Margaret Jones' early history of the
Perth Discovery Choir
Introduction
|
Index
for this page
PDC began in March 1989 when I placed a classified ad in the local newspaper calling for 'NON-SINGERS' to form a new choir for adult beginners. In those days I was using my male name, Matt.
Though I left the choir after conducting it for five years I continued to help out, occasionally stepping in to conduct when later conductors were away.
The current conductor [2002] is Phil Robertson, a very versatile and experienced musician who was formerly the head of music at Scotch College. Phil took over from another very talented conductor, Kevin Cameron. In the middle of Kevin's turn at the helm he won the coveted ABC Young Conductor of the Year Award, worth $20,000 plus engagements. Vincent Stanbridge was the second PDC conductor, and came to us after a long career with choirs in South Africa. There have been several piano accompanists, but the longest-serving is the amazing Jacinta Jakovcevic, who is still with the choir.
The choir celebrated its 10th anniversary in September 1999 with a concert at Scotch College Chapel, in Swanbourne, Western Australia. I was asked to write a new work specially for the event, where I conducted it. ...where eucalypts green-tip the sky is for choir, speakers and piano. About half of its dozen poems are spoken, the others sung.
At the time of writing there was no up-to-date web page for the Perth Discovery Choir. The material below comes from two newsletters I made at the time of my departure from the choir.
---Matthew Margaret Dylan Jones (Mix Margaret Jones), January 2000
Dear [name hand-written here],
now that in its 6th year of operation PDC has become independent from me, it's an appropriate time to reflect on our achievements and the exciting future which lies ahead.
PDC was formed in March 1989 after I placed a classified ad in the local paper looking for non-singers to form a sort of training choir. Some of our members today actually joined in that month or soon after, though we have no-one from the very first rehearsal. The idea was a bold one, not modelled on any other group and unique in its method of operation.
At the beginning of the third year we had something like 33 regular members, and today the tally is just a little lower than this. Mostly we have had males comprising only about one third of the total, but the quality of their singing has always produced a very good vocal balance. Other choirs would be jealous!
The choir's sound in the early days was very ragged and diffuse. Along the way my singing and teaching style changed radically and this eventually had a profound effect on the type of sound which PDC made. At its best it is a very warm, rich and full sound, with an excellent blend within the voice groups. I was very pleased to discover a way of achieving this in such an easy and quick fashion. In fact, the sound is very youthful in a way.
I will write some of this newsletter in note form because of limitations of time and space.Back to Index
South Suburban Music and Drama Society Eisteddfod, Perpetual Trophy 1991
Fremantle Eisteddfod, First Prize 1993
Claremont Town Hall * Catherine McAuley Family Centre * Cottesloe Civic Centre 1991
Grove Plaza 1991 * Heathcote Hospital 1991 * Saint Louis Estate (opposite MLC school)
The music shell in Manning Park---Menage de Choir * Forrest Music Society at John Forrest SHS
Leckie Music Centre (Pavilion), Nedlands * Westlea Apartments (opposite Matt's)
Parkerville Amphitheatre (in Hovea), Christmas 1992 & 93 * Fremantle Arts Centre 1992 Back to Index
We were very fortunate to have some of Perth's most outstanding young soloists on our programmes. Coral Paget (vcl), Daire Sloan (vce), Dinky Goble-Garratt (vce), Melinda Shute (vce), Tim Strahan (vce), MDJ (vce, pno solo), Caerwin Martin (vcl), Jacinta Jakovcevic (pno), Arthur Hartley (organ, pno), Adeline Fong (vln), Ian Abbott (vcl), Meredith Thomas (fl), Todd Ellery (pno), Sarah D'Arcy (vce), Andrew Muller (vln), Clinton Power (tpt).
MDJ: 1989-1993, and 6 weeks March/April 1994.
Vincent Stanbridge: 6 weeks Feb/March 1994.
