Pub choir brings British culture to Thorpdale
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The owner of Thorpdale’s Travellers Rest Hotel is bringing a British pub culture to the small community with a popup choir night.
Community members have embraced the concept, putting their singing skills on display at the choir nights that are open to people of all singing abilities.
The TRH pop-up choir is a free monthly event designed to bring people together to share a song.
TRH owner Jill Jepson said the idea of the choir was partly inspired by her time living in England and experiencing the British pub scene.
“When I was in England, there was always music in the pub,” she said.
“Someone would bring their guitar in or their flute or drums and there would always be singing. The pub was the centre of the community, where people meet and friendships were formed. I get the feeling that in regional communities (in Australia) the pub is the centre as well.”
Having already hosted two very successful choir nights, Jill said the response from the community had been “amazing”.
“People were saying they felt their mood was elevated for days after, and that it was a great thing to bring the community together,” Jill said. “I think (everyone’s) dopamine levels were elevated and people left very positively.”
Leading the TRH choir is Kate Reiske. Although Kate has years of experience leading choirs, Jill said she had never experienced something like the TRH choir.
“The idea behind the pop-up choir is that people come in, they don’t know what the song is, they learn the song, sing and then they leave,” Jill said.
“Kate’s experience is very much in leading choirs who are quite serious in their singing endeavour, so she had never experienced anything like this!”
Working alongside Kate are a group of musicians, providing live accompaniment for the singers.
“To our group we added my husband Sean who is a drummer, Kate’s friend Glenn who plays the guitar and a friend of ours, Andrew
McSweeney who plays piano,” Jill said. “Andrew runs his own music school and was exactly what we needed to help pull the choir together.”
Jill outlined what a fun-filled choir night looks like.
“We open the bar early, around about 5:30 for a little bit of Dutch courage and we also offered some tapas so people could get some quick and easy food,” Kate said.
“At 7:00 I ring a bell and take everyone into our dining room and the song is announced. Kate separates the group into two harmony groups, one which is a deeper or a base level sound and the other more of a soprano. Kate guides them alongside Andrew to learn their cues and melodies. We sing through probably five or six times, each group runs through their individual vocal parts and then the last few runs are where it all comes together.”
The Travellers Rest Hotel has so far committed to hosting three pop-up choir nights. The final performance will be held on Monday April 22, with the bar opening at 5:30pm and singing underway at 7pm.
“Hopefully we’ll keep it going,” Jill said. “We committed to three sessions, and I’ve discussed with the team about what we do in the future.”
Jill encouraged anyone who is yet to experience the TRH choir to come along to the final night.
“Anyone who’s prepared to take a risk should come,” she said.
“People think that they have to be able to sing but that’s not the purpose, you could come along and grunt. The purpose is getting together and sharing a song, it’s not a formal choir, it’s just fun. Anyone willing to take the plunge and bring a friend along should come. It’ll be fantastic to see more people.”