Approximately 100 people spent the whole day singing on Oct. 2, the first of two choral workshops directed by Australian musician and filmmaker Martin Meader. The workshop was aimed at people who felt they couldn't or were told they shouldn't sing. It was an opportunity for them to let go of their fears and become part of a community in song.
People are shy and nervous.
We are human. But, he explained, people transform as the day progresses. Everyone gets the high from singing. They' re dragged in and come out singing. Meader's passion for community singing was inspired by the story of a group of European women held in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the early 1940's who managed to form a choir to remain sane, despite opposition from the guards.