BONDI SINGS started off as a council funded community choir around 2005. Then they went through 3 different choir directors until they struck gold with Mr Gary Smith and gradually became a self-supported group. They officially established themselves as Bondi Sings! Incorporated in May 2013 and have not looked back!
They have performed at the Waverley “Carols by the Sea” Christmas concert every year since the beginning and have also performed at Ronald McDonald House Christmas Carols the past 2 years, as well as “Taste of Orange Festival”, “Festival of the Winds”, and “Bronte School Fair.” They have also appeared in “Freedom Insurance” TV spots.
On this occasion they are supported by performances from the choir master Gary Smith, an accapella group called The Cleftomaniacs Ltd, musical group FEVI and spectacular singer, Anna Saleh presenting gorgeous music from Brazil and beyond. if the rehearsal I attended is anything to go by, this Choir is going to put on a great show. !
Choir Master Gary Smith is a music education graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium who directs four community choirs in Sydney which include The Cleftomaniacs, The Bridge on The River Choir, The ABC Sydney choir and Bondi Sings. He also runs classes for ukulele students, teaches singing and piano and has worked as a rock and jazz pianist, composer and arranger. As a music teacher in NSW schools for 27 years, Gary has an enormous breadth of experience with instrumental and vocal ensembles and has staged a number of musicals and operas, including most recently, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Gary has toured internationally with various a cappella groups and choirs and was the organiser and artistic director for The 2008 Sydney A Cappella Festival. As musical director of The Fifth House, his most recent a cappella quintet, and winners in the 2009 MacDonalds Challenge, Gary has frequently toured interstate and regional centres giving performances and workshops.
The Cleftomaniacs Ltd Formed in 1992, The Cleftomaniacs recently celebrated their 20th anniversary. They are frequently requested to support charitable causes, festivals, private parties and public celebrations, in addition to presenting their own public concert program.The Cleftomaniacs are represented tonight by their smaller chamber ensemble which they call The Cleftomaniacs Ltd.
FEVI The name FEVI is derived from Fracción de Eyección Ventricular Izquierda (Output of the Heart). FEVI is a group of friends who have the common love of creating and performing music together. FEVI has played at a range of events including community concerts and parties. 3 of the FEVI members sing with Bondi Sings.
Anna Salleh. The sultry Anna Salleh captivates her audience with her slow-burning brew of honey-smooth bossa and ballads, irrepressible samba, playful swing, cool jazz, enchanting Brazilian choro and surprise favourites all in the mix. Songs of beauty, sorrow, irreverence and joy. In 2010 she packed up her guitar and spent three months in Rio de Janeiro, performing with, and learning from, local musicians – including elders like Mauricio Einhorn and Roberto Menescal who were close associates of Antonio Carlos Jobim. Annaʼs journey of musical discovery in Brazil led to her show Gorgeous Songs from Brazil & Beyond, an ABC radio documentary (http://bit.ly/MnAS1L) and her live CD ʻA Felicidadeʼ, which was launched to full houses in both Sydney and Brisbane in 2012 and has been enjoying airplay since
BONDI SINGS will perform their show BONDI SINGS WITH FRIENDS at the Bondi Golf Club on Tuesday 25th March.