Kevin Cameron: from late April 1994. [But see the Introduction above]
MDJ * Kevin Liu * Namoi Millet * Christine Sanders (e.g. at SSMADS) * Jan Helsham * Olive Mell
Arthur Hartley * Jacinta Jakovcevic [Looking for a pianist? See Margaret's accompaniment page]
Ian and Sascha Ozanne, many other friends and relatives of PDC members, and others. Graham Johnstone and Graham ....., volunteer electricians at the Amphitheatre concert last year. Caitlin Clarke, John Whitehead.Back to Index
Dinky Goble-Garratt: a real trooper; did the rehearsal drinks on her own for ages, and many other chores.
Many other members, especially committee people: Jean Argyle, Judy Ozanne, Val Ausmus, Eleanor Bell, Richard Reynolds, Kimble Walsh, Rob Peters, Alan Hope, Joy Barrett, Christos Karpathakis, Pat Sanders, Brian Perriam, Harold Kennett, Anne Pickett, Rachael Petridis.
Menage de Choir and BBQ with A Cappella Go choir, 1991 in the open air at the music shell in Manning Park.
Leckie Music Centre (Pavilion), Nedlands for TOSA (Theatre Organ Society of Australia) with Arthur Hartley. Raised $1,000 for Radio RTR FM, 1992.
Deck Chair Theatre Co., singing carols as part of a dozen performances of the play The Nativity, 1992. PDC members contributed their earnings to begin the choir fund which is now used to run PDC.
September 12, 1993 in the Claremont Town Hall. A full house who enjoyed the entertainment thoroughly. The choir sang marvellously, had a great time, and made a profit of over $550 for the choir fund (which compared well to the usual loss).
Parkerville Amphitheatre (in Hovea). Christmas 1992 & 93. As a child this venue was my backyard (we built it with help from hundreds of people starting in 1966), and it is still owned and managed by my folks without any government assistance. John, Derry and Lawrie donated untold hours to help us with these concerts.
Other highlights were winning the two competitions - see above. Back to Index
New members of PDC may find this a little hard to believe, but every word is true. In 1989 or 90 a journalist, let's call him Mit for short, (or for backward, because getting things backward is his forte), came to a PDC rehearsal and sang with us for the first half. After a hot drink during the break he went home, and never again heard PDC. After a sojourn in his native England, he came back and began previewing choral music in Perth for ArtsWest magazine (to which PDC members are entitled to subscribe to at a reduced rate). Now, the proprietor of ArtsWest decided that subscriber groups (such as PDC) would no longer be able to write their own columns but would instead have their activities previewed and discussed by Mr Mit. Mr Mit then wrote that "Jones has been running his choir for over three years without noticeable technical development," when in actual fact the choir had improved enormously. The article was full of inaccurate, misleading and defamatory remarks and suggestions, even though Dinky and I had had several long and very friendly conversations with him. The episode remains quite a mystery.
Members may subscribe to this excellent bi-monthly magazine for a small sum (ask Jean, your Treasurer). Because of the episode mentioned above, your committee has regained the right to write our regular column in this magazine, and the publication is full of interesting reading and information, as well as discounts for plays and concerts. Back to Index
Your committee has been discussing the possibility of combining with the Cambridge Musicians for a rehearsal, in late June. If this went well, the two groups of fun-loving amateur musicians could start talking about a combined concert someday.
Another very exciting project is a possible country tour (probably just a night or two).
Vincent was keen on PDC making a recording, bit by bit over an extended period of time, which could be sold at concerts. That would be a worthwhile achievement.
And, of course, the one thing THAT ABSOLUTELY MUST HAPPEN: incorporation of PDC as a non-profit making society. Your committee will need your support and encouragement. Back to Index
A concern for vocal health, including development of the voice through introductory lessons. Routine vocal warm-ups: not every choir does this, yet it makes a world of difference. An ability to take almost any person regardless of their lack of musical or vocal skill, though we have had many long term members who could have easily joined a bigger and more advanced choir. They must have liked PDC, which brings me to the obligatory drink break. What a spoilt choir you have been! But seriously, a hot drink at half time has a very beneficial effect on your singing. And PDC has practice tapes to help new people learn some of the likely repertoire.
PDC is definitely the place to be for enjoying your music making.
