Choir clinches European festival spot

A group of young singers has been selected as the first Australian choir to take part in the Rhapsody Festival, an international choral festival in Vienna, Salzburg and Prague.

The City of Rockingham Children’s Choir, which has 41 members from local schools, auditioned for and secured a place at the festival, to be held in July next year.

Once in Europe, the Rockingham choir will be joined by up to six others from the US and Europe to spend 12 days touring and performing separately and together.

The tour will include performances in renowned halls and churches, where the children will sing in foreign languages.

They will also get to sing in the church where The Sound of Music wedding was filmed.

The choir is coached by conductor Susan Hicks, and her husband Michael is the accompanist.

It was set up in 2005 and two years later some of the members took a trip to Japan for concerts in Ako, Rockingham’s sister city.

Mrs Hicks is proud of her choir being the first in Australia to take part in the festival, a major event in Europe.

‘‘Most of the 41 are just interested in singing, and only five have had singing lessons,’’ she said.

A chamber choir has been started as well, singing in Italian, German and Serbian, and doing three-part chamber arrangements.

MrsHicks said everyone was very excited about the tour next year, but added there were high expectations of all members.

‘‘They are expected to be brilliant at all times,’’ she said.

The choir members now have just under a year to raise the funds for the trip, estimated at $4000 per person.

Rockingham Rotary and Palm Beach Rotary are both willing to offer some financial help, and the choir is also going to apply for a City of Rockingham grant.