More than 20% of Australians identify with a disability. That's five and a half million people. And yet, very rarely is the world set up for disability. The music industry in particular can be even more difficult from ill-equipped stages, late night performances and high expectations of artists in general, just to make do, if you want a career in the industry.
It's also fair to say that there just aren't the same opportunities for artists in regional areas. And that included Warrnambool until 2017, when a couple of locals decided to use their set at the Port Fairy Folk Music Festival, to feature singers with a disability.
It was only meant to be a one-off performance, but soon spun into the FInd Your Voice Choir and then the Find Your Voice Collective, which seeks to support an array of artists who identify with a disability across south-west Victoria.
The Find Your Voice Choir has performed at multiple festivals, on live TV for Australia’s Got Talent and is about to perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, to a crowd of 13,000 people.
Hear from:
Julian Patterson - Musician in Find Your Voice Choir.
Grace Kenny - Rap and Hip Hop artist in Find Your Voice Choir
Jacob Paton-Lee - Musician and singer in Find Your Voice Choir
Tom Richardson - Musician, disability advocate and founding member of Find Your Voice Collective
This podcast is brought to you by the Fletcher Jones Family Foundations and produced by the Rural Podcasting Co.