President - Gillian King
Music has always been a core part of my life, whether as a student, teacher (piano, singing and musicianship), parent, performer, choral director (children’s choirs) or psychologist. My chorister days began as a young teen in a local church choir – St Patrick’s in Mt Lawley. We performed many oratorios giving us all a wonderfully rich exposure to these works. Arthur Buss directed the choir and was also my first voice teacher (apart from my mother who was a piano teacher). When first joining UWACS in 2018, I was thrilled to learn that Mr Buss directed UWACS from 1948-1950.
Past choral experiences include Collegium Musicum with Margaret Pride, University Chorale, Lost and Found Opera as well participation in various small group ensembles. I currently sing with WASO chorus and take singing lessons with Lisa Harper-Brown.
It is with enormous pride and joy that I enter my second year as UWAC’s President.
Vice-President - Jan Kirkman
I was very fortunate to grow up in a family where music was ever present and enjoyed. My mother was always a member of at least one choir at a time, sometimes two and my father’s family had frequent singsongs around the piano and listening to wonderful recordings of classical music. Also, growing up as a Methodist (attending the Floreat church we now use for our rehearsals) meant lots of hymn singing, with much gusto, in church. For me, singing has always brought lots of enjoyment.
However, UWACS is my first choir, joining in 2011. I must say I found it really challenging at first as my formal music education (piano) is quite basic, but I have learnt a lot more over the years with the help of extra programs provided by the choir, and our fabulous Conductors. Highlights have included the trip to Malta, partaking in a grand performance of Mozart in St Paul’s Cathedral, the tour to China singing four concerts in different cities, and our 90th Gala concert in 2021.
I first joined the UWACS Committee in 2015 and then stayed on for seven years, firstly as an ordinary member, then Vice President, President and finally Registrar. I recommend a time on the Committee for all choristers because you learn so much!
Here I am back again on the Committee as Vice President, hoping to contribute to the running of this marvellous choir.
Secretary - Tim Mason
I have been singing in choirs, large and small, for 60 years – starting with the Eton College Musical Society, where I first sang as a treble in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. When I came to Australia from England in 1971, I sang with PUCS (of which I have the privilege of being an honorary life member) and attended several intervarsity choral festivals around the country (the one held in Perth in 1973 which I convened). I became the inaugural president of AICSA (the Australian Intervarsity Choral Societies Association). After completing my law degree, I sang with Collegium Musicum and the WASO Chorus, before joining UWACS in 1997. Six conductors later and I am still here! The highlights have been too many to mention. I also sing with the Georgian Singers.
Since my legal career came to an end a few years back, my interests – apart from singing – have included family history, playing bridge and travel. I spent six years on the UWACS committee as an ordinary member, Secretary, Vice-President and (from 2021 to 2024) President. After a year off, I have rejoined the Committee in my earlier role of Secretary.
Treasurer - Chris Jamieson
Born in London after the war, I studied engineering at University of Manchester, Institute of Engineering. Emigrated to Australia in 1969 working in Sydney in construction, project management and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology (ANSTO). In 2005 travelled around Australia while homeschooling two of my four children.
In WA I joined Central TAFE teaching engineering until the COVID outbreak when I retired.
My hobbies include singing with various choirs and regular golf games.
Registrar - Lekkie Hopkins
The first performance of a major choral work I ever heard was in the Presbyterian church hall in our small coastal hometown in North Queensland. I was about 8 years old and my mother was one of 20 choristers who, with 4 gifted soloists and a marvellous pianist, performed Handel’s Messiah to an audience of about 100. Although I had already heard lots of shorter choral works in the church and at regional eisteddfod competitions, this was the first big one, and I was hooked! Music (for me as a child via piano lessons and vocal solo, duet and choral singing) became a hugely significant conduit to the wider world.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that, after a lifetime of sporadic music-making that fitted in around a full family and academic life, I was tempted to join UWACS for its rehearsal season of The Messiah in 2010. I rehearsed again for the 2013 Messiah performance, and finally joined the choir fulltime a few years later. Since then my repertoire has expanded (!) and I’ve had many fulfilling years singing with UWACS and ChorusOz. I’m happy now to be able to give back to the choir community by taking on this position of Registrar.
Publicity Liaison - Andrew Reavell
My first musical experience was as an eight year old when my father, himself an avid choral musician, decided I should audition for the choir of St Mary le Tower church in Ipswich in the UK. I continued to sing, first as a treble and later as a baritone for about ten years. During that time I also joined the Ipswich Choral Society and sang with them for a few seasons. After marrying my wife Lynda and starting a family, there were the odd times when I would perform in musicals at the new church we were attending. In 1981, we left the UK and settled in Perth and took a break from music for a few years, until my eldest daughter noticed an advert in the paper needing tenors and basses to audition for UWACS. The conductor was Ian Westrip and the concert was Bach’s St Matthew Passion. I have also sung with the WASO Chorus, the Georgian Singers and been part of an augmenting chorus for the Opera Company as well as a few musical theatre productions over the years.
