News 2007

December 2007

Last news grab for 2007! Now where were we? I think it was September and I was about to head off to New Zealand. I enjoyed a lovely week in and around Wellington in mid-September. The choir at St Patrick’s Paraparaumu was outstanding, and I enjoyed a lovely evening in Eastbourne at San Antonio’s. For a very small school (only 22 children) there were some amazing singers, especially Greer Dalziell.

I was back in New Zealand in October starting in Whakatane and ending in Dargaville five days later. Met some old friends at St Mary’s in Tauranga and then had a great day at Star of the Sea, Howick, who I’d visited five years before on my very first trip to New Zealand. I got some great photos taken, thanks to Bernard Cheng, one of the parents.

In late October I made a brief visit to the Ballarat Diocese to be a part of the visit of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon to that city. I got to work with some old friends from St Aloysius, Redan and made some new ones from St Francis Xavier and as you can see below some of the older students from Damascus College got in to the spirit of things. The highlight was singing my song, “This Holy Cross”, while the cross was “surfed” across a sea of 800 pairs of hands.

On October 29, I visited St Francis Xavier’s at Narrabri, where I began my full-time professional career back in February 2003. It was lovely to go back and think of all the places I’d visited and the songs I’d written in that time. And I got to sing with Gillian Goddard who sang on “Wherever I Go”.

Another highlight of that week was a visit to St Joseph’s in Tenterfield. We sang a chorus and verse of “Tenterfield Saddler”, the Peter Allen classic, and the kids were brilliant. I got interviewed for the school newspaper which was fun and we did a great version of “Rainbow”.

Then it was time for the last tour of the year in the Wagga Diocese. I visited St Anne’s and St Pat’s in Albury before heading out to St Peter’s in Coleambally, We had a concert day but we also wrote a song about St Peter called “You Are My Rock”. It’s one of my favourite songs that I’ve written this year and will be on the next album which I start work on early next year.

And then the Christmas run began. Memories? The thunderstorm at Guildford which rained us out; the great singers from St Michael’s at Nowra; being part of Christmas celebrations at Eleanor’s school, St Thomas Aquinas in Bowral; visiting my old school, St Joseph’s at Moorebank; and the great concert at OLHC Epping (well done Amy!).

Well that’s it for a busy year. A bit of a rest now and then the New Year begins. Hope you all had a Merry and Holy Christmas and have a great 2008.

September 2007

Term 3 began with a trip north to Queensland. Bernadette and Eleanor came with me and we had a great time visiting Coffs Harbour and Movie World. Unfortunately though, after a day with Holy Cross, Wooloowin, and Holy Rosary, Windsor, I lost my voice and could barely get through the evening concert. We then had to turn around and head home and had to put off trips to Gayndah and Bundaberg.

I then visited to schools in Sydney, St Kevin’s at Dee Why, and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Primary at West Pymble, where I worked with a stunning choir with some great voices. It’s one of those very, very rare choirs with as many boys as girls.

I then  had a week in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Two of the photos below are from a school with a great name: St Andrew’s at Ferny Grove. They knew lots of my new songs and did a great job with “I Am the River”. I’m just about to get to work on a school song for them. The last photo is of Adelle from Corpus Christi School in Waratah, NSW, doing a fabulous smile and a wink.

The week after saw me make a quick trip to VIC! The highlight was an evening concert in the beautiful church at St Mary’s, Myrtleford. And then it was back to Queensland, for a week in Toowoomba.

I was at Mary MacKillop School in Highfields for the fourth time but this time I was there for Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day. We were joined for the day by the children from St Joseph’s at Tara who drove many hours to be with us. Below you can see me with Dominica Beetson, who took on the role of Mary MacKillop during the evening liturgy, and her brother Declan, who does a mean Elvis impersonation. That’s me in the foyer of Mary MacKillop school, where Steve Moyle had a few butterflies ready to greet me. And the last photo is with Montana Kennedy, who sang on my latest album, and her cousin Laura Gordon from St Saviour’s school.

And speaking of St Saviour’s I had a great time there on August 9. Another fabulous fish face in the middle, as well as me with some of the children at the evening concert- a lovely night.

In the middle of August I headed west to Western Australia. I always love going there because I always feel like a wise man. They introduce me and say “He is from the East” which sounds quite mystical!

Below on the left is the fabulous Dale from Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School. Over the years I’ve had several children offer to help me to set up and do leads and many have been good but I have to declare Dale to be “The Best Roadie Ever”. This boy could set up microphones, put leads in place, tape them down, test microphones and pack things up superbly at the end of the day. Simply brilliant!

During the week I also caught up with my favourite Perth family, the Oorschots. Emma Oorschot came to Sydney to be part of the recording of “Many Roads, One Journey”. As well as getting together for dinner one night, Emma was my guest at a performance at Mater Christi School at the end of the week.

