Local Artist Bree Hartley has been named the 2022 Armadale Arts Festival Artist by the Armadale Arts Festival Artist Panel and will co-ordinate a community choir during this year’s festival.
Bree said she’s delighted to share her love of performing arts while coordinating a project with community at its heart.
“The community choir experience will be a coming together from all parts of our local community so we have a choir which truly represents who we are. We’ll spend a few weeks rehearsing before a public performance in May at the Armadale District Hall,’ Ms Hartley said.
“Ultimately, the community choir will be a representation of the power of music to bring people together - a microcosm of our wider Armadale community while also making meaningful, and hopefully, long lasting connections.
“Singing together is one of the simple joys in life. My favourite moments occur during rehearsals. Performances are the icing on the cake, but the real magic happens during rehearsals when we have a laugh, get to know each other, and journey through the process of starting out with nerves to singing with confidence. I still get nervous at the beginning of each session. It’s totally normal and this awareness helps me to work in a way that hopefully allows people to be themselves and let their true voice come out.”
Bree has been an arts practitioner of music and theatre since childhood with family singing, early music lessons, and childhood stage shows. She has dedicated herself to creating opportunities for the community to engage with performing arts in her roles as specialist music teacher, choir coordinator/conductor, and community theatre group member and leader. Bree has volunteered with the Roleystone Theatre Group since 1997 and has been a primary school music specialist in the local area since 2009.
“What I love about music making is how it brings people together. Whether playing an instrument, singing, or listening in the audience, you all become ‘one’ for that moment in time. It also makes you very present and in the moment.”
Mayor Ruth Butterfield congratulated Bree on her appointment as Armadale Arts Festival Artist for 2022.
“I’m delighted that Bree has accepted the role. She is a fantastic ambassador for the Performing Arts and has a long track record of supporting community arts within the City of Armadale. Her festival artist project will engage people in the Arts who may not have previously had the opportunity to do so,” said Mayor Butterfield.
The City’s annual Arts Festival runs from Friday 29 Apr 2022 to Sunday 15 May 2022. For more information, visit www.armadaleartsfestival.com.au.
