Kyesha’s is the voice of youth
Teen singer’s growing reputation
AT JUST 13 years of age, Toowoomba singer Kyesha Stewart is creating something of a reputation for herself.
The diminutive Year 8 student regularly appears at sporting events and cultural festivals to sing a range of songs including the Australian national anthem which she performs in English and in an Aboriginal dialect.
“I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember but I started performing when I was about eight,” the shy and humble teenager said.
“It really wasn’t hard at all to learn the national anthem in Aboriginal.”
Queensland Police Commission Ian Stewart was so impressed with Kyesha’s singing that he invited her to police headquarters in Brisbane for NAIDOC Week opening celebrations and to sing at the official flag raising ceremony.
Kyesha sings the national anthem in the language of the Yugembeh tribe, traditional people of the south-east Queensland region.
“She’s been given permission to sing it,” her mother Louise Stewart explained.
“We had to go through all the procedures to get permission.”
Kyesha’s father Laurie Stewart said the family was very proud of Kyesha’s performances.
“We transport her to the performances so we get to hear her all the time,” Mr Stewart said.
“We get emails every day requesting Kyesha to sing at different events.
“It’s hard to put it into words, but we’re all very proud of her.”
Kyesha enjoys a wide variety of music and was coy when asked whether she was looking forward to a career in singing, being happy to concentrate on completing her school years first.
“I think I’d like to go on with singing,” she said softly.