On August 31 I spent a lovely day working with Special Teachers of Religious Education in the Parramatta Diocese. Carol Vella is helping me with a movement to “May God Be In My Heart”.

I then spent a lovely week in the Sandhurst Diocese in Victoria catching up with many old friends. Highlights of the week included listening to a song written by Jess and Nicoletta from St Francis of the Fields, Strathfieldsaye; meeting up with my old friends the Hunters at Sacred Heart, Yarrawonga; two lovely nights in Benalla topped off my an amazing singing performance by Tom in Yr 3/4 of “In the Beginning”. Tom knew every word and has beautiful pitch!

The last couple of photos are two special groups of people. On the left we have Holly, Molly and Polly, from Maria Regina School in Avalon and on the right is a magnificent collection of redheads from Sacred Heart in Yarrawonga.

June 2007

After the busy-ness, excitement and build-up to the launch, I headed north to Cairns for a week in schools up there. On the way up I was a special guest at the fete of one of my favourite Brisbane schools, Our Lady Help of Christians at Hendra.

The week began with a return visit to St Francis Xavier’s at Manunda, a school that partly inspired the song “A Cross of Stars” back in 2003. I also got to sing with Chazlyn Morrissey who has moved to Cairns from Cloncurry. Chazlyn was in the North Queensland Choir that features on “Many Roads, One Journey”. I also visited St Therese’s (a beautiful church!) and OLHOC in Earlville, who surely have one of the very best choirs in the country, St Michael’s at Gordonvale and finished at a lovely school with a fantastic name: St Andrew’s!

The last week in May was spent firstly in Newcastle working with Catechists and teachers in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese. One of the highlights of the day was when the Year 4 children from St James, Kotara, came over to assist in the presentation.

For the remainder of the week I was in schools in Newcastle (Corpus Christi), Canberra (St Bede’s) and then Sydney (St John Bosco).

In early June, Bernadette and Eleanor and I packed up the car and headed for a week in Coffs Harbour. While I visited schools around the Lismore Diocese, the girls were tourists and Eleanor got kissed by a seal and a dolphin!

While visiting St Mary’s at Bellingen I wrote a school song for them called “Live in Harmony” which will be on my new album. On the Wednesday I visited St Patrick’s at Macksville and came across the best fish face of the year so far. And the young lady did a fabulous “fuzzy wuzzy bear” too.

The following week we were at home and I visited two Sydney schools for their Feast Day celebrations: John the Baptist in Bonnyrigg, where Catherine was a fabulous Elvis, and Sacred Heart at Mt Druitt, where I was overwhelmed with Elvises, or should that be Elvii?

The term ended with a week and a half in Victoria. I returned to the home of the redheads, St Michael’s at Berwick. I sang with the combined choirs of St Paul the Apostle North and South Endeavour Hills, who are brilliantly led by music teacher Jody Banks.

I returned to St Mary’s Alexandra where the weather was cold but the hospitality warm. Our evening started with a beautiful family casserole dinner. Each family brought a dish to share and then we gathered around tables mixed with children, parents and teachers for a lovely meal.

And finally the term ended at St Patrick’s, Pakenham, home of the most outstanding sculptures I’ve seen in any Catholic community around Oceania. In the picture below you can just see a glimpse of one of the angels that adorn the front entrance. Each piece of sculpture is adorned with appropriate scripture. A lovely place where school and parish merge to be one community.

Happy holidays to all, except Tasmania… keep working hard down there!

May 2007

Holy Week: Saw me visit four schools in and around Sydney to remember, in song and words, the events of Holy Week: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Randwick, Trinity School, Erskine Park, Blessed Sacrament, Clifton Gardens, and St Brendan’s, Bankstown.

South Australia and Victoria: From there it was a flying visit to Adelaide (unfortunately my sound system went to Brisbane!) to visit two great schools: St Joseph’s, Hectorville, and St Pius X at Windsor Gardens. It was at St Pius that I heard the amazing voice of Johana- wow!

Then it was a few days at home and then off to Victoria to visit some old friends at St Joseph’s, Trafalgar, before meeting some new ones at St Mary’s, Bairnsdale and St Brendan’s, Lakes Entrance.

New Zealand: The last week of April saw me return to the land of the Long White Cloud: Aotearoa/ New Zealand. After flying in to Christchurch I drove over Arthur’s Pass to Greymouth. I visited three schools on the beautiful West Coast: St Patrick’s, Greymouth, St Mary’s Hokitika (inventors of the famous Hokitika click) and then up to St Canice’s, Westport.

I just love going back to that school. When I visited St Canice’s in 2004, we had a lovely moment at the end of the concert when we sang a reprise of “These Hands”. Many of the children just gently drifted their way up to the altar to join me. They were and still are, a beautiful and very self-disciplined group of children.

