Lyn Williams has just come back from 10 days of auditioning kids around the country, from the major capital cities to rural centres such as Rockhampton, Cairns and Armidale. She’s done skype auditions and watched videoed auditions from kids living in the middle of nowhere all keen to sing in one of her choirs. Over the next few weeks she will have to decide which of them will get into Gondwana Voices for 2012, Australia’s national children’s choir.
In January, the lucky ones will head to Sydney for National Choir School and close to half of them will be from regional and remote areas. ‘Can you imagine,’ says Williams. ‘… being a 10 year old coming to the big city for the first time to be surrounded by 300 young people who love singing as much as you do; when you’re probably the odd one out in your country town.’