humble beginnings to what it is today – we have 42 boys in the travelling choir and 120 back in Melbourne
- Co-artistic director Peter Casey
“My dad had a vision to create a specific sound in a family-orientated atmosphere, where everyone was on a first name basis and knew each boy’s families.
“It grew from those humble beginnings to what it is today – we have 42 boys in the travelling choir and 120 back in Melbourne.”
Packing 42 boys between the ages of nine and 15 into a bus and trekking across WA might sound like most people’s idea of hell, but Mr Casey said the choir was very well disciplined and knew that they must keep quiet to preserve their voices for performance.
The selection process for the choir involves travelling to schools across the country, identifying young boys with a voice and letting their parents know about their special ability, but Mr Casey said many parents proactively contacted the choir to sign their boys up.
The iconic Qantas ad featuring I Still Call Australia Home, set in the outback, has a special place in the hearts of many.
“I think it was the freshness and youthfulness of the boys, the sense of pride and hope they inspired and the fact that it was real singers, not actors, set in real locations,” Mr Casey said.
Local groups Bunbury Men of Song and Bunbury Young Voices will also perform with the choir on the night.
Mr Casey said the Bunbury groups were putting the Melbourne boys up in their homes and they were looking forward to stepping out of the big smoke into regional WA.
The performance will come to Bunbury on Saturday, September 20.
Find out more at bunburyentertainment.com
- By Shanelle Miller.
