Lydia Brown (Choir Director), Peter Stuart (Founder), Dr Yoon Irons (Researcher)
Like all big things it first began as an idea…
Back in 2016 Peter Stuart (who would later be our first President) liaised with Members of Parliament, University Professors, Music Therapy Associations and Services, Conservatoriums and Choral Associations right across the country to pull together the expertise and resources required to start a choir for people with aphasia.
After much correspondence and a huge amount of lobbying over many months he was successful in obtaining a one off grant from Queensland Health to fund the creation of an aphasia choir in concert with a research project in 2017 led by Dr Yoon Irons from the Griffith University Conservatorium of Music.
Not to be deterred, even before the grant was awarded, Peter Stuart had already organised the very first meeting to form a choir committee on Saturday 3 December 2016 at the Logan Central Library (where the choir still meet regularly to this day!).
After several months of meetings the very first choir rehearsal led by our current Choir Director, Lydia Brown, happened at 10am on Tuesday 13 February 2018 at the Logan Central Library and we have been meeting every Tuesday in person (or online with COVID-19) ever since!
Not longer after that things got very official with the incorporation of Aphasia Queensland Inc which now operates the Sing to Beat Aphasia Choir on 7 August 2018.
Some photos from our very first rehearsal!
Photo from our performance at the National Australian
Aphasia Association’s 2018 Conference
Since then the choir has performed at hospitals, community fetes, the national Australian Aphasia Association Conference, as well as starring on the ABC National News, a SBS Documentary, and even appeared on the National Australian Aphasia Association of America’s Newsletter.
A music video of the choir performing their own original song has been recorded and is in the process of being produced. As well as a documentary on the choir and its participants.
But the story doesn’t end here, even through COVID-19 and personal struggles the choir still get together every week to practice and once a month for a strictly social get together (although some members have sprung into song on occasion!).