August 7, 2017
Sixteen South Burnett residents took advantage of a special opportunity to learn new singing skills at the weekend when Brisbane-based vocal instructor Julee-anne Bell visited Kingaroy.
The two-day visit was organised by St Mary’s Catholic College music teacher Jane Iszlaub but the sessions were open to all members of the community.
Jane and Julee-anne were friends at university and met up again recently at a music get-together.
“I was saying how difficult it was to find qualified singing teachers in the South Burnett, and the ones we do have are full,” Jane said.
Julee-anne, who has a Masters Degree in Music Studies from the University of Queensland, offered to come to Kingaroy “to test the water”.
Jane advertised the sessions on social media “and we had every spot filled in 2 1/2 hours – and everyone turned up!”
“I nearly cried it was so beautiful,” parent Rebecca Garlick, from Kingaroy, told southburnett.com.au
Rebecca’s daughters Millie (Year 12) and Anielle (Year 10) were also enthusiastic about the vocal lesson.
Julee-anne is now thinking about holding weekend sessions for eight-year-olds to adults in Kingaroy every month or six weeks.
“There is a geographic need,” she said.
For more information about the singing lessons, contact Jane on 0411-118-510.
Footnote: As well as being a qualified singing teacher, Julee-Ann Bell is highly skilled in a very special way and a media star. Julee-anne is blind and uses braille music when she plays the keyboard. She also runs a charity World Access For The Blind Australia which teaches vision-handicapped children how to travel through an area using a form of echo location.
My daughter was lucky enough to receive a lesson from Julee-Anne Bell and I DID cry, it was so special.
Julee-Anne is an incredibly talented musician and singer in her own right, as well as a teacher, and to give her time to come to the country to share knowledge which is usually only available to kids in the city is huge.
In just one lesson, I watched my daughter’s confidence in her singing ability – and by extension, in herself – grow.
Not only is Julee-Anne an accomplished performer, but she is a wonderful teacher who relates to all ages and helps them be the best they can be. (The student before my daughter was an adult male with a voice to die for).
There is a lot of attention paid to our local sporting talents, and rightly so, but the South Burnett has also nurtured many artists and musicians. Imagine how many more we could produce if our students received opportunities like this? Thank you for covering this story.