Music changes lives through Murray Bridge Community Choir
Meet the singers who, together, are more than the sum of their parts.
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A Murray Bridge singing group is helping participants live life to the fullest.
Not all members of the Murray Bridge Community Choir have musical experience, or even necessarily much talent.
What they do have, though, is a love of music, and an appreciation that sharing it with others can change your life.
“There’s absolutely no pressure to be part of any performances (or) to come and turn up every week,” choir director Cathy Smith said.
“What it’s about is having a space amongst friends.
“I’m so proud of how the whole group welcomes anyone, no matter who they are, into the fold and (that they) are supported and guided until they settle into the swing of singing.”
What she most enjoyed about the choir was not the act of singing, she said – though the singing was beautiful – but the smiles and laughter as singers chatted about their lives after each rehearsal.
Togetherness beat isolation, and joy was the cure for despair.
On Sunday, members of the choir sang at support group Silent Ripples’ annual memorial service to locals who have died by suicide.
Sunlight shone on the Round House gardens as the sounds of Count on Me and The Rainbow Connection echoed down into the river valley.
For Silent Ripples, the choir gave people a reason to come together and end their isolation – the same reason the organisation had donated $2000 to the choir a week earlier.
For attendees, the music helped bring into focus the complicated emotions that came with remembering loved ones: love and loss, cheerful memories and sharp pain.
Silent Ripples’ Janet Kuys, who lost her son to suicide 17 years ago, urged them to hold onto the good while continuing to process the bad.
“You don’t forget … their laugh as a baby, their first words or the first time you met them,” she said.
“We don’t lose our memory of any loved ones when they die, no matter the circumstances of their death.
“The beauty of a memory is that it’s always there.”
A minute’s silence was observed before many of those present filed down to a memorial overlooking the River Murray.
- More information: Attend a rehearsal at Baden Powell Hall, Murray Bridge from 6-7pm on Tuesdays, except during school holidays; or search for Murray Bridge Community Choir on Facebook.
- Get help: In an emergency, call 000. For support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. For support after the loss of a loved one, call Standby on 1300 727 247 or Silent Ripples on 0417 741 888 or 0429 017 858.
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