Director Helen Worthington moved to the Sunshine Coast from England in September 2004, and within a few months had decided to start a women’s singing group. She had been director of a similar group in the UK for fourteen years, (see www.unityvoices.co.uk), and has used her experience to develop this group which is based at Buderim. The name Out of the Blue aptly describes the fast development of the group which gave its first performance in November 2005, and has been in great demand, performing at a wide variety of venues on the Sunshine Coast since then. The group is particularly keen to service the community by giving performances in aid of various charities and at community events. Out of the Blue also take bookings for private functions such as parties and weddings.
Out of the Blue has received many very enthusiastic responses to their performances. The group confidently entertain audiences, and pride themselves on their ability to communicate with their listeners through both their music and friendly style of presentation. This is possible because there is no barrier of conductor to their performances – instead there is a strong musical bond with each other and a close connection with the audience.
As well as enjoying making music together, Out of the Blue members have a lot of fun, and some close friendships have been formed as a result of singing together.
Past gigs include:
- Caloundra Music Festival
- Christchurch Folk Club
- Fundraising for View Club
- Red Hat Luncheon
- Concert in aid of special schools
- Upfront Club, Maleny
- Maleny Music Festival Preview
- Buderim Garden Festival
- Concerts with Sunshine Statesmen, Buderim Male Choir and Sunshine Coast Harmony Chorus
- 'Pleasant Sunday Afternoon' concerts with Bev Gourlay and Aart Schouten
- Bloomhill Cancer Care
- Hibiscus Retirement Villages
- Sunshine Coast Choral Festival
Christmas singing at:
- Christmas in July at Lake Kawana in aid of STEMM
- Carols on King’s Beach
- Twin Waters Resort
- Santa’s Workshop, Barleycorn Avenue
2009 tour of New Zealand
In September 2009, Out of the Blue went on tour to the South Island of New Zealand, where they performed at a number of venues on the East Coast, including Geraldine Arts Council, Christchurch Folk Club, and various church venues. Out of the Blue performed 6 concerts during the week long tour, and all the proceeds were donated to charities nominated by the host of each venue.
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