Pub Choir
Astrid Jorgensen and Waveney Yasso at Riverstage, Brisbane May 2021
Background information
OriginBrisbane, Australia
GenresChoral Music, Popular Music
Years active2017-present
Websitewww.pubchoir.com.au

Pub Choir is a musical act founded in Brisbane, Australia, directed by Astrid Jorgensen.[1][2][3]

At each Pub Choir event Jorgensen arranges a popular song and teaches it to the audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media.[4][5] There is no formal recurring membership and participants purchase tickets to attend each show, which is usually held at a licensed venue.[4]

Background

The first Pub Choir event was held in West End, Brisbane at venue The Bearded Lady in March 2017.[4] At the inaugural event 80 attendees learned Jorgensen's arrangement of "Slice of Heaven" by Dave Dobbyn. Jorgensen founded Pub Choir "to help regular people reclaim music in their lives, free of pressure or judgement".[5]

In November 2017 Pub Choir's rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries went viral on the internet,[6] and was shared by the band themselves shortly after the death of lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan.[4] Other artists including Mariah Carey,[7] Sir Barry Gibb,[8] The Killers[9] and Kiss[10] have also praised and shared Pub Choir's arrangements of their songs. In 2022, Pub Choir's video of "Running Up That Hill" garnered international media attention when Kate Bush shared a statement describing the performance as "utterly, utterly wonderful!".[11][12]

Pub Choir has held events widely around Australia,[2][13][14][15][16][17][18] as well as in New Zealand,[19] the United States[20] and England. On 5 April 2018 Pub Choir performed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[21] On 20 July 2019 Pub Choir performed at Splendour In The Grass.[22]

The term Pub Choir was coined by Jorgensen, and is trademarked.[23][24]

Special guests

Pub Choir has featured guest appearances by several notable musicians and celebrities. The first guest appearance in March 2018 by John Collins of Powderfinger for a performance of "My Happiness" received significant media attention, with a three-page feature in The Australian[6] by journalist Andrew McMillen and a long-form radio piece on ABC's Radio National Breakfast program, hosted by Fran Kelly.[25]

In 2018 other notable musical guests included:

In 2019 musical guests included:

In 2020 musical guests included:

In 2022 guests included:

In 2018 Pub Choir was featured in Hit Network's national advertising campaign, with multiple presenters appearing at shows including Grant Denyer, Dave Hughes, Kate Langbroek, and Ed Kavalee.[26]

Philanthropy

Pub Choir has regularly partnered with local charities, often donating a portion of ticket sales and raising money at events.[5]

In 2018 Pub Choir raised over $19,000 for the charity MND and Me in honour of Pub Choir regular attendee, John Hanley. Subsequently, John Hanley's involvement with Pub Choir caught the attention of ABC TV producers for the show "The Recording Studio",[27] in which Hanley was featured in the inaugural episode on 16 April 2019.[28]

On 20 December 2018 Pub Choir sold out a Christmas event at Brisbane City Hall for a performance of "How to Make Gravy" by Paul Kelly. Samuel Johnson (OAM) was the guest speaker, and the event raised over $108,000 for Samuel's charity, "Love Your Sister".[2] In 2019, their Christmas event raised over $134,000 for Women's Legal Service Queensland.

On 14 June 2019 Jorgensen was awarded the Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir.[29]

Couch Choir

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic a virtual choir named Couch Choir was created as an online equivalent of Pub Choir.[5] In July 2020 it created a video including 1,534 contributions from people in 40 countries.[30] In 2020, Couch Choir's video performance of Close to You by The Carpenters was added to the collection of the Australian National Communications Museum.[31] Couch Choir's 2020 Christmas video of All I Want For Christmas Is You featured the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and was shared online by Mariah Carey,[32] raising over $31,000 for the charity GIVIT.[33][34]

Australia's Biggest Singalong!

