As part of her inaugural Queensland Music Festival (QMF), Artistic Director Katie Noonan has programmed a choral concert called You’re The Voice and hopes that thousands of Australians will join with her to sing out against Australia’s domestic and family violence crisis, raising their voices in a plea for positive change.

It doesn’t matter whether you only ever sing in the shower, you can take part in the socially inclusive event – if only from your lounge room.

^{Katie Noonan. Photograph courtesy of Queensland Music Festival}

A passionate advocate for the cause, Noonan wants community, school and professional choirs and individuals across the country to unite for the monumental musical event, which will culminate in a moving, mass rendition of John Farnham’s anthem You’re The Voice.

The concert will take place on July 29 as part of this year’s Queensland Music Festival, when more than 2,000 people, including Noonan herself and other star artists to be announced, will sing their hearts out at Brisbane’s South Bank Piazza. Thousands of others, from every corner of Australia, who want their voice to be heard on this important issue, will be able to join them via a livestream through the QMF website and social media channels.

Noonas has also programmed a number of smaller choir performances during the Festival in the lead-up to the big night.

Noonan is a firm believer in the power of music to educate, inspire and change the world for the better. “Everyone has a voice and I’m calling on them to use it for good. Australia’s domestic and family violence crisis is not an easy subject of course but a pertinent one that cannot be ignored, and as a woman in the music industry I think it’s time we united our voices,” she said in a press statement.

“John’s iconic song of 30 years ago is more pertinent than ever. Sung through the filter of our domestic and family violence crisis, lyrics like ‘this time we all can stand together, with the power to be powerful believing we can make it better’ are incredibly apt. We all can stand together and commit to caring for each other.”

“We can sing together for those whose voices have been silenced by fear and use the power of music to educate, empower and create change,” added Noonan.

Dr Jonathon Welch, AM, Founding Artistic Director of the award-winning Choir of Hard Knocks and School of Hard Knocks, has come on board as the Choral Director of the programme and will help recruit choirs, work with choral directors leading up to and during the concert, and conduct the choirs.

“Our School of Hard Knocks ‘No Excuses’ women’s choir programme in Melbourne has had a huge impact and many of the women have experienced family violence, saying that the music has given them a voice and empowered them to start healing and turn their lives around through shared singing,” said Welch.

The Honourable Quentin Bryce, AD CVO, Chair of the Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland has agreed to be the Patron of the event. “We all have power to be part of the solution, to raise our voices against violence and affect true change in our communities,” she said.

Queensland Premier and Minister for the Arts, Annastacia Palaszczuk, commended the initiative and encouraged Queenslanders to participate, saying: “You’re The Voice reinforces my government’s firm commitment to create a community that supports respectful relationships, practices positive attitudes and behaviours, and promotes non-violence.”

Register your interest in singing in You’re The Voice HERE