Category Archives: Uncategorized

Spring is in the air here in Blackheath and it certainly has arrived in Chris and Mick’s garden. The magnolia tree we gave Chris last year to say thank you for all her hard work, has blossomed. Here is a … Continue reading →

Thank you to the organisers of the 2016 Blackheath Choir festival. It was bigger and better and created a fabulous vibe around town. And a personal thanks to our fabulous choir director – Chris Wheeler – whose amazing energy, talent … Continue reading →

Practising…practising…and getting very excited about this fabulous festival coming to our town.

Hey Heathens – check out the link below to see the restorative powers of group singing! http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-wellbeing/sing-it-loud-20160415-go7lve.html Sing with others. Group singing has been proven to release “happy hormones”. It is also a natural antidote to feelings of isolation and … Continue reading →

It was a terrific night of fun and singing with all 3 choirs and Canon Fodder. A big THANKS must go to Tim Kaye for organising yet another great night and to everyone who volunteered to help put this annual … Continue reading →

Get ready for another fun night of singing and quizzing on Friday 10th June. Featuring The Heathens, Phoenix & Vocal Edge with a special appearance by Canon Fodder. Tickets go on sale at 9.00am on 24 May 2016. Get a … Continue reading →

We know Chris reminds us to practise between rehearsals…and perhaps some do! Here are some tips for those of us who don’t…or find it hard to do… Congratulations! You’ve now been told for the millionth time to practice your music … Continue reading →

We are growing somewhat! Here is a photo of us all with some of our new members.  Thank you Tara for taking the photo…and Happy 21st Birthday to Bella – and for giving us the photo opportunity.   

Happy New Year! The Heathens are back and Chris has worked hard over the break bringing us wonderful new songs to sing. We welcome our new choir members and really look forward to singing and performing with you all as … Continue reading →

Or should I say A BAND! Our final concert of the year with The Blue Mountains City Band was a blast! Thank you to everyone who came and listened and we are proud to announce that we raised over $800 for … Continue reading →

We are gearing up and rehearsing like mad for our upcoming performances this month! We hope to see you at The Folk Club at the Ivanhoe Hotel in Blackheath on Thursday 3rd Dec at 7.30pm…and we are very excited to … Continue reading →

The sun was shining down on Blackheath on Saturday 7 November and the town came alive with music, poetry, stalls and of course the parade. Not only did Chris lead The Heathens in two performances, but also sang herself in … Continue reading →

A lovely letter from the organisers of the Rydal Daffodil Show (click on the letter to enlarge) and what a great result for them! We look forward to singing there again next year.

Check out this great article on the wonderful benefits of group singing… http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/16/singing-changes-your-brain/

Flowers and Heathens must be a match made in heaven. We were invited once again to Blackheath’s annual flower and craft day this year and sang to more flowers…and lovely it was too. Thank you to all who came to … Continue reading →

More great photos of our concert at the Rydal Daffodil Fair. Thanks to Tricia’s husband Mike O’Day who took these… The sun was shining, the geese were honking…and the daffodils were smiling. Thank you Chapel House for having us sing … Continue reading →

We have been busy rehearsing new songs with Henrick to sing at the Rydal Festival on the 20th September. Stay tuned (haha) and we hope to see lots of people there. The Heathens are looking forward to it!

The Heathens have a banner! We ended term 2 with a great party down in Megalong Valley and had our photo taken with the new banner. Thanks Graham McCarter for taking another great photo of us all! There are a … Continue reading →

The night was a huge success and a lot of fun! The Blackheath Community Hall was overflowing with over 200 people dressed as pirates, pussy cats, mad hatters and even a zebra! Canon Fodder started the music off, followed by … Continue reading →

Our newest and youngest member to join the sopranos is Safira. Would she classify as a sopranino?

Are you a trivia buff? Then join the fun – have your trivia tested and be entertained by Blackheath’s three choirs and special guest performers Canon Fodder. Grab your friends and put together a team of 8 people. BYO food … Continue reading →

Chris has checked out the newly renovated Bates Hall – that’s the small hall in the Blackheath community centre, nearest to the Great Western Highway.  Its looking very smart after its new makeover (thanks Linda and the Hall committee) and … Continue reading →

Wow! What a fabulous afternoon. The wonderful MC, Phil Koperberg, launched the afternoon with great humour and a glowing introduction of The Heathens. Check out the photos here. Our first set included Ataturk Tribute which we were a little nervous … Continue reading →

Sydney Street Choir meets Blackheath’s community choir, The Heathens for a shared performance in Springwood on Saturday 11 April. Sydney Street Choir was formed in 2001 to connect with, inspire and empower homeless or disadvantaged people. For many of its … Continue reading →

As you can see…we have out-grown our rehearsal space at Banc so from now on rehearsals will be held at the Uniting Church hall in Govetts Leap Road (walk down the drive past the church and through a gate to … Continue reading →

Some folks are saying they’d find it much easier to pay by the term, and of course we can accommodate that. We’ll just keep a note of who’s paid up front. If you’d like to pay for the rest of … Continue reading →

If you haven’t got your copy … The Heathens Book is available to buy for only $10 at Banc. It is a beautiful collection of stories of the lives of the choir members. Each story is magical, unique and generously … Continue reading →

Jan writes … We certainly spread the happiness at Morven Gardens yesterday. The residents loved our visit. The book launch and party  at Chris and Mick’s was, despite the noise of the torrential downpours drowning out our singing, a  fun … Continue reading →

“May your voices take springs there where fire burns. May your songs put roses there where battlefields lay. Open furrow and sow love to harvest fruits of hope. Sing to liberty where despot rule, Sing to equality where poverty nests, … Continue reading →

The Blackheath and District Horticulture Society have invited us back to perform at the Flower and Craft show next year.  Julie O’Keeffe wrote to Chris that “The Heathen’s performance at our show this year in early September was so enjoyed … Continue reading →

Jan writes … So enjoyed the revue last night and particularly all those “Heathens” who performed!  We are very lucky  Heathens to be surrounded by such talent. What did touch me though was our Bella singing “Follow the Heron Home” … Continue reading →

Monday 27th October Meet at the Presbyterian Church at 5:45pm for warm up and short rehearsal.  We perform at or soon after 6pm.  Please wear the usual colours purple, red and black. See you all then 🙂

The flags flying above you were made during the school holiday art workshops by children from Blackheath and Mount Victoria. Thanks from Jo at BANC

Last week we looked at three different types of progression which you can follow in the music, even if you don’t actually read music. The simplest progression is a musical scale where the notes move from space-to-line and line-to-space and … Continue reading →

I hope you all found the first little tutorial yesterday useful. Unless I am democratically overruled 😉 I will try to give a little musicology snippet at the start of each rehearsal. Once you understand your own musical range it … Continue reading →

Mick writes that we have just learnt of the passing of one of our early Heathens, Bob Rowe, after a long battle with brain tumour that caused him to go blind. Bob was a pianist and singer who became more … Continue reading →

All good things come to an end.  Frank has shared with us how singing makes you healthy, helps you to stay well and helps you to heal; how it makes you happy; and how its good for your baby (or … Continue reading →