The Big Climate Sing had at its foundation the desire to bring community together. I wanted also to purge and vent my personal grief about the failure of the election to take us a step closer to addressing the emergency environmental conditions escalating around us. I wanted the music to sweep my anger away and leave me feeling calm and centred and ready to face the battle ahead. I wanted a sense of connection to make me feel better about humankind, restore my faith in our collective power and re-ignite my capacity for hope. That was a big ask – and a real risk that I could put in a lot of work and still be stuck in a place of frustration at the end of an otherwise successful event.
Despite many challenges in the execution – big choral events on the same weekend competing for the precious time and attention of attendees – widespread illness keeping acts as well as audience away – threatening weather conditions that made even the thought of leaving a cosy home unpalatable – we still managed to gather an enthusiastic crowd of 80-100 singers from all areas of Melbourne. It was exciting to see singers from as far afield as Narre Warren South and Whittlesea arrive and I was especially moved when my grown up boy soprano Bill and his mum Thuy turned up in support.
Turns out I didn’t know everyone in the audience: the Coburg Uniting community, led by minister Ron Rosinsky, turned up to run the kitchen like a well-oiled machine, whip up a warm and delicious spread for afternoon tea and create a welcoming atmosphere. And sing! The singing together made me very happy – all these different communities, united in their love for the environment and their desire to see the planet cared for – filled my heart. And the songs! Carefully curated for mood, spirit and simplicity for learning in a compact timeframe. I believe it can be difficult for a singer to understand the amount of preparation a singing leader puts in to crafting a session for their benefit. I thought all the leaders gauged their segments perfectly. Full of love, full of song, full of connection, it was inevitable that my heart would spill over.
I am so thankful to everyone who contributed to making the first Big Climate Sing so fantastic: whether it was by speaking (‘preaching to the choir’, as one friend merrily quipped) about science or about hope or about individual or collective actions as activists, or teaching a song, or lugging gear and cables around, or accompanying, or documenting through film and photograph, or bringing afternoon tea, or simply singing along to whatever turned up in front of you, I thank you. I hope there will be more events like this. I hope that we can build a big team of singers with a repertoire of shared songs for bringing to rallies and other actions where raising our voices together in a peaceful and beautiful way can change the world for good.