On Friday, April 27, I returned to St Peter Chanel at Motueka to be a part of their Feast Day Celebrations. Last time I visited St Peter Chanel was the first time I ever performed “Light of the World” and I’ve used it ever since. And this time was the first time I ever performed “May God Be In My Heart” which was so lovely, thanks mainly to the beautiful juniors and especially Gorgeous Georgia, who was my dancing partner.

I spent the weekend in Nelson, staying with the fabulous Fr Pat in the Stoke Parish. As well as singing with the youth Group at Sunday Mass, Australia won the World Cup which combined made for a fabulous weekend. Hannah and Rebecca Nott did a beautiful performance of “May God Be In My Heart” at the Sunday morning Mass. I spent the afternoon doing the “Centre of New Zealand Walk” with spectacular view around Nelson.

Then it was off to St Joseph’s, Nelson for a day with students and an evening with teachers. Isaac, Lauren and Rachel from St Joseph’s had fabulous voices and may appear on an Andrew Chinn album in the future!

One of the highpoints of the tour came the next day when I returned to St Paul’s at Richmond. They were the school that I wrote “Shine Among Them” for so it was great to go back and share the final version of the song with them. I got to meet Nikita, who gave me so much information for the song and really helped me write all of the third verse as well as other parts of the song.

Then it was off on the Interislander Ferry to one of my favourite cities (along with Perth and Melbourne) Wellington.

I celebrated New Zealand Catholic Schools Day with the students and teachers of St Joseph’s Upper Hutt. Thursday, May 3, I visited St Francis Xavier at Tawa and had a fabulous day and one of the most enjoyable evening concerts in the past year. If you ever get to Tawa you must visit the famous “Bucket Tree”! The teachers and I then headed into the city for the Catholic Schools Dinner. My New Zealand tour finished on Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!) at St Patrick’s, Masterton. This is where the famous Brendan Connor teaches, the man who wrote the lovely “Irish Blessing” which I recorded on Wherever I Go.

Canberra and Victoria: On returning home it was two quick trips to Canberra. The first to visit St Clare’s at Conder for a concert day and then to St Jude’s, Holder, for a school song-writing day. May 14 and 15 I returned to Victoria to visit St Liborius School in Eaglehawk, part of Bendigo, and then to St Louis de Montfort School in Aspendale for a big day of workshops with teachers and students.

Launch Concert May 18, Liverpool Catholic Club: After much preparation, children from around Australia and New Zealand gathered for the Launch Concert of “Many Roads, One Journey” my new album. More than 300 people attended the concert. One of many highlight was the performance of the New Zealand National Anthem by Victoria Purdy, who had travelled all the way from Taradale, near Napier, in New Zealand. Eight children travelled from Queensland: Erica Waters all the way from Cloncurry, Demetry Mahaloff from Mackay, Emily Patrioni from Sarina, “Whistling” Katie Jones from Townsville, Miranda Robertson from Gympie, Kyria Gahan from Bundaberg and Montana Kennedy from Highfields, near Toowoomba.

The concert began with us all being piped in by Noel Dixon, my brother-in-law. Big hits of the night were “Shine Among Them”, “If I Were A Butterfly” and “Garden of Gethsemane”, a song I co-wrote with Chris Allen. The bright shirt you see me wearing was a gift from the community of St Joseph’s, Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, and I wore it to sing “Hold My Hands” as the song was found for me after many years of searching by Sr Teresa, a Cluny Sister at Raro.

Thanks to the many friends and family who supported this event.

March 2007

Many Roads, One Journey: Yes, at last, the new album is out and available with the first few copies making their way around to schools in Australia and New Zealand as well as to all the choirs who helped record the album.

Many Roads, One Journey features 21 songs as well as a complete Mass setting, “Mass of Echoing Praise”. The album was recorded from June to February in the Blue Mountains, Townsville, Auckland and Christchurch. More than 100 children sang on the album as well as many adults.

Over the next week or two Chris Allen, my keyboard player, collaborator and website technician will upload some samples from the collection, beginning with our collaboration, “Garden of Gethsemane”, “This Holy Cross”, featuring Jen Charadia, the title track, “Many Roads, One Journey” and the first song on the album, “Shine Among Them”.

If you’re interested in ordering the CD please visit the “Order” page.

CD Launch: The CD, “Many Roads, One Journey” will be officially launched at a full concert, with live musicians, on the night of Friday, May 18, at the Liverpool Catholic Club in Sydney. The choir that gathers on the night will feature students from all around Australia and even one from New Zealand! Miss Victoria Purdy from Reignier School in Taradale, near Napier, will travel from New Zealand to be part of the concert! At least four students from the North Queensland choir are traveling to Sydney to be part of the event, not to mention musicians from Queensland and NSW.