I have been a member since 1990 having served on the committee previously for a period of about six years in various capacities until 2002, mostly involved with concert promotions and programme production.
It is my pleasure to be serving on the committee once more.
Concert Manager - Jennifer van den Hoek
I fell in love with Bach at my Great Aunt’s as a pre-schooler and remember being fed a diet of Johann Strauss Jnr by concerned parents who felt Bach was too heavy for a child. An uneasy compromise was reached when I discovered Beethoven and then Shostakovich. Although the Beethoven transfer I found in first year high school rather puzzled my school colleagues who were all wearing ABBA t-shirts?!?
After nagging my poor parents for years to be allowed to learn the piano they finally relented and I began as a 10 year old with Miss Trist, but not until I had bemoaned the fact I was “too” old as Mozart was composing by 4 years of age!
Recorder developed into clarinet lessons and I was soon arranging chamber music to suit the instruments of friends I was able to cajole into performing with me with at gigs I organised in our community.
Sadly knee surgery at 13 & 14 rather curtailed my forays into musical events! However, it provided a great opportunity to negotiate guitar lessons in addition to piano and clarinet, while sporting activities went on hiatus as I recovered.
I was not as successful in badgering my poor parents into singing lessons, although I did sing in the school choir, chorale, musical productions such Oliver and years later as an adult was able to fund my own lessons with Gloria Wilson.
Sadly music studies in school and at University were only ever seen as an interest and I was expected to “do something sensible” with my life. So I am blessed with a passion and joy in music which I rely upon to relieve the “sensible” aspects of life!
Sponsorship - Tom Stephens
Joining UWACS as a Bass in 2012; my wife Anne was already a UWACS chorister; our first UWACS concert performance together was for Verdi’s Requiem. Anne performed with choir members in Carnegie Hall in NYC in 2011 (Rutter’s Requiem) and I was among the delighted audience there. We sang together with UWACS choristers in Vienna (Mozart’s Requiem) in 2013, just after my retirement from state parliament.
Currently I serve on a number of Boards and various committees in the government and not-for-profit sector: including DSF-SPELD; MercyCareWA Trustee; Martu United; Pilbara Ports and chair Kimberley Development Commission. Anne and I have three children and five grandchildren with whom we are enjoying family life and music.
Rehearsal Venue Bookings - Bill Carr
I worked as a geologist and environmental scientist with industry and the Western Australian Government before retirement. Until recently I was involved with the monitoring of the rock art on the Burrup Peninsula.
I have a wide range of choral experience including:
- Perth Undergraduate Choral Society (UWA)
- Kalgoorlie Male Voice Choir
- Melbourne Philharmonia Choir
- Collegium Musicum
- Perth Oratorio Choir and
- Performing twice in the Sydney Opera House with Chorus Oz.
I first joined UWACS from Perth Oratorio Choir.
Communications Coordinator - Ann Hobson
After migrating from Manchester, UK with my family, I completed my schooling in Fremantle. My singing journey began in my mid-twenties, when I persuaded the guitar and mandolin teacher at the (now closed) Fremantle Music School to give me lessons. She suggested joining a choir to develop a range of skills. The only other choral singer I know of in my family was my maternal grandmother, who at some time sang in a community choir with the Hallé Orchestra.
A stint as a truck driver in the Pilbara supported my further education and I graduated from Murdoch University with a BA (Communications) and moved to Sydney where I worked mostly in government and higher education as a research manager, policy researcher and writer and recruitment consultant whilst being active in non-profit publishing as an editor and in community radio as a producer and presenter, as well as writing and performing poetry and — naturally — singing, most recently with the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus. In Sydney, I took lessons for a time with soprano Lotte Latukefu.
I returned to WA in 2019, when I joined UWACS.
Ticketing - Robert Barrett-Lennard
In 1951 I joined the church choir in York, competing with the many older women in the congregation who sang hymns with great gusto! Travelling to Perth as a child to attend ballet performances, I was enthralled by the orchestra in the “Pit” leading to a life-long love of classical music.
At boarding school, I was selected to join the Chapel Choir, two years as a treble and two years as a tenor with a year off in between! At Saint George’s College I took part in minor singing events, organised the chapel music in my final year and sang in the choir at St Margaret’s Church in Nedlands. While farming in York I joined a musical theatre group. One skit caused great embarrassment to my eldest daughter who continues to remind me!
After moving to Perth, I joined UWACS in 1990, finding myself in a section of twenty-five male tenors singing the Messiah. During my thirteen years on the committee, I filled every position except Secretary followed by many years as the Tenor Choral Steward. As Treasurer, I was able to change our choir “year” to a calendar year to allow more time to prepare and audit the annual financial report. Another innovation was to present the financial report showing financial results for individual concerts.
During my time with UWACS I sang with POC, Collegium, Chorus Oz and overseas. The biggest thrill of all was in 1992, singing in three performances of the Verdi Requiem with tenor soloist Luciano Pavarotti.