PDC has always sung a wide range of music, but I think the results of some of our forays in certain styles could be left unsaid (well, almost. Who remembers I Could Be So Good For You?)
A major ambition not fulfilled was Benjamin Britten's Cantata, Rejoice in the Lamb. Kevin has said he would be keen on performing all of the Vivaldi Gloria eventually. And you never did finish learning all of Show Boat. So these works could still be possibilities.
Several people in PDC have made very encouraging comments about Hovea Music. Someone suggested that if I wanted people to have confidence in Hovea Music I should explain how it was that I didn't make any money out of PDC. Over the last 5 years I have probably lost a few thousand dollars because of running PDC, and I haven't earnt anything for my time. This, of course, is my own problem and I am certainly not asking anyone to reimburse me or make a gift.
My financial loss happened partly because PDC had no door sales to speak of and because I needed a computer and a photocopier etc to do it on my own. I was over-capitalised; the financial investment was too great compared to the income. A great many other things added up too. For example, the hall is expensive (as halls go), and the drinks cost $8 per night. Concert production costs were a dead loss because very few concerts actually paid for themselves.
Now, Hovea Music has inherited some of these assets and liabilities, including the computer, music & word processing software, the piano, the studio, the photocopier (though it needs replacing), and numerous other small things.
Two years ago I realised that I was actually losing money through PDC. That was one of the reasons I decided that I would have to give it up. Another was the realisation that one day, for whatever reason, I would have to leave PDC (perhaps because of a job offer or illness), and if that happened suddenly PDC would have been in great danger of folding. But to ensure that it didn't collapse in a heap, I decided to stick around for as long as it took to get PDC operating on a more stable basis. There was no way I would have left everyone high and dry. Indeed, this year I have probably donated (i.e. for free) more than 40 hours of my time to helping the choir. Back to Index
Two years ago it seemed, and this has since proven to be true, that PDC would never be financially self-sufficient until it was disentangled from my own financial affairs and cast out in the world on its own. It was inevitable that, as long as I was running it, the choir would never be financially viable.
I also want to thank those people who expressed their appreciation for what I had done for them personally in lessons and by forming PDC as the 'non-singers' choir. I too have benefited enormously in the personal sense and have learnt so much about so many different things as a direct result of this project. I hope you have too.
I leave PDC so glad that the choir and Kevin Cameron are enjoying each other so much. Kevin is obviously going places and I'm sure he will be taking PDC with him! You are in excellent hands with a top musical team comprised of a conductor and an accompanist who are both a cut above the average with wonderful careers ahead of them. Not many choirs can boast that.
The choir is financially OK now and is able to pay its own way without financial help from me, but to provide PDC with the security it needs I will still be available in emergencies to conduct or accompany at the piano.
It would be good to draw your attention to the officially-adopted Original Aims of PDC. When the choir becomes incorporated (very soon, I hope) you will need to think very carefully about what you want PDC to do and to be, so it would certainly be useful to have a read of the Original Aims and see how well PDC has achieved them and whether they need amendment.
I would like to finish this letter by quoting something I said in the newsletter of January 1992: "I tell my piano students that one never arrives; in music one is always travelling. The trick is to enjoy the journey". My train is waiting on the other platforrm. I wish you a wonderful trip.
Good luck at Freo!
Cheers!
---Matt Jones Back to Index
All this has been achieved without changing the original aims. I had many ambitions for this unique project; here are some of them:
TO PROVIDE something special for people who had always wanted to get involved in making music, but who may not have had the opportunity.
TO HELP people discover their vocal & musical potential, which is often underestimated (were you ever told to mime?!!!)
TO INTRODUCE people to a wider range of music than they would otherwise come across. How many would have fallen for Laudate Nomen Domini or Ave Verum Corpus had they not learnt to sing it themselves?
TO AIM for the highest musical standard. This is a tall one and I knew it would be a long haul---many years. But we're definitely getting there.
TO ULTIMATELY produce a very fine choir, which would still be able to accommodate enthusiastic beginners. This is getting closer all the time.
TO DO all this in an eminently enjoyable way, with the social aspect never neglected. Many choirs are a real drudge and don't even have a coffee break.
