Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians.  However, whether a regular church goer or not, those who were present at the Somerset Civic Centre on March 28th for Patrick M. Liebergen’s ‘The Triumph Song of Life’ were left in no doubt of their faith and Christian beliefs.   This Easter Cantata, the foundations of which were laid by the Anglican Church’s Reverend Loretta Tyler-Moss and in company with the Brisbane Valley Churches Together and the Esk Community Choir, presented the Story of Easter in word and song to a truly captivated capacity audienc ..read more

  Vincit qui se vincit may have been a motivational catchphrase by some Roman choir member preparing for a singing exam way back in the1st century BC but it is a maxim with no less relevance today and none more so than on the morning of Saturday 23rd March when three courageous choir members, and later that evening, the Esk Community Choir Ensemble, were the embodiment of ‘He conquers all who conquers himself first’. The day began in the kitchen at the rear of St Agnes’s Anglican Hall where three cotton- mouthed candidates, piano examinee Suzanne, and singers, Marina, and Susie along wi ..read more

  World Day of Prayer is a day observed in more than 170 countries each year on the first Friday in March. Since its origins in 1887, it has been a day urging Christians, predominantly women, to observe this special day of spirituality and belief.  The theme, worldwide in 2024 was ‘Palestine – I beg you…bear with one another in love’.  And so it was that on yet one more hot and humid day in Esk, large numbers of both women and men gathered in the cool comfort of St Mel’s Hall to learn about this ‘Palestine’ theme, firstly through the symbols depicted on both a consummately crea ..read more

The humidity around south east Queensland had a ‘feel-like’ 90% on January 26th but there was definitely nothing but 100% enthusiasm when a whole bunch of very happy Australians and soon-to-be Australians gathered in the cool of the Somerset Civic Centre in Esk to celebrate Australia’s national day…a day for some which continues to give rise to debate and protest but a day when many still have abundant reasons for celebrating those values of resilience, respect, diversity and freedoms which have continued to shape this nation. And who better than Lowood’s effervescent Brady Schultz, the ..read more

  Our Margaret may have lost her ability to move around with the spriteliness of yore and while her place of residence has gone from 8 Down Street, Esk to up in room 204 at a delightful new Home for the Aged in Orwell St Camp Hill, it is Margaret’s love of music and that for her choir which has never changed.  Nor has her ability to recall so many of the moments which have become the storybook of her life.   Where once her Down Street shelves were brimming with trinkets along with treats for the choir members who would come for extra practices, her shelves are now an accu ..read more

  If you’ve ever wondered when Christmas carols first came about, the answer lies in the 14th century -although their evolution dates back even further when, even before Christianity, it is thought that midwinter songs existed to keep up people’s spirits. Although, certainly not midwinter but actually the end of a very warm summer’s day, eleven members of the Esk Community Choir lifted the spirits of all who attended the lighting of the Christmas tree in Esk on December 2. Feeling excited to be joined by Councillors, a fireman and a police woman, the roving carollers entertained young an ..read more

  Well, here we are again! Who’d have thought it? Certainly not Alexis who 45 years ago when she was a young girl of just 33 with a house full of kids and six ladies enjoying a singsong around her piano that her Esk Community Choir would still be going…nay vibrant and thriving all these years later! It’s in the interests of holding strong this writer’s new year’s resolution for 2024 that she will be keeping her briefs brief; that rather than write a recap of this year’s events, it will suffice to say that it has been a year of many highs and some lows, and some lows that became highs bu ..read more

What is it at this time of year that could be greater than a landscape of twinkling lights and the sounds of Christmas Carols? … those wonderous songs of our childhood spreading the joyous sounds of Christmas; the reminders of this time of year that never seem to age.  It was these Christmas Carols once again sung by a jolly band of Roving Carollers from the Esk Community Choir who lifted the spirits of all those who gathered at Esk’s Memorial Park on Saturday 2nd December for the Lighting of the Christmas Tree.  Why even some of town’s first responders couldn’t resist the urge to ..read more

At this time of year, it has become a sort of Christmas ritual for members of the Esk Community Choir to bring a little bit of Yuletide joy to the lives of the residents at Toogoolawah’s Alkira Home for the Aged.  And thus, it was on December 6, at this charming facility that a small ensemble of carollers and jolly little ‘elves’ found their positions around Ruth at the piano to sing and frolic through their first bracket of Christmas carols.  Though a small number of the audience appeared to be asleep, they were surely just resting their eyes in anticipation of a jolly ol’ s ..read more

  Some ‘locals’ were kind enough to offer an empty bed or two to the travellers; some workers arrived early enough to sing, safe in the knowledge that they would still make it to the coalface on time; others just a short car ride away and one choir member who managed to avoid an early shift call up with a ‘No way Jose…I’m just about to appear on National Television!’.  This was the morning at the Esk Caravan Park when Alexis and her Esk Community Choir were about to put a little piece of Esk on the nation’s bucket list with a crew from channel 7’s ‘Sunrise’ who came to town. There ..read more