Pictured: Margaret, Ellen, Sarah, Ray and Adrian – some of the singers who showed up on Sunday for our first go at learning this great song. Come along and join us!
You are invited to join in with others in the local community to learn the great reconciliation anthem Blackfella/Whitefella by the Warumpi Band. You don’t have to belong to the church, and you don’t even have to be able to sing! It’s all about coming together to add our voices for reconciliation. You can read more about the call for people to sing together on the Reconciliation Australia page.
Engadine Uniting Church has registered a choir with Reconciliation Australia to receive the arrangements and backing tracks, and will be rehearsing on:
Sunday 28th April at 10.30am;
Wednesday 1 May 7.30-8.15pm;
Wednesday 8 May 7.30-8.15pm.
We will record ourselves singing the song on the evening of either the 13th or 14th May (tba). You don’t have to come to all three rehearsals, but two out of the three is necessary. We rehearse at the church, at 2 Chipilly Ave Engadine.
We had our first rehearsal on Sunday 14th April, and it was so much fun! Talented music teacher Andrea Harrison – well known by generations of music students in Heathcote and Engadine! – has once again kindly volunteered to use her energetic and infectious enthusiasm to bring our voices to life. People came from all over the place to join in, some of whom hadn’t sung in a choir before. You’re so welcome to join us!
Last year, we sang From Little Things, Big Things Grow along with 500 other choirs across Australia, and our performance was among the 22 choirs chosen from the 500 who participated to feature on Reconciliation Australia’s final video clip. You can read the story here of how it all came together.
If you would like to take a look at the sheet music before coming along to a rehearsal, or if you have any other questions, email us at admin@engadine.unitingchurch.org.au Please get in touch, or just show up!
Will we be performing the song in public? That depends on what opportunities are available! It’s quite challenging to sing outside and be heard very well, but if choir members are available for a suitable event, we are keen to give it a go. Indoor singing is much easier, but we have to be invited. If you can think of a suitable time and place, come along and let us know!
From the Reconciliation Australia website:
In 1985, the Warumpi Band fired up reconciliation with their single ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’. Written by band members George Rrurrambu and Neil Murray, the song is a call for all people of all backgrounds and races to come together and stand up for change.
The song cut through with its simple but powerful message and catchy melody, becoming an anthem for the reconciliation movement in Australia.
The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2024, Now More Than Ever, is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must – and will – continue.
There have been many moments in Australia’s reconciliation journey that make us want to turn away but when things are divisive, the worst thing we can do is disengage or disconnect.
Reconciliation supporters must stand up to defend and uphold the rights of First Nations peoples. Stand up and be counted this National Reconciliation Week. Join us in song and help contribute to a more reconciled Australia. Check out the music video for Blackfella/Whitefella here
Reconciliation Australia thanks the family of the late George Rrurrambu, Neil James Murray, the Butcher families, and Universal Music Publishing Group for their support of Voices for Reconciliation: Louder than Ever. Choir arrangements by William Brown and backing tracks from Tim Blunt and Jake Sheath.
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