The idea to start The Perth Discovery Choir came to me as a solution to a problem which had been plaguing me for some years. I had invested a lot of time in developing many musical skills which I couldn't really use all at the same time. Skills such as copying, arranging, composing, choral singing, music education, languages, one-to-one interpersonal skills, and the teaching of piano, theory, musicianship and voice. Most of these skills I have since been able to bring to the choir, and the choir has helped me develop a few new tricks viz. conducting, musical direction, group skills, organisational abilities etc. Back to Index
A personal newsletter
to all PDC members
on the occasion of my stepping down as Musical Director
Dear PDC member,
on re-reading the personal newsletter recently mailed to you, I suddenly realised that the vast amount of work and thought which so many other people have put into PDC over the last five or so years had only been acknowledged by a very pithy 'A special thank you'. That was about it, as if that newsletter was an ordinary newsletter.
All the people, inside the choir and out of it, deserve much more recognition than that, so I will relate what I can remember. What follows below is only a thumb nail sketch, with an illustration or two of only some of the things that people have done. And doubtless I will have unintentionally left out many contributions worthy of mention.
Apologies to anyone I've left out. No doubt I'll remember you as soon as this is posted. And apologies to all those whose efforts I have been unaware of.
As it happens, dozens of people contributed their time and ideas, starting with Naomi Millett and Elizabeth Campbell over a cappuccino in late 1988. One thought it wouldn't work, probably because no-one had ever done it before, and the other agreed with me that there must be mobs of people who would just love to sing in a beginner's choir if only the opportunity was there. Back to Index
For the first year I probably did most of the work myself. From early 1990 Dinky Goble-Garratt helped me by handling the tea & coffee, giving me a lift to and from the hall etc, and contributing lots of ideas and feed-back. Choristers used to 'get her ear' in order to communicate something to me(!)
Dinky frequently stepped in when someone was urgently needed to perform various choir tasks. She has been a tower of strength, especially in times of trouble, of which there have been a few.
Jean Argyle has always been a hard-working member of our committees, which I think began their work in mid-1992. For a long time she held the position of secretary and provided us with highly professional minutes and agendas. Also, she wrote many fine articles for our regular column in ArtsWest. This year she is doing an excellent job as treasurer. PDC is very fortunate to have someone of her experience and ability undertaking these roles. In other organisations these positions are often not taken by people with such an extensive background in these fields.
Another person who assisted mightily by volunteering her services in an area where she was already accomplished was Eleanor Bell, who was our first treasurer. Eleanor's biggest contribution was probably the wonderful financial result achieved from two swap meets in 1993, where many hundreds of dollars were raised for the choir fund. Her commercial background made all the difference.
Of course, Eleanor was ably assisted in the swap meets by Rob Peters, our Purchasing Officer. The two made a formidable pair. Rob was instrumental in many PDC activities by finding materials needed for rehearsals and concerts.
Choir newsletters and ArtsWest articles are now written by Rachael Petridis. She puts a lot of time and thought into each one (and believe me when I say that they take a lot of effort), often spending her spare time interviewing long-serving PDC members to do profiles on them, and doing other research as needed. Rachael has performed many tasks for the choir (see her if you need a PDC scarf, or phone her if you need to make an apology for being unable to attend a rehearsal).
Dani Boase-Jelinek gave me invaluable computer assistance, which helped me in several PDC-related tasks.
For both our Christmas concerts at the Parkerville Amphitheatre in Hovea (built and managed by my family) my brother Lawrie and my parents, John and Derry, contributed many hours of free labour. In addition, Dad gave us a 'below cost' deal for the use of one of the state's loveliest outdoor venues.
Richard Reynolds and Joy Barrett have contributed greatly to committee meetings with thought-provoking discussion and debate. They have often found themselves making innumerable phone calls on behalf of PDC, and have readily offered to take over tasks when people have gone away on holiday.
