The Promise takes ministry to music educators

Ensemble to vocalise mission at national conference

A return invitation to a national conference will enhance an Avondale vocal ensemble’s reputation and demonstrate musical and technical artistry through rehearsal and performance.

The Promise will perform for an open rehearsal and a lunchtime concert at the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA) National Conference in Brisbane on Monday (September 26). The ensemble’s return invitation comes partly on the strength of its performance at the conference in Sydney in 2014.

Kate Thompson, the former President of KMEIA’s Queensland Chapter, describes The Promise as connecting strongly to its music and creating noteworthy interactions with members of the audience. “The work they’re doing, it’s astounding, so we wanted to make sure they could be here again.”

The open rehearsal will give conference delegates an opportunity to observe the techniques the ensemble uses to rehearse. The techniques come from a strong foundation in musicianship, says Director of the Conservatorium of Music at Avondale College of Higher Education Aleta King. “It’s this musicianship-in-action process in the context of higher education that’s of interest to professional music educators.”

The Promise will premiere a composition by Dr Christopher Sainsbury, a lecturer in the School of Music at Australian National University. A collaborative performance with Australia’s leading vocal ensemble The Song Company this past year so impressed Sainsbury, then a casual academic at Avondale Conservatorium, he composed “The Sphinx” for the students.

However, while demonstrating the musical and technical quality of The Promise is important, it is not King’s main aim. “What’s more important is that others see the ministry of our music,” says King, who is also Artistic Director of The Promise. “We can be authentically professional and openly spiritual. That’s the real purpose for me, over and above the applause.”

Using The Promise to make genuine connections is also an aim of The Promise bass and fourth-year Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching student Dat Nguyen. The ensemble has allowed him to have “this crazy outreach” to a wider audience. “Presenting what we can offer to a whole bunch of different people from all different walks of life around Australia is probably one of the best things about The Promise,” he says.

The Promise will minister through its music at a combined choir concert hosted by St Ignatius Catholic Church in Toowong and at performances as part of the annual convention of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in southern Queensland, both of which precede the conference.