The value of the Bendigo Youth Choir to the area is unquestionable.
Mrs Broad has created a choir worthy of performing internationally.
Thank you once again for participating in Advent Choral Festival 2008, it was a real pleasure to cooperate with you and I am sure your choir was one of the highlights of the whole festival.
The Council of Elders of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church Religious Community in Prague, Old Town wishes to express its gratitude for the performance at the benefit concert in the St Nicholas Church supporting humanitarian activities of our church.
As Premier of Victoria, I had the pleasure of seeing the Choir perform on a number of occasions in Bendigo, Federation Square and at Government House. They have also performed with great success on the International stage.
It was my honour to invite the Choir to sing on a number of these important occasions on behalf of all Victorians.
The Choir has a proud record. They have an enthusiastic cohort of singers, parents and musicians. They are brilliantly and passionately led and they continue to shine. They receive continuing widespread praise.
Your choir had an extraordinary effect on the Australian International Choral Festival.
Without presumption you took your place upon the stage of the Sydney Opera House, presence you took command of the Concert Hall audience and with grace you began to sing.
Your performance was truly electric! Your ownership of the music and the majesty of your own Bendigo Youth Choir sound was profoundly moving.
Choirs of more years: choirs arriving with great acclamation; choirs from other continents all stopped where they were to hear the distinctiveness of your sound. Who was that choir, where are they from, who is their conductor, how often do they rehearse?
…and we all know that your choir takes all who wish to sing, rehearses once a week and their conductor is the amazing Val Broad.
Your choir’s grace and humility was commented on, the way your members cared for each other was noted and the spirit you brought to the Festival was deeply appreciated. One of the many many comments I had about your choir was about your wonderful Australian sense of hospitality, particularly about being so welcoming of the Chinese choir.
As you will recall their plane arrived late and they therefore arrived late for their workshop with you. You made them feel part of our choral family in an instant.
You should be immensely proud of all that you achieved, I was overwhelmed by the way the other choirs and the audience talked about your performance – all talked about how moved they were by performance and participation.
I am writing only one letter of congratulation to a choir – and this is it.
The Bendigo Youth Choir consistently achieves a high standard of performance and presentation and we are proud to be associated with this amazing group of young people.
I wish to express my personal thanks and the appreciation of the Bendigo Regional Organising Committee for your support and valuable contribution during the Science and Engineering Grand Challenge Dinner held on the 21st October.
One of the highlights of course was the Grand Challenge Dinner, held in the beautiful setting of the Bendigo Town Hall. Visitors were very impressed with the beauty of the refurbished building. However I am bold to say they were more impressed with the performance of the Bendigo Youth Choir. Under your impeccable leadership, the singing was great, and the Choir certainly lived up to its reputation.
The young ladies were really something and quite outstanding. The special rendition of ‘Danny Boy’ will remain with me for a long time, and was a rave review by so many. I can say without any hesitation, the whole musical segment that you programmed for our Challenge, was very appropriate, and certainly a fitting welcome to our interstate visitors.
Valerie, having been associated with you over many years I am proud to say the high standard you have established and the reputation for excellence in music has not faltered. You and your choir are to be congratulated for service to the community, both in our own country and overseas.
We were treated to three days of wonderful choral music with some truly amazing performances. No choir’s performance was better than that by the Bendigo Youth Choir, the winner of the prestigious Young Prize.
The Bendigo Youth Choir is one of the finest youth choirs in Australia and are an exemplary performing arts organisation in Bendigo.
The City of Greater Bendigo is fortunate to have such a talented group to promote the excellent opportunities which exist for young people in our community.
In 1983, as the recently elected Federal Member for Bendigo, I had the great honor of launching the Bendigo Youth Choir.
A quarter of a century on and the choir has gone from strength to strength. It has won widespread acclaim and has performed with distinction across Australia and overseas. Most importantly, it has provided some amazing opportunities for hundreds of children from a range of backgrounds.
Over the years, I have seen the choir perform on a number of occasions – most recently in July as part of the World Youth Day celebrations. It is always such a pleasure to see these talented, confident young people do what they do best. They are wonderful ambassadors for Victoria and we are enormously proud of them.
I have always believed in the capacity of the arts to enrich the lives of young people. Pursuits such as music have the potential to build confidence and self-esteem, as well as friendships that can last a lifetime.
I want to congratulate everyone involved in the Bendigo Youth Choir on reaching this significant milestone and for their amazing contribution to the local community and to Victoria. In particular, I want to congratulate and thank the founder and Artistic Director, Mrs Valerie Broad for her incredible vision, commitment and enthusiasm over many years.
Have a great 25th Anniversary and I look forward to seeing you perform again in the near future.
I wish to extend to you my sincere thanks and those of Lions District V1-4 for the contribution you and the talented members of the Bendigo Youth Choir made to our project to provide a Community Day for the drought affected communities of the Mallee on Sunday 24th May 2009.
The Lions of this district value the strong relationship which has been built up between our organisations with the Choir’s involvement at Speed again marking this level of willing cooperation. I look forward to being able to assist the choir in the future.
The feedback Lions has receive from the Mallee communities has been very positive – those who attended the Community Day at Speed were thrilled by the performance of the Police Band and the voices of the young people of the Youth Choir. The performance of “Danny Boy” by the Choir backed by the Police Band being just one of the many highlights.
Please pass on my thanks to the choir members for providing a ‘face painting activity’ when not performing onstage. This was very well received by the younger members of the audience.
On behalf of The Australian Children’s Choir , it is my great pleasure to send warm wishes and congratulations to all members of the Bendigo Youth Choir, and its founder and Artistic Director Mrs Valerie Broad OAM, on the significant occasion of the choir’s thirtieth anniversary.
Since the Bendigo Youth Choir was founded in 1984, it has prospered and proved itself to be a well-respected choir located in regional Victoria, which has provided the many hundreds of children fortunate enough to have gone through its ranks over the last three decades with expert tutelage and encouragement, and also provided both its members and audiences with many wonderful performances throughout Bendigo, Victoria, Australia and indeed internationally.
On many occasions, The Australian Children’s Choir have enjoyed memorable collaborations with our friends in Bendigo, and their tireless Artistic Director, whether it be during regional tours when BYC have been warm and generous hosts o The ACC, or in Melbourne when it has been The ACC’s pleasure to host our Bendigo friends. There have been many excellent performances during the last thirty years involving the two choirs, ranging from performances in Bendigo’s magnificent Sacred Heart Cathedral and Capital Theatre, to Melbourne venues including Melbourne Town Hall and Deakin Edge, Federation Square. We have also welcomed the BYC Training Choir at the annual ACCORD Festival regularly over the years.
I commend the work of the Bendigo Youth Choir, Val Broad and her team, and congratulate them on all their many achievements to date. In an age when it is more challenging than ever for quality musical and educational organisations such as BYC to survive financially, we need to cherish groups such as BYC which provide so many wonderful musical and educational opportunities for young people, and I encourage all members of the local community to support this excellent choir.
I look forward to many future collaborations between Bendigo Youth Choir and The Australian Children’s Choir, and send the good wishes of all of us at ACC for a spectacular thirtieth anniversary celebration. Congratulations to you all, and may you continue to sing beautifully for many more years to come.
Absolutely terrific! I kept thinking about it after I finished reading it because of the warm feeling it left with me. It was so clever how everything came together. An original and charming hyper-local strategy.