Judy Ozanne assisted the last Hovea concert with a huge effort by making and erecting roadway signs. These well thought-out structures survived the weather perfectly, and took a long time to make. As a committee member, she has put in a lot of work on behalf of PDC. Back to Index
A sample from Hovea Music, Ferrous Fanfare [was in printed in the newsletter]
Jane Kernot allowed us to use her house for the first PDC annual party, and introduced us to Westlea Apartments (opposite my studio) [but I've moved since then]. Jane eventually went back to her mother in Melbourne.
Colin Edwards was very handy on a couple of occasions when he lent us an electric piano. He no longer has it---perhaps he would get another one if we pressured him to take up piano lessons!
Valerie Ausmus enjoyed learning how to be chairman, and hosted the committee meetings at her house for quite a while.
Pat Sanders has been looking after the choir library for over 6 months now. It is a very responsible job and I thank her very much for taking it out of my hands.
I always wanted to have a committee eventually, and always looked forward to the day when I would be able to walk away from a well-run and progressive choir. We did need to have a group of people running the choir instead of just me, and now we have an excellent team meeting once a month.
Please consider serving on the committee. Meetings are fun, lots of things are discussed and I think people enjoy finding out first hand about a lot of unusual issues that they wouldn't normally think about. While some committee members have performed tasks in which they already work professionally, most don't. Joining the committee is a good learning experience and many people have probably joined it for that reason (i.e. to learn).
A case in point, if I'm not mistaken, was Kimble Walsh, who was our hard-working Publicity Officer last year. Kimble put in a huge effort organising teams of people to put up Christmas Concert posters in the hills, and booked advertising and made programmes etc. When she had to leave because of study pressure, she made a comprehensive folder to pass on to the next Publicity Officer. Kimble's work was all the more remarkable because she ended up doing more than just the publicity. I would recommend that the Publicity Officer of any voluntary organisation not be asked to carry additional responsibilities. Back to Index
Anne Pickett did something that I will never forget. She had an idea that proved to be of great value to the committee and to me. Anne used her experience in market research to do a thorough telephone survey of ex-PDC members with the aim of identifying the reasons why people had joined and eventually (or in some cases quickly) left the choir. Her comprehensive research (in late 1992?) proved that you can't please all of the people all of the time. Anne asked each person a series of probing questions to find out what factors they liked about us and what things were putting them off. As an example, she found that some had left because the repertoire was too classical while an equal number had gone because the repertoire was too light or popular. Her findings were that there was no one obvious factor which had caused people to leave. Some left because their job was transferred interstate, or their TAFE class shifted to Tuesdays, or any of a number of other factors over which we had no control. It was great to get confirmation that what we were doing was basically 'on track', but unfortunately it gave us no clue as to how to improve the membership level.
Alan Hope was our Social Officer and Party Bookings Officer. He also helped to procure helpers for our concerts.
Harold Kennett preceded Alan as Social Officer and on many occasions contributed his lovely voice to our concert programmes. Several split rehearsals were held at Harold & Pam's, and other social outings ended up there as well.
Roz Hart has helped out on many occasions in various capacities and now is doing a super job with the practise tapes. Sometimes new members have picked up their tapes 10 minutes after phoning her.
I have reliable reports that Carole Skirving has been very helpful behind the scenes assisting committee members. There are probably many people doing things like this where I don't know about it.
Brian Perriam has been occasional committee secretary and has helped with many choir tasks for quite some time. In between globe-trotting he has given important assistance to the smooth running of the choir.
Christos Karpathakis! Well, what more can I say? The contribution of Christos' rich and powerful tenor voice was matched only by his humour. Rehearsals just aren't the same without him. Christos was a real choir person, always lending a hand (or a microphone). Back to Index
Ian and Sascha Ozanne and many other friends and relatives of PDC members helped at concerts as Stage Managers and Front-of-House staff. Graham Johnstone and Graham ....., were volunteer electricians at the Amphitheatre concert last year. Caitlin Clarke and John Whitehead have also given much-needed help (a recent split rehearsal was held at John's).
The above is of course a very incomplete description of the care and dedication shown by a large number of people over a long period of time, in some cases for over more than five years. But I hope it will give an indication of how much PDC is really owned by its members. Much work remains to be done---but it's great fun.
Best wishes,
Matt Jones [Mx Margaret Jones]
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