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Astrid Jorgensen

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Astrid Jorgensen OAM is an Australian vocalist, conductor and composer. She is the founder and director of Pub Choir.

Early life

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Jorgensen was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, and emigrated to Brisbane, Australia, in 1998.[1][2] She attended Lourdes Hill College in Brisbane, graduating in 2006 as college captain.[3] In school she had lessons in piano, violin, and voice.[2]

She studied a Bachelor of Arts (Music) and a Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Queensland,[4] and a Master of Music Studies (Vocal Performance) at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.[1][5] While at the University of Queensland, Jorgensen trained in the Kodály method.[4]

Career

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In 2011 Jorgensen formed the band Astrid & the Asteroids.[6] The group was awarded the Billy Thorpe Scholarship at the 2012 Queensland Music Awards,[7] and later disbanded in 2014.[6]

After graduating from university she worked as a high school music and vocal teacher in Brisbane and Townsville and conducted several community choirs.[8][9]

In 2017 Jorgensen founded Pub Choir in West End, Brisbane.[10][11] At each Pub Choir event, Jorgensen arranges a popular song and teaches it to a non-trained audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media.[10] Jorgensen utilises a unique form of musical notation incorporating colour-coded contoured text and comedic visual cues to teach at Pub Choir, so that musical literacy is not required for audience participation.[12] Each show is improvised, with Jorgensen responding to the audience's progress in real-time.[12] Pub Choir gained international attention in November 2017 when their rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries went viral online.[13]

In 2018 Jorgensen was the resident choral arranger and conductor for Neil Finn’s Out of Silence show at HOTA.[14] She arranged the songs Sisters and Ready or Not on the Spinifex Gum album Sisters with Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill from The Cat Empire. She was a featured guest in Tim Rogers' Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights shows in 2019.[15]

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of planned Pub Choir events, Jorgensen launched "Couch Choir".[16][17] She arranged and uploaded three vocal harmonies of the song (They Long To Be) Close To You by The Carpenters to social media, inviting anybody to learn a part, film themselves singing it, and send it back for inclusion in a final video.[17] There were over 1000 submissions from 18 different countries, and the project was featured on Australian Story.[18] The final video was also shared by Richard Carpenter.[19] Jorgensen continued to host free "Couch Choir" events throughout the pandemic, attracting tens of thousands of participants from over 50 countries.[11]

Jorgensen has also worked as a producer for ABC Radio Brisbane,[5] and has performed as a keyboardist in Australian indie rock band The Grates.[20]

In 2021 Jorgensen was a consultant executive producer for the television special Australia's Biggest Singalong!, which was broadcast live on SBS from Sydney Town Hall.[21][22] The two-hour special was co-created by Pub Choir in collaboration with Artemis Media and SBS and was hosted by Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell.[21] Throughout the interactive special, Jorgensen taught the live audience and home viewers a vocal arrangement of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" by Hunters & Collectors in real-time.[23][24]

Recognition

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Jorgensen was awarded the 2019 Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir.[25] She was also a 2020 Queensland Young Australian of The Year nominee.[26] In 2021 she was named one of the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians by the Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.[27]

In the King’s Birthday Honours on 12 June 2023, Jorgensen was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kerr, Olivia (16 June 2022). "Astrid Jorgensen on Pub Choir". Andrew Leigh MP. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Pub Choir — beer, singing and Kate Bush". ABC. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. ^ Staff Writers (30 December 2006). "Mission to help out in Zambia". The Catholic Leader. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b Usasz, Greta. "Pub Choir goes digital to keep community in harmony". stories.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b Crossen, Louise. "Griffith alumnus goes global with Pub Choir". news.griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b "TBT: The Astronomical Astrid & The Asteroids". Music Is My Muse. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Billy Thorpe Scholarship". QMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Pub Choir — beer, singing and Kate Bush". ABC. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  9. ^ Whiting, Frances (9 December 2023). "'Power of song': How Astrid Jorgensen turned Pub Choir into a sell-out sensation". The Courier Mail QWeekend. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b McMillen, Andrew (23 March 2018). "Pub Choir: Brisbane grassroots event where everyone's urged to sing". The Australian.
  11. ^ a b "Beer, bass notes and the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb: my night at Brisbane's revitalised Pub Choir". the Guardian. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b Bachelard, Michael (12 April 2024). "Meet Australia's biggest performing artist you've probably never heard of". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ McMillen, Andrew (24 March 2018). "Brisbane's Pub Choir Movement Marks First Year". The Australian.
  14. ^ "A rowdy sing-a-long has never sounded so good". HOTA. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ^ Moyle, Tracey (10 August 2019). "REVIEW: Tim Rogers – Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights, Brisbane Powerhouse, 09/08/2019". Good Call Live. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. ^ Leigh, Andrew (2020). Reconnected: A community builder's handbook. Australia: La Trobe University Press. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9781760642617.
  17. ^ a b Hinchliffe, Jessica (23 March 2020). "1,000 singers, 18 countries: Pub Choir's Couch Choir brings light during coronavirus crisis". ABC News. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  18. ^ One Day at a Time, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 27 March 2020, retrieved 8 April 2020
  19. ^ "Login | Chronicle". www.thechronicle.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  20. ^ "HRchat Interview with Astrid Jorgensen: Embracing People Where They're at is Key to Progress". The HR Gazette. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Australia's Biggest Singalong! - Production credits". Programs. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Great Australian voices join Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell for 'Australia's Biggest Singalong!'". Guide. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  23. ^ McManus, Bridget (22 May 2021). "Need a hit of euphoria? Julia Zemiro has just the ticket". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Time to hold a tune". The West Australian. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  25. ^ Downes, Kirsten. "QCF 2019 Philanthropist of the Year Awards". QCF. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Queensland nominees announced for 60th anniversary of the Australian of the Year Awards - Australian of the Year". Australia Day Council. No. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  27. ^ "40 Under 40 Awards - 2021 Winners". www.asianaustralianleadership.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  28. ^ "King's Birthday Honours".
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