Musician and Choir Conductor Cath Mundy outlines the importance of the contrast between sound and silence

Cath Mundy’s work composing original music for theatre has explored diverse ground, including sacredCOWs, The Quivering, which won a Green Room Award for Outstanding Sound Design / Music Score 2007.

In 1996 with British singer-songwriter (& husband) Jay Turner, Cath formed acoustic-music duo Mundy-Turner, performing as a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (violin, piano, ukulele, percussion).

Over two decades, they released seven albums, their debut High Life winning a Queensland Recording Association Award 1999 for Best Folk/Ethnic Album. They have toured many countries performing at festivals, venues and events, including supporting The Corrs and Fairport Convention.

Cath conducts three community choirs: Freedom Train, Mixed Beans multicultural choir and With One Voice Brisbane. She witnesses first-hand every week the power that group-singing has to make positive change in individual lives and to create healthier, more connected communities. Cath is passionate about empowering all people to reclaim their human right to sing.

Today’s Topics:

• What audiences can learn from a musician and a customer.
• How we are listening on a number of levels.
• It’s a skill to listen and train as a choir. They listen to themselves, what’s around them, and the whole group.
• The difference between local listening, neighborhood listening, and regional listening.
• How a conductor not only listens to the choir, but they also listen to the audience.  
• The importance of relaxing. Getting people to play to help them relax.
• Visual cues and people’s breathing. Changing the shape of their mouths and helping them hear the difference.
• Shining eyes and an inner smile are signs of being engaged.
• A surprise visit from John Farnham and the Choir of Hard Knocks.
• Hearing an intensity of motion beyond the sound.
• The conductor’s role listening to the audience. The importance of engagement.
• It can be difficult without the visual, but you can feel their energy.
• Smiles, brightness of eyes, and an open body facing towards you signals engagement.
• Making creative choices as opposed to mistakes.
• The importance of eye contact especially with connecting with the choir and keeping them focused.
• Reconnecting as a lost listener.
• Silence is important. Not forgetting to pay attention to the silence.
• Paying attention to the space and where we breath.
• Silence can be difficult for some people. A sign of a good friendship is comfortably sitting in silence. Where more emotion gets heard.

Links and Resources:

• Mundy - Turner
• Freedom Train
• Cath Mundy on Facebook
• @cathjay on Twitter
• Benjamin Zander
• You’re the Voice John Farnham
• The Choir of Hard Knocks

Quotes:

I like to draw my attention to those moments of silence. They might be really small ones, but they are just as important as the notes we are singing. - Cath

The contrast between sound and silence is where all that interesting interplay happens. - Cath

They were so totally tuned into each other that I felt a total alignment of their sound. - Cath

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