Bairnsdale Uniting Church – 12 October 2025

The choir was pleased to be back for the fourth time, at the request of the Mitchell River Rotary Club but this time at a new venue The Bairnsdale Uniting Church oddly but luckily located in Lucknow. Musical Director Rushan Hewawasam invited the capacity audience to stand for the Welsh National Anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of my Fathers) which was delivered complete with the waving of the Welsh flag.

Organiser Darren Goodman delivered the acknowledgment to country and welcomed back the choir after three years.  Compère Garry Salisbury stepped forward to formally introduce Rushan and accompanist Mary O’Driscoll and announced the opening bracket of four well-known Welsh tunes. These were Cwm Rhondda (Rhondda Valley) with the audience eagerly joining in to sing the Songs of Praises chorus. Next was Gwahoddiad (Invitation), Rhys (Grant me the Peace) and the rousing temperance hymn Rachie.

The next bracket was Ar Lan y Môr (By the Seaside), Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night) led by a fine solo by first tenor Rhys Parry. These were followed by two tunes by the contemporary Welsh composer Robat Arwyn – Bendigedig  (Blessed) the Welsh version of his Benedictus and Anfonaf Angel (I Will Send an Angel) which always brings a tear to many an eye.

Rushan, with his mellifluous second tenor voice, then led the choir in How Great Thou Art before rehearsing the very musical audience in the closing chorus of When the Saints Go Marching In. Naturally, once the famous song was enthusiastically concluded the choir and congregation had to reprise the final chorus with a resounding ‘Yeah’ before a 20-minute interval to give everybody’s voices a temporary rest.

The second half opened with the multi-language South African anthem African Prayer, followed by another Welsh tune Y Darlun (The Picture) describing the comfort derived from a drawing of Albrecht Dürer’s study of praying hands. This was followed by the very moving Prayer of the Children which described the plight of victims of the Yugoslavian civil wars. Incidentally, children in Scotland are referred to as bairns, which the early settler MacLeod used to name Bairnsdale (Valley of the children) after noticing the abundance of children belonging to his stockmen.

Then a change of pace with bass Barry McMahon delivering a powerfully felt version of Working Man which was obviously familiar to patrons as they sang along to both the verses and the chorus.

Stepping back to the 60s the choir launched into He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother before the slight guilt trip of Always on My Mind. Choristers then tapped back into their youth with the Beatles Medley including a solo part by first tenor Geoff Roberts. Next was Carly Simon’s Let the River Run which may well have prompted some not so happy memories for locals, remembering the 2007 floods.

The finale was Rushan’s special arrangement of two famous songs You’ll Never Walk Alone and Climb Every Mountain which elicited huge applause from the assembled company. The acclaim was sufficient encouragement for Rushan to change places with Mary at the piano and lead the choristers into the old Welsh favourite Calon Lân. After the applause had died down Darren, visibly moved, fulsomely thanked Rushan, Mary and the choir and everybody who made the concert possible and invited all to join choristers with some light refreshments.

However, this was not quite the end as choristers moved off the stage and surrounded the audience to chant their heartfelt farewells with Sunset Poem from Under Milk Wood. The contemplative silence that always follows this tune was palpable and always marks a special musical relationship between patrons and choir which is always treasured.