The inaugural television special Australia's Biggest Singalong! was broadcast live on SBS from the Sydney Town Hall on 5 June 2021.[35] The two-hour special was co-created by Pub Choir in collaboration with Artemis Media and SBS and was hosted by Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell.[36][37][32] Throughout the interactive special, Jorgensen and Yasso taught the live audience and home viewers a vocal arrangement of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" by Hunters & Collectors in real-time, with guest performances by Dami Im and Mitch Tambo.[38][32] The show culminated in a final performance which was accompanied by Mark Seymour.[39]

References

  1. ↑ "How Pub Choir became a phenomenon". Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pub Choir brings singing to the masses". The Canberra Times, 26 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "Pub Choir is for everyone, no matter how bad your singing is". Scenestr, 8 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Pub Choir: Brisbane grassroots event where everyone's urged to sing". The Australian, 23 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Leigh, Andrew; Terrell, Nick (2020). Reconnected: A community builder's handbook. Australia: La Trobe University Press. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9781760642617.
  6. 1 2 "Brisbane's Pub Choir movement marks first year". The Australian, 23 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Coast. "2,800 people from 50 countries sing stunning virtual choir cover of 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'". Coast. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "Beer, bass notes and the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb: my night at Brisbane's revitalised Pub Choir". the Guardian. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Music". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Dale, Jessica (2 March 2020). "Even KISS Love Brisbane's Pub Choir After This Excellent 'I Was Made For Lovin' You' Cover". Themusic.com.au.
  11. ↑ Choir, Source: Pub (14 July 2022). "Running Up That Hill: Watch Brisbane choir's rendition of Kate Bush classic – video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Kate Bush praises Brisbane choir's 'utterly wonderful' Running Up That Hill cover". the Guardian. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Let that inhibition go': Vocal support drives Pub Choir's success“. The Age, 31 January 2019.
  14. ↑ "'Pub Choir hits the right notes as movement steps out of Brisbane for first time". ABC Sunshine Coast, 7 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "'Pubs in harmony as singers take over the bar for Festival of Voices Pub Choir Events". The Mercury, 10 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "'600 people heading to Darwin Ski Club for first ever NT Pub Choir event Friday night". Northern Territory News, 19 July 2018.
  17. ↑ "'Pub Choir to take over Toowoomba bar". The Toowoomba Chronicle, 20 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "'Pub Choir in Warwick". Warwick Daily News, 22 January 2019.
  19. ↑ Interactive (http://www.nvinteractive.co.nz), N. V. "Pub Choir @ The Spiegeltent". Bread & Circus. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  20. ↑ Crossen, Louise. "Griffith alumnus goes global with Pub Choir". news.griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  21. ↑ "Pub Choir | Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  22. ↑ "'From singing in the pub to Splendour in the Grass". SBS, 3 April 2019.
  23. ↑ "PUB CHOIR Trademark of PC IP PTY LTD - Registration Number 6110717 - Serial Number 88449740 :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  24. ↑ Whiting, Frances (9 December 2023). "'Power of song': How Astrid Jorgensen turned Pub Choir into a sell-out sensation". The Courier Mail QWeekend. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "'Pub Choir': A singing community". Radio National, 26 March 2018.
  26. ↑ "2DayFM is bringing Pub Choir to Sydney". Radio Today. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  27. ↑ "'Dying man records Brown Eyed Girl on ABC show for wife". ‘’The Courier-Mail’’, 12 April 2018.
  28. ↑ "'Middle Eight: The Recording Studio". ‘’The Australian’’, 20 April 2019.
  29. ↑ Downes, Kirsten. "QCF 2019 Philanthropist of the Year Awards". QCF. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  30. ↑ Wallace, Jess (15 July 2020). "Forty countries, 1500 people: Watch this killer Couch Choir in action". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  31. ↑ "Part Two - Building virtual communities". National Communications Museum. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  32. 1 2 3 "Time to hold a tune". The West Australian. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  33. ↑ "Couch Choir Helps the Isolated Find Their Voice". 96five Family Radio. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  34. ↑ Coast. "2,800 people from 50 countries sing stunning virtual choir cover of 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'". Coast. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  35. ↑ "Great Australian voices join Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell for 'Australia's Biggest Singalong!'". Guide. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  36. ↑ McManus, Bridget (22 May 2021). "Need a hit of euphoria? Julia Zemiro has just the ticket". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  37. ↑ "Beer, bass notes and the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb: my night at Brisbane's revitalised Pub Choir". the Guardian. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  38. ↑ "/". The Music. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  39. ↑ Pobjie, Ben (30 May 2021). "TV will give Mark Seymour's 'mysterious' chorus a rousing rendition". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
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