Moorambilla Residential Camps, August 2024

More than ‘just’ a choir. More than ‘just’ a residency camp. 

The Moorambilla experience is rich and life-changing for all of our young participants, and nowhere is this more evident than at our annual residency camps.

Over two weeks in August 2024, we welcomed 290 children to Baradine in western NSW to challenge themselves, learn new skills in a new environment, collaborate, make new friends, develop confidence, and ultimately come together to create a body of work that we will proudly perform at the Dubbo Regional Theatre over three gala performances on September 28 and 29, 2024.

Here below are our reflections from 2024’s August camps plus collection of photos from Noni Carroll.

Moorambilla Voices 2024 August Residential Camps in Numbers

Number of Kids: 290
Number of Breakfasts/Lunches/Dinners: 3,612
Number of sleeps total: 1,224
Number of Schools: 71
Volunteers: 49
Number of Professional Artists: 15
An untold number of smiles, games of uno, giggles, and friendships.

The theme for 2024’s program is ‘The Spirit of Water’, and this year’s camp workshops in dance, Taiko drumming, visual arts, and choral performance all drew inspiration from Uncle Badger Bates’ extraordinary leadership at last May’s Artistic and Cultural Immersion at Mutawintji National Park.

“And what was wonderful to see”, says Moorambilla’s Founder and Artistic Director Michelle Leonard, “was the children being able to immerse themselves in the images and sounds of that landscape and those waterways, thanks to the incredible new audio-visual infrastructure at our base camp, Baradine Hall. For the first time, we had use of a large screen onto which we could project images from the immersion, so while the kids were learning the new pieces that were informed by this important place, they could see and almost feel it all around them.”

“As the children danced to music that directly reflected the deep waterholes, our artists explored and listened to language and stories from Mutawintji, they could make that connection themselves and build a strong visual reference to draw from. It was a true case of ‘show, don’t tell,’ and it is my strong hope that they take this holistic knowledge framework with them as they move through the years of their Moorambilla journey.”

This technology also allowed us to share a preview of the short film our MAXed OUT ensemble created at Taiko Intensive camp held in April earlier this year. The film will premiere at the September Gala concerts, and it was a surprise treat to share it with all the children during our August camps.

As Michelle says, “They were so delighted to see themselves and their hard work realised up on screen. Especially because, often in art, you work hard and don’t always see the results for yourself as an ‘audience member’. It was powerful and exciting for the kids to do so.”

This preview of ‘The Shape of Sand’ – was also screened for our younger camp groups, which proved incredibly motivating for them as well.

“This was the first time we had even a draft of a film like this ready to show at our August Residency Camps, and it was wonderful for our primary-aged participants to see what they too will be capable of achieving, what their cousins or family members or friends have achieved and how they can aspire to that standard.”

These past twelve months or so have been huge for Moorambilla Voices’ MAXed OUT ensemble; they recorded an album at the Sydney Opera House and then, in June this year, returned to perform on the Opera House Concert Hall stage with world-renowned vocal group VOCES8_, which was then recorded by ABC Classic and broadcast nationally. 

It has been exciting to share these achievements with our younger ensemble members. As Michelle says, “As we go into our 20th year in 2025, it’s about nurturing this culture of aspiring to be the best you can be wherever that is on your journey. It’s about bringing your best self to our activities and getting out of your comfort zone with a positive mindset to try something different. And this is what our camps are all about”.

And it’s not just the kids whose eyes have been opened to the opportunities and experiences that Moorambilla offers. We were delighted this year to have a wonderful team of parent supervisors come through and see their children and the children from their community develop skills and resilience to try and try again and to learn and hone a new skill. 

Thank you to the incredible artists, staff, volunteer supervisors, mentors, and alumni helpers who worked so hard together to ensure that these August camps were as special, richly rewarding for all, and packed with fun, friendship, and learning as possible.

Moorambilla Voices 2024 August Residential Camp Artists

Brianna Kemmerling, Choreographer and proud Ankamuthi, Yupungathi, Taepadhighi, Kaanju, Wik-waya & Darnley Island Woman
Neville Williams-Boney, Choreographer & proud Wiradjuri Man
Josh Doctor, Choreographer & proud Yuwaalaraay, Gamilaraay Gubbi & Gubbi Man
Noni Carroll, Photographer
Hunter Bailey-Watts, Pianist
Andrew Howes, Composer
Christine Chen, Composer
Liz Jigalin, Composer
Oliver Cameron, Composer
Frank Wright, Visual Artist & proud Gamilaroi Man
Sunny Stubbs, Assistant Visual Artist
Anna Fraser, Vocalist
Kerryn Joyce, Taiko Artist
Louis Hurley, Vocalist