Past launch concerts have been lovely family events.

The Year To Date: The year began in February with some staff development sessions in Brisbane and Canberra, followed by three songwriting commissions for two schools in Sydney and one in Canberra.

The first tour was a quick visit to Western Australia with visits to Christ the King at Beaconsfield and then out to the country to visit the children from Sacred Heart at Goomalling.

South Island New Zealand:

The first full tour of the year was to the south of the South Island in New Zealand, mainly visiting schools in the Dunedin Diocese.

Some lovely stories to emerge from that tour. You’ll see here some lovely photos taken at my concert at St Joseph’s, North Timaru, including a fabulous “fuzzy-wuzzy” bear performance. In one of the photos you can see me standing next to a girl whose name is Jo-Ann Chin. In July last year, Jo-Ann emailed me asking me to come to her school because I’d visited her at her old school, St Pius X in Hamilton. I was so touched by her letter that I wrote to one of the teachers at her school, Mary Fahey, and we decided to do the right thing and put on a concert for Jo-Ann (and the rest of her school in Dunedin!).

The lady sitting in her desk with the fabulous view is Phil O’Connell-Cooper, the principal of St Joseph’s School in Queenstown. Surely this has to be the best view from any principal’s office in the Southern hemisphere! And what a lovely school! I also spent some time in Invercargill where I learnt to roll my “Rs” like a true Southlander.

Invercargill is where Bert Munro, of “World’s Fastest Indian” fame, came from. I had a great time working with the children from St Joseph’s, Invercargill, St Patrick’s, Nightcaps, and St Teresa’s, Bluff, as well as working with some teachers from around Invercargill at a teacher workshop at St Therese’s, Invercargill. Many thanks to Cheryl Curtin, who did so much to organize the tour in that part of the world.

Brisbane and Victoria: On my return home I had a flying trip to Our Lady Help of Christians School in Hendra in Brisbane. This is where my fabulous violinist Rebecca Thomas teaches. I had a brilliant day there and the children wrote up a fabulous piece about their day for their newsletter which I’ve put in to my scrapbook.

I’ve just returned home from a week in Victoria, mainly in the Sale Diocese visiting old friends at St Patrick’s in Stratford (Hi Calliope! See I can still spell it!!), St Mary’s in Maffra and then meeting new friends at Don Bosco, Narre Warren, St Kieran’s, Moe and celebrating St Joseph’s Feast Day with the children at St Joseph’s, Springvale, featuring an amazing performance by a boy called Stanley- one of the best groovers I’ve ever met.

The last week of March saw me visit a few schools in South East Queensland. As I perform “If I Were A Butterfly” I’m starting to see a few fabulous fish impersonations. These two photos show Michael from St Mary’s in Warwick doing his best fish face! How about those eyes!. And a special mention to the amazing singers at St Patrick’s in Allora. For a school of just on one hundred students they are seriously one of the best singing schools I have visited. Fabulous performances from Edwina, Oliver, Matthew, Mick, Joe and Thomas, many more and some great Irish dancing from Emily!

Upcoming Events: I’m spending the last part of March in and around Brisbane before visitng four Sydney schools for Holy Week remembrances. Then Bernadette, Eleanor and I are off to South Australia and Victoria for the holidays visiting schools as well as visitng some of our favourite places: the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles, the Melbourne Zoo and Lakes Entrance. Then it’s off to New Zealand for late April for some time in the North and South Island, including spending ANZAC Day in New Zealand.

January 2007

Happy New Year everyone and all the best for 2007. Here’s my first news update for the year with more to come in March.

New Album, Many Roads, One Journey, due for release in March: The new album is in its final stages of production. The first half of February will see me mix the tracks in the studio with Benny Robertson, the sound engineer, and then it will go off to Sonamax to be mastered. From there it’s off to the factory at Summit Audio and I should have it in my hands around about March 10, all being well.

The album features four main choirs made up from children across Australia and New Zealand. These four choirs are pictured here along with the choir from St Anne’s, Manurewa, in Auckland, who answered an emergency call from me and provided the Cook Island Maori vocals for a song called “Hold My Hands- Moi Taku Rima”. More than 200 people will end up contributing to the album as singers, musicians and artists.

There’s 22 songs on the album in all including a new Mass Setting, called “Mass of Echoing Praise”. It also includes an Aussie and Kiwi remake of Brian Howard’s classic, “If I Were A Butterfly”.

Highlights from the second half of 2006: Many highlights, but here’s a few that come to mind:

January and February Itinerary: The year ahead is fully booked and starts in January with professional development sessions for teachers in Brisbane and Canberra. A few school songwriting days following early February and a school song launch in Dubbo. First trip is a quick one to WA to Fremantle and Goomalling, before heading of to the Dunedin Diocese at the end of February.

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